With the opening of an exhibition at 4METRI Gallery, the international ceramics symposium Ceramic Laboratory 2026 gets under way in Daugavpils, bringing together fifteen artists for a three-week residency that leads to a final exhibition at the Rothko Museum.
Now in its fourteenth year, the symposium is run by the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Ceramics in partnership with the Rothko Museum. For three weeks, Daugavpils becomes a working studio: artists test techniques, refine their practice, push the limits of the material and develop new bodies of work that feed into the broader landscape of contemporary ceramics.
This year’s edition brings together nine international artists and six from Latvia. The public programme opens with an introductory exhibition on 30 April, 1pm, at 4METRI Gallery (8 Hospitāļa Street). On 6 and 7 May at 3pm, the Rothko Museum (3 Mihaila Street) hosts artist talks. The symposium concludes with an exhibition of newly created works, opening at the Rothko Museum on 15 May at 4pm. Admission to all public events is free.
Inviting audiences to experience the symposium’s public programme, its long-time curator Aivars Baranovskis reflects:
“Work of lasting value begins here. Different schools, experiences and aesthetics come together, as artists push the language of contemporary ceramics forward with consistency and ambition, while continuing to shape Daugavpils as one of the region’s leading centres for the medium.”
The 2026 symposium brings together artists from Switzerland, Canada, Italy, the United States, Germany, Poland and Portugal, alongside participants from Latvia. The line-up includes Robin Kerr (Switzerland), Joon Hee Kim (Canada), Fausto Salvi (Italy), Jessica Smith (USA), Roxy Lee (Germany), Malwina Kowalewska (Poland), Yola Vale (Portugal), Michał Żesławski (Poland), Hanna Miadzvedzeva (Poland/Belarus), and from Latvia – Juta Rindina, Lilija Zeiļa, Una Gura, Nellija Dzalba, Kristīne Nicmane and Ilona Abdulajeva.
The symposium is supported by the Daugavpils City Council and the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia.
Publicity images: symposium in progress (photos by Didzis Grodzs)
