Following a strong competition among over 60 applicants, the winners of the inaugural Linstow Art Award, a newly established professional visual arts prize, have been announced. The international jury selected three remarkable young artists: Anna Malicka, Katrīna Biksone, and Tīna Alise Drupa. Their outstanding submissions and live presentations stood out for exceptional artistic quality, distinctive style, relevant themes, and compelling creative vision – all decisive factors in earning this competition’s top accolades in its inaugural year.
The mission of the Linstow Art Award is to give long-term support to young Latvian artists, ensuring a stronger art community and a lasting presence of art in the city. The three winners will each receive a monetary award of €3,000 (net) and one year of free access to a 25 m² studio space in the creative SPORTA2 quarter in Riga (www.sporta2.com), along with the opportunity to exhibit artworks.
“The Linstow Art Award is a strategic initiative under Linstow Baltic’s sustainability strategy, aimed at supporting the professional growth of emerging artists and fostering the development of creative, people- and idea-oriented urban environments where architecture, business, and culture intersect. The initiative strengthens cultural diversity while promoting the creation of a vibrant creative ecosystem, adding value to urban development projects. More than 60 applications in the very first year highlight the relevance and need for such a program. We extend our sincere thanks to the Latvian Academy of Art, especially to Rector Kristaps Zariņš, Vice-Rector Antra Priede, and the international jury for their responsiveness and close collaboration. We believe that the studio spaces in the creative Sporta2 Quarter and monetary award provided will offer a real impetus for future growth and new collaborations, while also contributing to the sustainable integration of contemporary art into the urban environment,” emphasizes Evija Majevska, Commercial Director of Linstow Baltic.
A total of 63 entries were received from Art Academy of Latvia graduates of the past three years. Approximately one-third came from the class of 2025, while the rest represented artists already active in professional creative industries. Eligible applicants came from master’s programs in Visual Arts, Plastic Arts, Audiovisual Media Arts, and Design. Thank you to all this year’s applicants for their participation, the time and effort invested, and their willingness to share their artistic vision!
The three winners of the 2025 Linstow Art Award represent different graduation years and creative disciplines from the Master’s program of the Art Academy of Latvia.
- Anna Malicka, a 2023 graduate of the Visual Plastic Arts program, participated in the competition with a work from her solo exhibition “Pūra lāde (((pure lady)))”, presenting a fragment composed of a plywood structure and elements of a textile installation.
Jury chair Inga Lāce notes: “Anna Malicka’s creative practice explores themes such as handicrafts, youth cultures, and female identity, often experimenting with techniques historically linked to femininity—embroidery, lace, and traditional textile crafts. Her work is rooted in drawing but expands into painting, installation, sound, and performative gestures, creating a multi-layered approach to both personal narratives and collective memory. As a member of the DJ collective PR0_Bi$TR0, she brings collaborative and performative dimensions into her practice. She stands out for her technical versatility, research-driven approach, spatial and architectural awareness, and the ability to merge material experimentation with critical cultural reflection.”
- Tīna Alise Drupa, a 2024 graduate of the Design program, submitted the work “Meadow Quilt”—an eco-social design workshop developed in collaboration with the Latvian Fund for Nature during the Meadow Festival. The project emphasizes sustainability and the importance of co-creation.
About Tīna Alise Drupa, jury chair Inga Lāce comments: “Her work stood out for its community-engaged design approach, which combines ecological awareness, multi-species thinking, and collaboration with local communities. It is educational, activist, and research-based, often materializing in collaborative interventions that foster social impact. Metaphors like the meadow or quilt as gathering spaces invite connection and reflection. Drupa’s practice is deeply rooted in a desire to effect change, demonstrating a strong vision for the future and thoughtful execution.”
- Katrīna Biksone, a 2025 graduate of the Visual Arts program, was awarded for her mixed-media installation “Kūrorts Mājas / Resort Home”, which merges painting with spatial installation elements to construct a conceptual narrative about belonging and a sense of place.
Regarding Katrīna Biksone’s artistic practice, jury chair Inga Lāce states: “The young artist expands the boundaries of painting by redefining the medium through spatial solutions and site-specific approaches, with a strong emphasis on the tension between flatness and three-dimensionality. Her minimalist yet emotionally charged works explore spatial intimacy—for example, in the resort-themed project. Biksone’s openness to cross-disciplinary experimentation, collaborative spirit, and pursuit of new forms and contexts reflect a bold, experimental approach and a clear commitment to evolving both herself and the field of painting.”
Entries were evaluated based on artistic merit and potential, technical execution, conceptual innovation, and relevance of their themes.
An international expert jury, composed of distinguished professionals with extensive experience in contemporary art, design, architecture, and cultural policy, evaluated all submissions for the 2025 Linstow Art Award. The jury included Paulina Rider Wilhelmsen, the award’s founder, art patron, and collector; Inga Lāce, Jury Chair and Chief Curator at the Almaty Museum of Arts; Joanna Nordin, Artistic Director of Bonniers Konsthall; Susanne Østby Sæter, Curator at the Henie Onstad Art Centre; Vita Liberte, lawyer and founder of the VV Foundation; and Dina Suhanova, Architect, project manager and researcher at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture, Art Academy of Latvia.
Established in 2025, the Linstow Art Award is a collaboration between Linstow Baltic, a leading real estate developer in the Baltics, and the Art Academy of Latvia, aimed at providing a modern platform for emerging Latvian artists to launch and develop their professional careers. The award is part of Linstow Baltic’s long-term sustainability strategy, which integrates art and business into a shared platform to support talent development and the evolution of vibrant, creative urban spaces.
More information: www.linstowartaward.lv and on Facebook and Instagram.
First Winners of the Linstow Art Award Announced
