COMMUNITY AND MY ART
Linda: But it’s also curious to think about what is actually realistic to accomplish in one month and what kind of relationships you can build with the community. As previously mentioned, I still don’t know what’s the best way to connect. You mentioned that you almost had this sort of subjective experience through these different communities and different people, not just with one really specific group. Maybe for you, Vita, it wasn’t just about this one group?
Vita: I also had a similar experience as Dāvis, but I think the difference from others is that I really felt confident in this. Personally, I didn’t get stressed, but I needed to remind myself that I was doing this for the goal of something that is not about showcasing my art. In general, I have a big ego and want people to see me and my art, but here I was thinking that most probably it wouldn’t be a chance to present my work as I would imagine it, and for me, this realization really helped. For example, when I met this person, and he gave me amazing information in the interview, then he called me and said he never wants this story to be told to anyone else. I was okay with that because I genuinely believe this work is important for the community. I have also made not-so-successful works where the community didn’t get much from the work. After that, I realized it’s not so much for artists to showcase their artwork, but more about artists making a bridge and helping to create connections. What I also noticed is that we actually can’t expect people to go along with our ideas when they have no idea what it actually means. I was inviting people for the last event, and they weren’t right away saying, ‘Yes, sure, I’ll definitely be there.’ And then I was thinking, I’m doing everything, I’m inviting the Iraqi family to serve food, there will be games for kids and adults. Why aren’t they so excited for this? Then I asked, ‘Have you ever actually been to an event with games, food, and music?’ And then I realized – no, they have no clue what I’m inviting them for, and that’s why they don’t want to come, because they have no clue. Or when I say – ‘Come to this workshop!’ What is it? So it is important to understand if you all understand the same thing when talking about something. After this, if there were another artist coming, I think it would be easier for them.
Photo by Andrejs Strokins, from Elīna’s and Modesta’s residency
Sandra: Also, what we discussed with Vita is that even after this whole process, if you only have one person participating, it’s also fine. This is the thing we tried to emphasize – for us, the priority of the residency is the process, not the result. However, when you’re in this situation, as an artist, there’s still an expectation for something from you, even if we just meet together to talk.
Linda: It’s also about setting the frame, determining how big the frame should be, because some of you have mentioned that it would be nice to already have a specific community and a specific topic to start the work. I’m still pondering what is realistic within a month. For example, last year Līga spent 30 days in Kengarags spread over six months. This process was different, involving her own artistic journey and communication with the community. Moreover, how can we make this residency artistically interesting for artists? It shouldn’t solely focus on your art with the community somewhere on the sidelines, nor should it solely be social work. It’s not quite either of those extremes, but rather a blend of both, with social questions intertwined throughout. Finding this balance is crucial. Someone also mentioned the idea of going there and only teaching, but how can you go there and create together? It’s about collaborative creation rather than just imparting knowledge. It makes one reflect on one’s own skills and interests as an artist and whether they can develop them further in that context.
Sandra: Because it’s also the different experiences of the artists — for example, how comfortable you feel alone in Kengarags or as a duo compared to Dāvis being alone in a foreign small town.
Vita: If I have to reflect on it now, I realize I should have invited you to more of the meetings. My dream now is for another artist to go to Mucenieki and continue the work. I hope someone will say, “Okay, Vita, you didn’t manage to make this performance, but I’m going to do it.” I want to create a theater performance and meet artists who want to work with me. However, it’s such a complex territory that I can’t simply say, “You go over there.” So, I’m thinking I should have invited you every time, but I didn’t do it. This is what I learned now. I have prepared this space for the work of the NGO “I Want to Help Refugees.”
Dāvis: For me, it worked the other way. I was planning to be there for 21 days, but on the sixth day, the curator said she would come and visit me. She arrived along with another artist, both Georgians. When we went to some families or meetings, they spoke in Georgian and only occasionally translated something for me. This made me lose two full days of being one-on-one with the reality there. I really wanted to go away. When you’re doing fieldwork, especially if you’re not local, the local organizers shouldn’t be there.
Photo by Andrejs Strokins, from Elīna’s and Modesta’s residency
GOALS OF THE RESIDENCY
Vita: And then also about the goals of the residency – we talked about the result or the outcome, but goals are something else. I was thinking we actually had many goals, at least it felt that way. For example, humanitarian work, educational aspects, artistic expression, and the social component. All these goals are present at the same time, which can be overwhelming because we have to manage everything.
Linda: But did you feel that you, as a team, could narrow down those goals? Would you need someone else to come in and help narrow them down, or was it more about the frame being too wide for you?
Eva: Because we come from different fields, we had different approaches and different ways of working. Sometimes, at the end of the day, we would evaluate: What happened today? What did we achieve? Was that enough? Were my goals reached? Were yours?
Vita: Personally, I had two goals. One of them is a long-term goal – to create this performance. I also wanted to take the opportunity during this residency to relax a bit and use the time to understand what I want to do, which I did, but I’m not able to share it yet. However, there are residency goals, and I think it was hard to understand these before meeting the community. That’s why we had a lot of discussions within our team about what is for this residency and what is for the future. Future-wise, I felt like things were going great. Maybe you can share some cases of how artists have handled these different short-term and long-term goals and expectations throughout their residencies?
Sandra: I mean, for us, the residency goal is for you to go and explore your artistic wishes and interests. Therefore, if you have this big goal – and as we all know, we aim for the big goals, but there are little ones along the way – I don’t think we should add extra goals to the residency beyond what you already have. That’s the process. That is what I really understood this time. Often, I can already say that you should do this or that, use this method, go this way, etc., but will it really work for you? I don’t know.
Vita: But I found that you set goals in a very process-oriented way, and I never felt any pressure for immediate results. I just want to compliment that approach because I sometimes miss it. It’s also a question for some artists whether it’s beneficial or not, but in my case, it is. If it were different, I wouldn’t have taken this residency because, let’s be transparent, the money isn’t substantial enough to justify investing oneself in a grand art project with unpredictable outcomes. That aspect was very important to me from the first meeting, how you talked about your work. I believe this approach aligns with my artistic sensibilities. So, perhaps it would have been beneficial to involve Eva from the beginning in the meetings, which I never did. I never invited her to our joint meetings.
Photo by Andrejs Strokins, from Elīna’s and Modesta’s residency
Elīna: I also have one comment about the process, about what has to happen in the end. I was just thinking about why there is an artist working with these people. Well, I am thinking that this is an artistic residency and also an engagement with communities. The question of balance between doing art and collaborating with people was and still is very interesting. But there is always this question- Why am I there as an artist? What can I give that no social workers or other activity organizers can give?
Linda: Yes, that is an ongoing thought for a lot of us, I think, and each residency provides different answers, I guess. Yes, that is an ongoing thought for a lot of us, I think, and each residency provides different answers, I guess.