TUR is excited to welcome Olena Siyatovska (UA) as their artist in residence for the months of November and December 2026!

This residency is supported by the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation.

TUR is excited to welcome Dace Satre Sietina (LV/NL) as their artist in residence for the month of September 2026!

Sietina’s residency focuses on the further development of her long-term project FRAGMENT, a walking-based artistic research project that approaches discarded plastic fragments found in urban environments as contemporary “urban amber.” Through this process, she considers geological time and questions how value and perception are constructed.

The residency centres on mapping selected neighbourhoods through structured walks, documenting routes and observations while collecting materials that become sculptural compositions functioning as alternative, material-based maps of the city. The project also extends into small Walk & Talk sessions, inviting others to explore Riga through walking, conversation, and collecting.

This residency is supported by the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation.

Inga Meldere was TUR’s artist in residence during July during her exhibition “Sievietes būve (Women’s Structures) at TUR which she created together with Elīna Vītola. She is a Latvian artist based in Finland whose practice spans painting, installation, and site-responsive environments. Through personal histories, vernacular traditions, and material culture, her work explores the ways memory, everyday life, and inherited knowledge shape contemporary experience.

She has presented solo exhibitions at institutions and galleries including KIM? Contemporary Art Centre (Riga), Temnikova & Kasela (Tallinn), Helsinki Contemporary, and Pech (Vienna), and has participated in major international exhibitions including the Helsinki Biennial, KIASMA Museum of Contemporary Art, KUMU Art Museum, and the Latvian National Museum of Art. Meldere's work is held in the collections of KIASMA Museum of Contemporary Art, the Finnish State Art Collection, the Latvian National Museum of Art, Zuzeum Art Centre, and other public and private collections.

The Hague based artist Shana de Villiers is originally from South Africa and was invited to TUR to create the first exhibition of the 2026 Summer Cycle. Their solo show, "I want to Be Glue!" could be seen between May 27th - June 27th and was also included as of Riga Art Week. They were TUR’s artist in residence for the months of May and June 2026.

For their exhibition, they transformed their practice of creating magical, hybrid characters into a large-scale installation at TUR. Working across textile, soft sculpture, and performance, they create a vivid, theatrical environment shaped by Latvian and South African snake mythologies. Central to their work is the figure of the “monster” as something to be read rather than feared, a carrier of difference, memory, and transformation. Visitors encounter a world of glimmering surfaces, fragmented voices, and shifting forms, where the monstrous becomes both familiar and strangely inviting.

The exhibition and residency were made possible thanks to the kind support of the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation, Mondriaan Fonds and STROOM the Hague.

During the residency, Gisèle Gonon focused on expanding her research on the relations between agriculture and queer ecologies within the Latvian context. An intensive and productive period, offered the chance to connect with the local art scene, meet artists and institutions, and carry out field research in the countryside. Gonon traveled through the eastern part of Latvia, exploring the Vidzeme region near the border with Estonia, as well as the northwest of Zemgale and the Kurzeme region in the south near the Lithuanian border. These trips were organized with the support of members of the Latvian Permaculture Association. They had hoped to visit more queer collectives or community projects based in the countryside, though not all the messages sent received responses, a part of the challenge in building these connections.

Beyond fieldwork, Gonon took time to read, visit libraries, and explore Riga discovering exhibitions, art spaces, and the wider cultural landscape. Having a dedicated studio space offered the opportunity to reflect, write, and develop new directions for future projects. Overall, this residency was a concentrated and enriching period that helped them gain a deeper understanding of the local context, and to imagine potential future collaborations and creative projects.

Bob Demper was TUR’s artist in residence at TUR while making his exhibition “This Machine” in May 2025 and during its run in June. Based in The Hague, he has a background in filmmaking and his practice spans film, installation, video, and sculpture. Demper’s work is characterized by a meticulous engagement with structures of power, particularly as manifested in financial systems, corporate aesthetics, and emerging technologies. He has exhibited at institutions including 1646 (The Hague), Museum Helmond, and Art Rotterdam, and has participated in numerous group exhibitions and screenings across Europe. His current research explores the sociopolitical consequences of algorithmic and automated financial models through speculative environments that blend cinematic tropes with sculptural precision.

The exhibition and residency were made possible thanks to the kind support of the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation and STROOM the Hague.