IDEUM Conference

On 5–6 December 2024, a scientific conference titled “Landscapes of Identities: History, Culture and Environment” will take place at the K2 building of the Art Academy of Latvia in Riga. The event will explore the interaction between people and places, presenting research on place-making and place-narration practices in Latvia and beyond. A central focus will be the diversity and continuity of identities and (self)representations.

Over the two days, researchers from the project’s five partner institutions will present work on the intersections of environment, landscape, and identity in architecture, design, art, theatre, and photography. Other presentations will examine archaeological landscapes and their evolution in the Baltinava parish of the Balvi region.

Several talks will address literary landscapes and identities, focusing on Soviet-era literary processes in Latvia—especially in the Kurzeme region—and their transformation under the influence of cultural contact. A number of researchers will explore intergenerational, social, and ethnic identity landscapes both within Latvia and in transnational contexts.

Keynote speakers include:

• Laura Luise Schultz, Associate Professor in Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Copenhagen, with the lecture Transgressing Borders, Transgressing Identities: On Madame Nielsen’s Wandering

• Rose-Anne Gush, Lecturer at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Faculty of Architecture, University of Graz, with the lecture Landscapes of Abstraction, Between Violence and Reciprocity

The conference is open to all interested participants. Registration is required in advance.

➡️ Register here
📄 Conference programme