Signet Bank supports one of the most significant contemporary art events in Latvia – “Survival Kit”

From August 28 to September 27, 2026, Riga will host the international contemporary art festival “Survival Kit,” organized by the Latvian Center for Contemporary Art (LLMC). This year, Signet Bank is joining the supporters of “Survival Kit” for the first time. This year’s festival explores the intersections between art and healing and highlights care, emotional resilience, and art’s ability to help society preserve its humanity in challenging circumstances.

Festival curators Elena Sorokina and Simona Markela Dvorāka, in collaboration with the Initiative for Practices and Visions of Radical Care, are focusing this year on the shared theory of art and healing. The exhibition “Arrow of the Wind: On Artists and Healers” explores therapy, rituals, spiritual renewal, and physical and mental health care. The concept proposed by the curators is rooted in Latvian folklore, ancient healing knowledge, and ritual practices closely tied to the land – forests, lakes, the Baltic Sea, and peat bogs – and their resilience, despite historical attempts to suppress them. The festival program will feature more than 25 artists from Latvia and abroad.

Art has always been a powerful tool for society’s self-reflection – it helps us see and understand the times we live in, our emotions, and our inner reflections. This year, “Survival Kit” focuses on care, healing, and emotional resilience – themes that serve as a particularly vivid reminder of the importance of humanity at a time when society faces ever-new challenges. We want to strengthen a cultural environment that is not afraid to address complex issues while simultaneously seeking paths to balance, renewal, and mutual understanding,

emphasizes Ineta Done, Member of the Management Board of Signet Bank.

We are delighted to be collaborating with Signet Bank, whose support is a significant contribution to the “Survival Kit” festival. For 17 years now, “Survival Kit” has proven its significance in Latvia’s cultural landscape, becoming one of the most prominent contemporary art events in the Baltic cultural sphere, while also gaining international recognition. It is particularly significant to us that the business sector is becoming not only a supporter of artistic and cultural processes but also a partner in building a thoughtful and responsible society. The collaboration with Signet Bank opens up the opportunity to engage in dialogue with the bank’s art collection as well, highlighting its broad range of interests and responsible attitude toward societal processes,

comments Solvita Krese, director of the LLMC.

About the “Survival Kit” Festival

The annual international contemporary art festival “Survival Kit” has been organized by the Latvian Center for Contemporary Art since 2009. Originally conceived as an artistic response to the economic crisis in Latvia, the festival has since become one of the most significant contemporary art events in the Baltics. Each year, the festival invites artists and curators to reflect on scenarios for survival, societal development, and the human capacity to adapt to change. Its venues – often empty, unused buildings in Riga – become a platform for exploring the potential of the urban environment and strategies for the future.