On April 23 at 18:00, an exhibition by the photographer Rūta Kalmuka “Dzen” will open at ISSP Gallery as part of the Riga Photography Biennial 2026 program, with a performance by the collective “BUTŌ Lab”. Curator: Iveta Gabaliņa.
Rūta Kalmuka’s series of photographic works, created using analog techniques with a large-format camera, is based on the ancient spring solstice traditions of “driving away birds” and “calling birds,” characteristic of Livonian-inhabited areas. In these rituals, large birds symbolized illness and evil spirits, while small birds were associated with light and awakening. Through photography and butoh movement, the artist interprets this ritual as a metaphor for inner purification – the desire to dispel darkness and make space for a new beginning. The exhibition title “Dzen” simultaneously reveals two meanings: the imperative form “Drive away!” as a call to banish negativity, and a reference to Zen Buddhism, where peace and clarity are sought through silence and repetition.
Rūta Kalmuka (1974) began studying photography in 1992 at the Technical Creativity Center “Annas 2” under Andrejs Grants, and devoted nearly 20 years to photojournalism, working with print media. Currently, she works with analog photography and large-format techniques, and is interested in historical photographic processes as well as creating photobooks. The artist has participated in several group exhibitions in Latvia and abroad, and her work has been published in magazines such as “Foto Kvartāls,” Fotofilmic JRTL, and World Press Photo. In 2025, Rūta was nominated for the prestigious European photography platform Futures.
The performance art collective “BUTŌ Lab” explores movement, performance, and ritual as contemporary forms of expression, combining butoh, somatics, and experimental theater practices. The performance created for the exhibition, “DZEN – DZEN,” is conceived as a spatial continuation of Rūta Kalmuka’s photographs. The work is based on butoh movement practice, a live soundscape, and ritual symbolism, where movement, sound, and image merge into a unified experience. The audience is invited to engage in a somatic event, experiencing transition and the beginning of a new cycle. The soundscape during the performance will be improvised by Sarma Gabrēna.
The Riga Photography Biennial is an international contemporary art event focused on the analysis of visual culture and artistic representation. In the biennial’s title, “photography” serves as an umbrella term for a wide range of image-making practices that continue to transform the language of contemporary art in the 21st century. The biennial’s themes cover topics from cultural theory to current sociopolitical processes in the Baltic and European regions. It aims to capture and present, in the format of an art festival, a shared understanding of global changes – changes we need not only to see but also to imagine – translating today’s complex and saturated visual language into meaningful relationships between everyday life, the camera lens, historical material, contemporary art, technology, and the future. How has the understanding of photography and the image changed due to digital technologies, and how does it assert itself within the framework of an artwork? These are key questions the biennial seeks to analyze and represent, offering Latvian audiences the most relevant examples of international art through exhibitions, as well as introducing the ideas of significant art theorists through symposia, discussions, and publications in exhibition and performance formats.
Exhibition team: Santa Ozoliņa, Elizabete Vuškāne, Inga Brūvere, Eva Škenderska, Agnese Čemme, Aldis Bušs, Aivars Purmals.
RFB 2026 will take place from April 16 to July 3 with an extensive exhibition and educational program. More information: www.rpbiennial.com.
The exhibition is supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation and the Riga City Council.