About festival
This year’s International Festival of Contemporary Theatre “Homo Novus” will take place from 4 to 12 September. Festival events will unfold along the banks of the Daugava, from Krāslava to Riga, as well as in theatres, the Latvian National Museum of Art, the creative quarter of the former Veldze factory, the Great Cemetery, the premises of a road construction company, a residential trailer, and other locations. This year’s programme has been designed to allow audiences to experience the festival without rushing – many events will take place close to one another, resonate thematically, and be presented several times throughout the festival
At a time of increasing rush, stress and information overload, Homo Novus looks for more inclusive ways to come together through art. “We want to create a gentle refuge and a place of resilience in a world affected by multiple crises,” says festival curator Santa Remere. “This is why we are presenting a programme that encourages creativity and collective reflection without relying on excessive consumption, immediate results, or constant entertainment. We are also experimenting with new organisational, production, and artistic practices, because we believe culture can inspire change in society – but meaningful change must begin with ourselves and our immediate working environments.”
This year, the festival’s scenographer, Estere Betija Grāvere, has chosen the swan as the festival’s symbol: “As a peaceful observer and inhabitant of the landscape, the swan echoes the festival’s call to pay attention to the surrounding environment, to spending time together, and to a slower pace of life. It lives amidst water, land and air, becoming a symbol for liminal states and different perspectives.
The International Festival of Contemporary Theatre Homo Novus is the leading performing arts festival in Latvia and one of the biggest in the Baltic region. It takes place in Riga and introduces audiences to both new and renowned artists that seek ways of expressing their views and opinions about the world and the society. Festival offers a range of performances as well as seminars, workshops and other activities. Since 1995, twenty one festival editions have taken place, presenting around 400 different guest performances and producing several dozens of new works.