NEW THEATRE INSTITUTE OF LATVIA

contemporary performing arts in Latvia and abroad

The 20th edition of the International Festival of Contemporary Theatre “Homo Novus” will take place from August 29 to September 8 in Riga, Kuldiga and Kemeri (Latvia), luring the spectator in marsh streches, the waterfront, on choral stands, in the cinema and museums, as well as other open and hidden spaces.

Through a variety of media, portals and interfaces, the festival will address the eternal quote by Dorian Gray: “It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors”. Distorted reflections, self-directed cameras, deformations and carnivalesque exaggerations will invite the spectator to explore the power that lies within the relationship of artist, object and viewer; the border between the possible and the impossible – reality, memory, fantasy and the space of desire.

“Homo Novus 2024” welcomes back festival favorites from the past, generates new collective practices and shares the latest works by Latvian and international artists, inviting new works and perspectives from regions that have rarely been represented in Latvia. With a focus on Canadian contemporary work, the festival presents Venice Biennale Silver Lion winner Dana Michel with her performance installation “MIKE”. PME-ART will transplant their work “Adventures can be found anywhere, même dans la répétition” through concept touring, presenting the work in collaboration with 11 local artists. Whereas Mammalian Diving Reflex will collaborate with local arts professionals and teenagers as part of the Festival School.

For their 30th birthday, Gob Squad return with their work “SUPER NIGHT SHOT”, which was presented in Riga in 2006: a rare invitation to return to a work, to see how it continues to resonate and how the city’s imagery has developed in the years since. For the first time, “Homo Novus” presents the Italian company Dewey Dell with their version of “Sacre du Printemps”. The festival also brings two new musical collaborations with “Ode to Joy”, presented by Amanda Coogan, Lianne Quigley and the Latvian Association of the Deaf, and Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey with “Deluge” in collaboration with many Latvian musicians. The festival will close with “Symphony Of Solitude – S.O.S” by MØR Collective in collaboration with Riga Circus featuring the installation by Latvian artist Katrina Neiburga.

Both the festival center in Berga Bazars shopping arcades and most of the venues will be accessible to people with different accessibility needs, and many events will be open to a wide range of audiences and casual passers-by.

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