ALL THE BIRDS SING
Welcome to the Liepāja Art Forum – an annual festival of creativity, passion, and art creation!
‘All the Birds Sing’ is not only a line from a well-known Latvian folk song or the name of Krista Burāne’s special musical performance, but also the general motto of this year’s entire festival.
We wish to celebrate diversity in all its beautiful colors. ‘All the Birds Sing’ is an ode to the diverse and unique voices in our world. Just like each bird has its own individual song, each person has their own voice, which deserves to be heard.
Just like biological diversity is crucial to the survival of the planet, each unique human voice is crucial to a just and equal society. Together, they create a more inclusive, socially just and sustainable world. We want them all to be heard and accepted! This year, they will be loud and proud in four locations around the city!
The Festival will be introduced by the international Nordic collaborative art project Cirque Musique, where musicians and circus performers will spend three days of stimulating workshops for children and youth to reveal the commonalities and differences between these art disciplines. The result will be an exciting concert performance on September 28, at 7 p.m., in the Great Hall!
On the first day of the Festival, we will open the exhibition Dairy Diaries by artist Anna Priedola. Based on the artist’s personal experience, the exhibition reveals profound topics like aging and loneliness, dementia and changes in family relationships as people face disease and old age.
The Festival will be the first performance in Latvia by one of the most versatile guitarists of his generation, Scottish-Japanese artist Sean Shibe. With his innovative approach to the instrument, Shibe has gained recognition as ‘one of the finest guitarists’ (Gramophone). He is the leader of the new wave of guitarists, creating imaginative concert programs that stun with creative boldness and passionate interpretations of the classics.
His program for Liepāja – Out There – is an original fusion of electric and acoustic guitar with music from contemporary and classical composers intertwining in the same exceptionally easy manner as the two instruments.
And then, the opening party of the Liepāja Art Forum! Astoundingly fantastic creatures, peculiarly colorful characters will forge an unforgettable mood where each being is valuable and unique. Is this a dreamscape? Is this reality? Anything that is possible will be there! Dance as your most beautiful self with the finest electronic music!
Two forms of art, song and dance, meet on stage to create a performance together That is Satikt – an exploration into the polyphony of Lithuanian Sutartinės music. In the form of a performance, we will experience arranged acoustic singing, an inclusive choreography and the sounds of movement, the newest piece by the authors IevaKrish. See you at Club Kursa in Liepāja!
Internationally acclaimed Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth from the USA will be performing in Liepāja for the first time. The vocal collective expand the expressive potential of the human voice, specializing mainly in dedicated concert programs by contemporary composers. They are known for their exceptionally skillful and extensive mastery of vocal techniques. Liepāja will experience fantastic contemporary American vocal music created by three amazing female composers. This music will be performed in Latvia for the first time.
Saturday evening will be spent in the embrace of fiery Spanish avant-garde flamenco dance and music. And it will take place at the night club Fontaine Palace! In this unique program, the elements of flamenco – dance and guitar – will meet the element of jazz, the saxophone, in a perfect blend of both genres. A unique instrument, the ‘flamenco machine’, will add an innovative and rhythmically captivating sound to the performance.
On Sunday morning, experienced Norwegian juggler Julian Saether will invite the youngest members of the Concert Hall’s audience to embark on an adventurous journey to a magic forest, where they will meet many fairy-tale and fantasy characters through juggling, dancing, and theater.
We will close the festival at the Seaside Park, next to the Mother of Wind monument, with the site-specific musical performance All the Birds Sing. It is a documentary participatory performance offering the audience unusual perspectives on the boundaries of culture and nature, where the cultivated and the natural, human order and natural wilderness clash. In this performance, the relationship between song and singing will be examined on four different levels, combining the narratives of myth, ecology, history, and the formation of identity.
See you there!
Artistic Director
of the Liepāja Art Forum
Baiba Bartkeviča
LIEPAJA ART FORUM 2023 / PROGRAM:
29. SEPTEMBER | FRIDAY| 18.00
ANNA PRIEDOLA. OPENING OF THE EXHIBITION DAIRY DIARIES. Dementia through Statistics and Stories
Civita Nova 1
29. SEPTEMBER | FRIDAY | 19.00
GUITAR VIRTUOSO SEAN SHIBE. OUT THERE
Great hall
29. SEPTEMBER | FRIDAY | 21.00
LAF OPENING PARTY
Public area, 2nd, 3rd floor
30. SEPTEMBER | SATURDAY | 15.00
DANCE PERFORMANCE "SATIKT". IEVAKRISH
Club “Kursa” (Zvejnieku aleja 11, Liepaja)
30. SEPTEMBER | SATURDAY | 18.00
ROOMFUL OF TEETH. THE VOICES OF AMERICAN A CAPELLA
Great hall
30. SEPTEMBER | SATURDAY | 21.00
A SPANISH NIGHT CLUB. AVANT-GARDE FLAMENCO
Klubs “Fontaine Palace” (Dzirnavu iela 4, Liepāja)
1. OCTOBER | SUNDAY | 11.00
CIRCUS IN AN ENCHANTED FOREST
Kamerzāle, koncertzāle “Lielais dzintars”
Festivāls "Liepājas Mākslas forums 2023" – daudzveidības svētki!
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