**Balvi Municipality, cooperating with the Rothko Museum, invites artists to apply to the “Valdis Bušs 2025” International Painting Plein Air** – a vibrant creative forum organised in the museum’s residency framework.

  
The Plein Air takes place in Viļaka, a picturesque town in eastern Latvia, to commemorate Valdis Bušs, a renowned Latvian landscapist who was born near Viļaka, as well as to put the town on the global map as a sterling venue for international artist residencies focused on quality, professionalism and sustainable growth.

  
The plein air experience enables artists to draw inspiration from Viļaka and its rich natural and cultural heritage, meet the local community and explore the oeuvre of Valdis Bušs. At the end of each plein air, the artists and leave their new paintings in the plein-air collection, a work in progress for the emergent Valdis Bušs Art Centre. Until such centre is established, the collection remains in the care of the Viļaka Museum.

**What we provide or cover:**

  
1. Travel costs from Rīga to to Viļaka and back;
2. Catering and accommodation in Viļaka (shared bedrooms and bathrooms, sauna available);
3. Workspace (several artists working in one room);
4. Basic materials and tools (canvases and paints);
5. Publicity (opportunity to present your portfolio; coverage in mass media);
6. Recreation (guided tours in and around Viļaka and Balvi, site visits to art and culture institutions in Daugavpils, including a visit to the Rothko Museum);
7. Symposium exhibition (opening on 30 July 2025).

VALDIS BUŠS 2025 International Painting Plein Air

**The Rothko Museum invites artists to apply to the “Mark Rothko 2025” International Painting Symposium** – a vibrant creative forum organised in the museum’s residency framework.

  
Held annually in September for over twenty years, the symposium commemorates Mark Rothko’s birthday in his native town and puts Daugavpils in the spotlight as an inspiring hub for contemporary artistic practices where creativity can truly thrive.

  
Mark Rothko’s name and unmistakable iconic style remain intensely relevant today. Thus, the two-week symposium attracts worldwide attention, especially from the artists who resonate with Rothko’s visual language and appreciate the philosophical ideas he encapsulated in his work. This internationally popular symposium is an inclusive platform for discussion and an opportunity for seeing and discovering a place with links to Rothko’s childhood, a time for learning about Rothko’s background and for experiencing his originals in the museum’s Rothko Room. However, most importantly, it is a perfect setting for channelling these influences into new creations that will be featured in an exhibition and remain in the museum’s collection as an enduring testament to Rothko’s timeless impact on the artists of today.

**What we provide or cover:**

  
1. Catering and accommodation in Daugavpils (for the symposium duration);
2. Studio space (individual studio for each artist);
3. Basic materials and tools;
4. Publicity (opportunity to present your portfolio; coverage in mass media);
5. Recreation (guided tours in and around the city, site visits to local art and culture institutions);
6. Symposium exhibition (opening on 26 September 2025).

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