SPOT Exchange: New Residency in Riga, Latvia
We are excited to introduce SPOT Exchange; a new initiative aimed at strengthening collaboration between the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and Latvia’s academic and non-academic art institutions. SPOT Exchange is a residency program dedicated to supporting the professional development of emerging artists and curators from both countries. By bridging higher education with professional practice, the program connects participants to new networks, artistic communities, and career opportunities.
This initiative is a collaboration between DAS WEISSE HAUS (@dasweissehaus, Austria) and Zuzeum Art Centre (@zuzeum, Latvia), alongside the Art Academy of Latvia (@makslasakademija) and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (@akbild).
Over the course of a six-month residency, participants will benefit from dedicated resources, a supportive creative environment, and engagement with diverse artistic communities. Eligible applicants include students from MA POST and MA Curatorial Studies at the Art Academy of Latvia, as well as students from Fine Arts and Master in Critical Studies at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
First Residency: Lina Kamelin
Lina Kamelin is a visual artist living and working in Vienna. She holds a BA in Political Science and is currently studying Graphic Art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Working across drawing, painting, and printmaking, she explores the visual language of explanatory narratives in everyday life as well as in the social sciences.
From September onwards, she will be resident at Zuzeum, continuing her artistic research and practice within the premises of Zuzeum’s greenhouse and the Zuzāns Art Collection. Within the collection, she seeks to examine mythical narratives in Latvian art, connecting them to her own visual vocabulary and research. Her work addresses questions surrounding common but often contrasting narratives of knowledge and fiction, delusion and reality, and “fake” versus “truthful” information. By exploring their visual potential, she aims to open a space for discourse and reflection on belief and its construction in contemporary society.