This Black Holes residency is organized by Totaldobže Art Centre in Riga as part of Creative Europe project Artist-Run Network Europe.
The Black Holes residency is aimed at artists working with, or interested in working with, artist-run initiatives. From November 7th till 27th 2022, six artists from around Europe will be participating in a three-week-long, process-based residency in Riga.
The focus of the residency is sharing and creation of art works through collaboration and within the local context. The participants will take part in interdisciplinary workshops, explore the local context, exchange knowledge and skills from their own experiences. The workshops will be facilitated by invited experts, and the overall residency will be moderated by two artists – co-founders of the Black Holes residencies. This opportunity would suit an artist interested in getting to know the frame of the Black Holes residency and perhaps hosting it together with the Black Holes crew.
The Open Call has been closed and participants have been selected.
This residency is supported by European Comission programme Creative Europe and Latvian Culture Ministry.

The residency will take place 30 min bicykle ride distance from the city center. There is also a public transport. The price for the cab ride from and to the city center is around 5-10 EUR.

The residency will take place in the Totaldobže Art Centre, which is currently based in the cultural hub Viskaļi run by Free Riga in the former Riga Technical university site. The renting contract has signed in 2019 for the next 25 years. There are 15000 m2 and more then 200 rooms.

Totaldobže Art Centre has occupied small part of Viskaļi. It is running the residencies, organizing workshops and public events: concerts, exhibitions, performances, conferences, talks, poetry slams etc.

There will be separate bedroom for every participant, but shared WC, shower, kitchen, meeting and working space. In the photo – working space.

Artist Kaspars Lielgalvis has been the main initiator and the head of the Totaldobže Art Centre since it's birth – in 2010. The Black Hole events would not happen if not his enthusiasm and passion about interdiscipinary collaboration, new art forms and connection between contemporary art and the local context. Kaspars has managed 95% of all Black Hole activities and has been moderating four residencies.

Artist Laura Prikule is based in Riga and has been one the concept co-creators of the Totaldobže Art Centre and co-manager of several it's activities whith focus on the meaning and perception of an art. Laura has participated in four Black Hole residencies and organized two experiments. More..

One of worskhops will be facilitated by american sound artist John Grzinich currently living in Estonia. After running artist residency MoKS together with artist Evelyn Grzinich in remote village Mooste for more then 15 years, he has gained a rich experience of collaboration methods. Residents will have a chance to try out them within John's 3 days long workshop. He is currently a visiting Associate Professor of New Media in the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Estonian Academy of Arts. More..

Another workshop will be facilitated by architects and urbanists Signe Pērkone and Ramon Gonzales. They have made a research about the neighbourhood development potential around the cultural hub Viskaļi. The research has been made before 1,5 years as part of the Urban Institute Riga city development research activities. Currently Ramon is a guest tutor at the Faculty of Architecture and Design of the RISEBA University of Applied Sciences in Riga. More..

Totaldobže Art centre is having a large former cinema hall (600m2) and smaller rooms for residency, office, smaller event hall and bar in total 1700m2 . Cinema can host 500 visitors (with seats) or more then 1000 (seats removed). Totaldobže Art centre runs a bar when there are public events.