Rothko Museum Welcomes the World through Painting Symposium in Honour of Rothko
Artists from Malaysia, France, the United States, Israel, Germany, Poland, Japan, South Korea and Latvia gather in Daugavpils for “Mark Rothko 2025”, an international painting symposium hosted by the Rothko Museum from 12 to 26 September.
Held annually in Rothko’s birth month, the symposium honours the artist’s legacy in the city of his childhood. Now entering its third decade, the gathering has become a cultural landmark, placing Daugavpils firmly on the global art map as a place of creative energy and exchange.
Rothko’s work continues to resonate with urgency and relevance. His painterly language – layered, meditative, charged with philosophical depth – remains a touchstone for artists worldwide. This enduring influence draws hundreds of applicants to Daugavpils each year, eager to immerse themselves in the city’s unique atmosphere, engage in cross-cultural dialogue, draw inspiration from Rothko’s timeless legacy and the original works on display at the museum, and create new pieces for the symposium exhibition and the museum’s collection.
From 234 submissions representing 61 countries, the museum’s expert jury selected ten participants for the symposium’s twenty-first edition: Hazrii Kin (Malaysia), Ludovic Fleury (France), Joy Kloman (USA), David Guez (Israel), Heike Kelter (Germany), Weronika Teplicka (Poland), Kaori Fukuyama (Japan/USA), Yoonjee Geem (South Korea), Anna Silabrama (Latvia), and Paula Zariņa-Zēmane (Latvia).
Audiences are invited to meet the artists on 16 September at 3 p.m. in the Rothko Museum’s Video Hall, where they will present their creative portfolios. The symposium culminates on 26 September at 4 p.m. with the opening of an exhibition showcasing the works created during the two-week residency. The exhibition will mark the symposium’s conclusion, and the works will enter the Rothko Museum Collection as a lasting testament to this moment of encounter.
Admission to both events is free of charge.
The symposium is supported by the Daugavpils City Council, Latvia’s Culture Capital Foundation and its target programme towards historical Latvian lands, and Caparol.
Publicity image: symposium’s visual identity
