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Selected Participants Announced for the Fifth Latvia Ceramics Biennale Exhibition \u201cMartinsons Award\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Following the decision of an international jury, artists from thirty countries have been selected to compete for the prestigious Martinsons Award at the fifth Latvia Ceramics Biennale. The award winners will be chosen during the exhibition at the Rothko Museum this September.<\/strong><\/p>\n A total of 941 works were submitted for \u201cMartinsons Award 2025\u201d, representing 69 countries worldwide. The international panel of experts has selected 80 artworks representing 30 countries to be featured in the exhibition, including 23 works by Latvian artists.<\/p>\n The jury for the fifth Martinsons Award included: Aivars Baranovskis (Latvia), artist and curator of the Latvia Ceramics Biennale; Claudia Casali (Italy), art historian and director of the International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza; Kristine Michael (India), independent curator and researcher; Leeji Choi (South Korea), curator at the Gyeonggi Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art; Weronika Surma (Poland), artist, lecturer at the E. Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wroc\u0142aw, organiser of the International Ceramics Sculpture Triennale Poland ICST.<\/p>\n The following international artists have been selected for \u201cMartinsons Award 2025\u201d:<\/strong><\/p>\n And representing Latvia:<\/strong><\/p>\n The organisers will contact each selected participant individually.<\/strong><\/p>\n Latvia Ceramics Biennale is a key event in contemporary ceramics in the Baltic Sea region. The biennale is organised by the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Ceramics in cooperation with the Rothko Museum. The event attracts artists from all over the world and seeks to develop and promote contemporary ceramics in Latvia and the Baltics. The central event of the biennale is Martinsons Award \u2013 an international juried exhibition held on the premises of the Rothko Museum as a testament to the current vitality of ceramic art and a tribute to P\u0113teris Martinsons \u2013 the world-renowned Latvian ceramicist.<\/p>\n MARTINSONS AWARD 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n Latvia, Daugavpils, 5 September 2025 \u20131 February 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Latvian Centre for Contemporary Ceramics in cooperation with the Rothko Museum announces an open call for the MARTINSONS AWARD 2025 International Ceramics Competition under the 5th Latvia Ceramics Biennale.<\/p>\n ENTRY CONDITIONS <\/strong><\/p>\n THEME OF THE BIENNALE<\/strong><\/p>\n From Stardust to Lush Sprouts<\/strong><\/p>\n For billions of years, nothing existed \u2013 except for everything that somehow already was. The fundamental elements of matter smashed into each other at extraordinary cosmic speeds, eventually forming nebulae of gas and dust. These early clusters of primeval matter coalesced, in time, creating all we know today: innumerable stars, our Sun, and planets. On some of them, on one for sure, life as we know it has emerged and then evolved into innumerable forms, from lush palms rising up towards the sky to chubby hippos churning sunlit waters.<\/p>\n Through its impressive exhibition programme, the Latvia Ceramics Biennale attempts to pin down the elusive points of reference that transform material into something that has added value and new meaning. This time, it asks the question: is the almighty, all-controlling human hand the only one that holds the power to create, or do entirely independent processes unfold in parallel to its activity, transforming an initially amorphous mass of clay into creative output capable of containing information? The works selected for the Biennale\u2019s exhibitions reflect this spectrum of engagement with and impact on the matter \u2013 from full control and detailed exploration of material to pieces where the artist allows the matter to express itself while staying in the shadows as a curious observer.<\/p>\n In ceramic art, perhaps more than in any other material art form, there is a strong awareness that we all are nothing more than stardust. And yet, within this dust, complex and compound forms have come to be whose force enables luscious sprouts to shoot from lumpy earth. The same creative force is carrying forth the ever-growing trove of information about the progress of our civilisation in one of its most ancient and enduring mediums \u2013 the testimony of ceramic works.<\/p>\n PARTICIPANTS<\/strong><\/p>\n Individual artists and artist groups are invited to submit their artworks for the MARTINSONS AWARD 2025 International Ceramic Art Competition. Each applicant (individual artist or a group) can submit up to two artworks. MARTINSONS AWARD 2023 recipients who won Gold, Silver or Bronze in either National or International category cannot run in the 2025 competition.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The ceramic component of the artwork must be at least 80%, and it must have been created in 2023-2025. The work can\u2019t have been displayed in other competitions. The\u00a0minimum size of the artwork should be at or above 25cm in at least one dimension (height, width or depth).\u00a0<\/strong>There are no maximum size restrictions.<\/p>\n APPLICATION PROCEDURE<\/strong><\/p>\n Individual artists or artist groups are invited to apply for the MARTINSONS AWARD 2025 International Ceramics Competition via an ONLINE APPLICATION FORM below (\u21d3)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Each applicant can submit up to 2 artworks.<\/p>\n Up to 3 high printing quality\u00a0jpg\u00a0or\u00a0jpeg\u00a0images (at least 300\u00a0dpi) per submitted artwork should be attached to the Application Form.<\/p>\n The images should feature the artwork on a neutral background (white, black, or grey).<\/p>\n The images of the selected artworks may be used in the exhibition catalogue. Image quality may affect selection results.<\/p>\n Do not use your name or surname in the file names of the attached photos.