Michał Grzegorzek, Slavs and Tatars Take Wing with Simurgh at Latvia’s Survival Kit
The 16th edition of Riga’s leading contemporary art festival will deconstruct the ghosts of post‑Sovietism and expose their impact. Save to My Ocula
The mystical bird symbol of the Sufi will loom large at this year’s edition of an annual international art festival in Riga, Latvia with internationally recognised artist duo Slavs and Tatars, alongside curator Michał Grzegorzek, as the curatorial team.
The Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art has announced the artists and curator as the minds behind Survival Kit 16: House of See-More.
Launched in 2009 as a response to the economic crisis in Latvia, Survival Kit 16 will explore Simurgh—the mystical bird of Sufi tradition found across Eurasia—as a narrative device to address transnationalism and liberation.
Slavs and Tatars are expected to bring their research-driven exploration of historically marginalised territories shaped by Russian and Soviet imperialism to the festival.
Joining them is independent curator Michał Grzegorzek, who works across performativity, queer culture, and feminism, and aims to help build a sense of ‘Simurgh’s flamboyance and fluidity’.
Solvita Krese, director of the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art, highlighted the curators’ ‘guerrilla approach and elements of camouflage’ as vital for navigating misinformation and historical revisionism.
The festival is set to take place from 30 August to 28 September 2025. —[O]
Main image: The curators of Survival Kit 16: Slavs and Tatars with Michał Grzegorzek (centre).
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