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Center

RIXC is the center for new media culture, art gallery and artist collective, that initiates projects in intersection of art, science and emerging technologies. RIXC's activities include: running an art gallery, production of artworks and innovative art, science and technology projects, organising of the annual RIXC Art Science festival, exhibitions, publishing of Acoustic Space journal series. RIXC uses events and publications to introduce novelty themes, such as renewable energy (2009), techno-ecologies (2011), art of resilience (2012), fields – contextual seedbeds for social changes (2014), renewable futures (2015) and open fields (2016). RIXC also is a key founder of Liepaja University's Art Research Lab & New Media Art education program. RIXC has extensive experience in network building locally and internationally, and currently is developing Renewable Network – for Baltic-Nordic and Europan cooperation.

History

RIXC was established on May 2000 on the basis of E-LAB (Centre for electronic arts and media, since 1996). The basic activity of RIXC is to initiate the most novel and current topics in digital art by performing innovative experimental projects in art, science and technology in Latvia and internationally. RIXC fosters cultural exchange as well as promotes new forms of cultural and artistic expression. RIXC approaches new media not only as a new field of artistic and cultural practice, but also as an infrastructure to support other forms of art and culture.

RIXC office is the place where RIXC production team works managing projects and administrating RIXC activities.

Awards:

1998.. Award of Distinction in PRIX Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria) for the internet radio project XCHANGE
2000.. Latvian Visual Arts Award for “Art+Communication” festival
2003.. Prix Leonardo – @rt Outsiders / Nouveaux Horizons 2003 for “Acoustic Space Lab”
2004.. Latvian Visual Arts Award for GPS/locative media project MILK (together with Esther Polak / NL and Ieva Auzina / LV)
2005.. Golden Nica in PRIX Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria) for MILK projectt

RIXC’s main fields of activities:

.. Producing annual international RIXC Art Science festival (until 2015 titled "Art+Communication") for new media culture taking place in Riga, organised by E-LAB since 1996, and by RIXC since 2000. The festival has gained recognition on an international level for its innovative themes. In 2015 festival in its 17th edition manifested the post-media situation by changing its title and a shift – it now takes a turn from the festival's initial focus on information & communication technologies paradigm to the broader and more contemporary discourse on art and science, culture and sustainability, with particular interest on exploring and building techno-ecological perspective.

.. Running an open media library (Mediatheque) at RIXC office space (Lencu iela 2, Riga); Mediatheque is a media lounge offering books, magazines, video and audio archive on media art and digital technology culture. Public opening hours: Monday – Friday 14:00-17:00.

.. Running media art gallery – RIXC Gallery at Lencu iela 2, Riga, LV-1010 for exhibitions and other public events in media culture, art and science.

.. Organising public events on a regular basis about new media and new forms of cultural expression in Riga and Latvia (festivals, exhibitions, workshops, symposiums, performances, lectures etc.).

.. Net.art archive and data base – with the support of Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia RIXC is working on the Latvian net.art archive, including server maintenance, restoration of net.art works, updating the data base and providing public access to it.

.. Research into the fields of new media, art and culture – in collaboration with Liepaja University in November 2006 MPlab (Art Research Lab) of Liepaja University was established.

.. Running media labs – RIXC in Riga and MPLab in Liepaja University – where different artistic disciplines meet, collaborate, and share (new media) tools.

.. Production of media artworks and projects: RIXC/E-LAB has initiated pioneering projects in the field of streaming media – in 1998 the global internet radio project XCHANGE – net audio network. Other important RIXC’s projects include: Acoustic Space Lab, Solar Radio Station (symposium, DVD, and live performance from Irbene Radiotelescope RT-32, 2001–2008); Milk (GPS/locative media project by Esther Polak, Ieva Auzina, and RIXC); Waves – electromagnetic waves as material and medium in arts (large-scale exhibition in Riga 2006, and Dortmund 2008, curated by RIXC together with Armin Medosch, AT/UK), Spectral Ecology (research and exhibition, collaboration between RIXC and Spectral Investigations Collective, FR), Renewable Network Interface (since 2011), plant communication project “Talk to Me” (since 2011), art and science project Biotricity (since 2012).

.. Education and media literacy – RIXC is contributing in developing media education programmes in Latvia. In 2007 the academic education programme New Media Art was launched in Liepaja University (BA level in 2007, MA in 2010 and PhD in 2013).

.. Publishing Acoustic Space” journal for new media culture and creative explorations within digital networked environments and electro-acoustic space. Since 2007 Acoustic Space comes out as an international peer-reviewed journal for transdisciplinary research on art, science, technology and society and since 2007 it has been published in collaboration with MPLab of Liepaja University.

.. Publishing Nice Paper – cultural policy newspaper on media art in the Baltic Sea region.

.. Publications/translations in media theory and media art in Latvian: “net.art” by Tilman Baumgartel in 2001, “The Language of New Media” by Lev Manovich in 2006, “The Book of Imaginary Media” by Eric Kluitenberg (ed.) in 2011, “Creative Networks” by Rasa Smite in 2011 (in Latvian).

.. Networking and cultural exchange – RIXC is the key founder of Xchange Network for creative internet radio broadcasters (since 1997), NICE – Baltic-Nordic Network Interfaces for Cultural Exchange (since 2000), Locative Media Network (since 2003) and Renewable Network (since 2009).

.. Mailing-lists – RIXC has initiated and maintains several mailing-lists for information exchange such as [Xchange], opened in 1997, mainly used for announcing live streams from media art events, calls for participation in sound workshops and for contributing to net.radio co-projects, as well as informing about new and ongoing sound art projects, and other sound, radio and streaming related activities; [NICE] or Network Interface for Cultural Exchange, founded in 1999, is a network and mailing-list for fostering communication and information exchange about new media culture events, activities and projects taking place in the region of Baltic and Nordic countries; [Renewable] founded in 2009 with the aim to exchange ideas and creative explorations that deal with art and energy, science and ecology, nature and technology and different sustainability issues; [Rezone] mailing-list (only in Latvian, founded in 1997) for information exchange on contemporary cultural and electronic art events locally in Latvia.

.. Renewable Network blog – since 2009 it is an international information channel aimed to inform about cooperation networks, renewable energy, innovative art and science projects and most recent topics. On the blog we announce recent information both about RIXC current projects – artworks, exhibitions, symposiums, guest lectures, workshops etc. and Renewable Network partners activities.

CONTACTS

rixc@rixc.org

+371 67228478 (office)

+371 26546776 (Rasa Smite)