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Applications must be submitted by 30 April 2025.\u00a0 <\/strong>Applications received after 30 April 2025 will not be considered.<\/p>\n SELECTION PROCEDURE<\/strong><\/p>\n Selection procedure will run in 2\u00a0stages:<\/p>\n Stage 1 \u2013 participant selection\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The jury will assess the application forms and choose the works that will run in the MARTINSONS AWARD 2025 international ceramics competition and appear in the juried exhibition. Selection results will be announced after 5 June 2025. Participants must deliver the selected works to the exhibition venue by 1 August 2025. MARTINSON AWARD 2025 curators reserve the right not to exhibit damaged works, works that do not match the originally submitted photos or are found technically unexhibitable.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stage 2 \u2013\u00a0winner selection\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The National and International winners of the MARTINSONS AWARD 2025 will be selected before the exhibition opening in a closed jury vote after seeing and assessing the artworks on site.<\/p>\n The winners will be announced at the opening ceremony of the MARTINSONS AWARD 2025 International Juried Exhibition on 5 September 2025. The wining artworks will become the property of the Rothko Museum (included in its collection).<\/p>\n TRANSPORTATION & INSURANCE<\/strong><\/p>\n Artwork delivery to the exhibition venue:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The participants selected in the first round have to deliver the selected work to the exhibition venue by 1 August 2025. The work may be submitted in person, directly to the exhibition venue during its opening hours, or sent via door-to-door delivery service at the expense of the sender (participant). Participants are responsible for proper packaging of their work (the organisers will use the same packaging to return the work). All insurance costs during the transportation of the artwork to the exhibition venue shall be borne by the participant.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Return of\u00a0the artworks:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Participants may either collect their work from the exhibition venue in person or use door-to-door delivery service at the expense of the receiver (participant) till 28 February 2025. All insurance costs during the return of work to the participant shall be borne by the participant.<\/p>\n Participants may also leave their work to\u00a0the organisers. In this case the work becomes the property of the organisers, and the donor may receive appropriate certification.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Works that are not collected by 28 February 2026 will become the property of the organisers, to all intents and purposes.<\/p>\n The artworks are not insured during the exhibition, but physical supervision is provided at the venue. The organisers are not financially responsible for any damage or loss of the artworks that may occur during transportation, unpacking or packaging.<\/p>\n EXHIBITION<\/strong><\/p>\n The MARTINSONS AWARD 2025 International Juried Exhibition will take place at the Rothko Museum from 5 September 2025 to 1 February 2026, as the central event of the 5th Latvia Ceramics Biennale. The exhibition setup and dismantling will be exclusively undertaken by the organisers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Exhibition venue:<\/strong><\/p>\n Rothko Museum, Rothko Museum<\/a> The artworks are not insured during the exhibition, but physical supervision is provided at the venue. The organisers are not financially responsible for any damage or loss of the artworks that may occur during the setup, running period or dismantling of the exhibition.<\/p>\n AWARDS<\/strong><\/p>\n The total amount of no less than EUR 20 000 will be distributed among the National and International winners. The Awards will be subject\u00a0to the applicable withholding taxes.<\/p>\n BENEFITS FOR PARTICIPANTS<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Exhibition<\/strong><\/p>\n Selected artworks will be exhibited at the Rothko Museum, Latvia\u2019s largest and most-renowned centre for contemporary art. The exhibition venue is located in the old D\u00fcnaburg Fortress, still standing in the most historical area of Daugavpils \u2013 the native city of P\u0113teris Martinsons (1931\u20132013), Latvia\u2019s best-known contemporary ceramicist who earned broad international acclaim. Since 2013, the Rothko Museum holds the world\u2019s largest collection of Martinsons\u2019 ceramics.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Prize<\/strong><\/p>\n The jury will select MARTINSONS AWARD 2025 winners in two categories, National and International.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Participation in the biennale programme<\/strong><\/p>\n Along with the MARTINSONS AWARD 2025 International Juried Exhibition, participants will be invited to attend all the other events (exhibitions, conferences, lectures etc.) of the 5th Latvia Ceramics Biennale.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Catalogue\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n All artworks featured in the MARTINSONS AWARD 2025 International Juried Exhibition will be included in the exhibition catalogue. Each participant will receive a copy of the catalogue and a certificate of participation.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Promotion\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The\u00a0organisers\u00a0will promote participants in art-related media, websites and social networks.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Use of Personal Information\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Participants allow the\u00a0organisers\u00a0to reproduce the images of the artworks and any other information submitted through the application form in any kind of media.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Contact information<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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