'Walking Together' is a cultural exchange project between the International Biennale of Artistic Ceramics in Aveiro, Portugal, and the Latvia Ceramics Biennale towards the international promotion of Portuguese and Latvian contemporary ceramics and ceramicists. The exhibition celebrates Portuguese artists who have exhibited in the Aveiro Biennale and allows the visitors to explore three decades of development in Portuguese contemporary ceramics.
The partnership dates back to 2021 when the 15th International Biennale of Artistic Ceramics in Aveiro held Biennial NEXT, an online networking event for ceramic competitions and biennales worldwide, which allowed the discovery of different dynamics, goals, and approaches in the field of ceramic art. The meeting started a cooperation between the Aveiro and Latvian biennales that set about launching the first exhibition exchange project towards the international promotion of Portuguese and Latvian contemporary ceramics. In this context, the Rīga Art Space welcomes the Portuguese exhibition, and Aveiro will host the 'Baltic Current', featuring artists from Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania in October 2023. Both shows are the collective effort of creative teams from both biennales and mark a promising starting point for future cooperation.
Curated by Valentīns Petjko and Aivars Baranovskis, the event features the following artists:
Alberto Vieira, Alexandra Monteiro, Ana Cruz, Ana & Betânia, Anisabel, Carlos Enxuto, Heitor Figueiredo, João Carqueijeiro, João Costa Gomes, João Cunha e Costa, Maria Carvalho, Paulo Reis, Ricardo Casimiro, Rui Paiva, Martim Santa Rita, Sofia Beça, Stela Ivanova, Vitor Dionísio, Vitor Santos & Sónia Borga, and Yola Vale.
The exhibition is organized by Latvian Centre for Contemporary Ceramics, Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre, Aveiro Municipality, the Association of Culture Institutions of Riga City Council and the exhibition hall Riga Art Space with the support of the Riga City Council, the State Culture Capital Foundation, SIA Magistr, Embassy of Portugal in Stockholm and Valmiermuiža.