#23

September 6, 2014
Volunteering at the Survival Kit contemporary art festival

Survival Kit is an annual contemporary art festival that takes place in September at various locations, the main two being the magnificent Wagner's Hall and the former Boļševička textile factory building. Having seen and been fascinated by some of the previous exhibitions, I was interested in getting involved in the Survival Kit team of volunteers and took the opportunity as soon as it appeared on the official website. Certainly, the chance to enjoy the amazing atmosphere of the festival and, at the same time, be useful to the organizers as well as the visitors was not something to be missed.

In particular, I decided to work at the Wagner's Hall, for it is incomparably nearer the city centre and the programme seemed more interesting. While my primary task was to make sure nothing was neither touched nor stolen, of course I also got to answer many questions about the festival as well as about art in general. As I am not nearly an expert, the latter was quite challenging to do, but, after some time of truthfully telling that commenting the author's idea is not within my competence, I observed that confidently presented subjective opinion appeared to satisfy the curious individuals far more. Compared to the frequency of unusual inquiries, such as 'whether the queer music was indeed a part of the installation', I rarely had to guide somebody through the halls or actually tell not to touch a thing. Only one lady, mistaking an exposition for a brochure stand, took a booklet and could not attach it back to the wall. Luckily for her, the composition consisted of over 600 brochures, so I could let her go with a mere rebuke, without involving the security. Overall, the majority of questions were about the evening's programme, for I was working on the day when there was one in the first place, and I was glad to share information I knew very well.

In addition to numerous opportunities to, once again, practise my communication skills, I improved my abilities to work in a team, to negotiate and to compromise. Being given the freedom of organizing our own work, I, together with two other volunteers, made a plan to switch places once in an hour in order not to get tired of the same sounds and visual experiences. I must say, working with the two girls - Līga and Kristīne - was very pleasant, for they evidently took their responsibilities just as seriously as I did. Thus, our collaboration proved to be successful and neither had any complaints.

As usual, I took some photos:

1st floor / my first workplace

a definite favourite among the younger generations

3rd floor / my second workplace

2nd floor / my third workplace

a personal favourite: naming the crossroads of Riga

the very definition of contemporary art

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My reflections

As I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibitions of the Survival Kit contemporary art festival a year ago, this September - when the sixth annual festival took place - I was eager not only to see most what it offered, but also to get involved in the organizing process. The opportunity to enjoy the amazing atmosphere of the festival whilst making the exhibition more meaningful by answering people's questions was absolutely exciting, so I took it as soon as I saw the proposal on the official webpage. Additionally, although I have been an active Riga 2014 volunteer for more than a year, having earned a promotion to the position of a leading agent, I was not a part of the Survival Kit team yet, wherefore this activity promised many new acquaintances and, of course, new experience.

In theory, my task was relatively simple - to make sure nothing was neither touched, nor taken, and once in an hour switch places with other volunteers. In practice, however, the art was so unusual that, besides ordinary questions about the days and times when the exhibition was open, I was often asked to explain the idea behind one or another installation in more detail than was revealed by the author. Ironically, I observed that confidently told lies, that is, my subjective opinion presented as truth, seemed to bring more satisfaction to the curious individuals than the disappointing truth that I had no additional information about the author's intentions. Still, compared to the frequency of unusual inquiries, such as 'whether the queer music was indeed a part of the installation', I rarely had to guide somebody through the halls or actually tell not to touch a thing. The public was generally content with taking photos, and even when a lady from Finland mistook a piece of an exposition for an accidentally misplaced booklet the problem was easily solved by a polite remark. And, speaking of the contingent in general, I was surprised how many people of many different nationalities visited the exhibition, especially since I was working on a Saturday afternoon, but the variety of interactions certainly made the whole experience more special. 

All in all, during this activity I improved my team-working skills, gained confidence and increased my awareness of different tactics for approaching people, which I consider quite beneficial.