An elephant under the microscope. The case of the Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (RIBOCA)

This chapter examines challenges and controversies of the Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (RIBOCA) in the context of the geopolitical escalation of the war in Ukraine. The suspension of RIBOCA’s third edition in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 serves as a starting point to frame and analyse the public debates surrounding Latvia’s first privately funded biennial of contemporary art since its inception in 2016. The chapter closely looks at all three editions of the biennial, unfolding the public debates related to its funding policies, global-local partialities and the impact of the military conflict. The history of RIBOCA, launched on the eastern border of the EU, in Riga, Latvia, yet initially funded by a Russia-based business entity, directly reflects the crisis generated by the war and political polarisation. Approaching RIBOCA as a “contested infrastructure” that is prone to vulnerability and jeopardy, the chapter contributes to debates on biennials being scrutinized, boycotted, cancelled or suspended, questioning their understanding as frictionless spaces of dialogue and value accumulation.