For writers, curators, students and anyone researching the trip
Research file
Everything on this site in reference form: facts about the artists, a dated chronology, the festival, a catalogue of every painting shown or made in Riga with what inspired it, the places we photographed and their history, and an index of every photograph with its date, time and coordinates. Please cite as: Matt Sesow & Dana Ellyn, “Riga 2026”, https://latvia.sesow.com/.
- The artists
- Chronology
- The festival
- Paintings catalogue
- Places
- Photo index
- Recordings & transcripts
- Sources
1 · The artists
| Matt Sesow | Dana Ellyn | |
|---|---|---|
| Based in | Washington, DC (since 1989) | Washington, DC (since 1989) |
| Born | 10 September 1966, Omaha, Nebraska | — |
| Painting since | 1994 — self-taught; began at 28 while working as a programmer at IBM in Washington | 2002 — left a corporate career to paint full time; BA, The George Washington University |
| Output | 17,000+ original paintings sold to collectors in 40+ countries | 4,500+ original paintings |
| Known for | Raw, expressionist figures with lips and teeth; autobiography of the airplane accident at age eight that took his left hand; animals, politics, writers | Realism with expressionism; animal advocacy and food ethics (“Look Me in the Eye and Tell Me I'm Delicious”), religion, politics, the 2008 presidents series |
| Selected recognition | AVAM solo show “Shock and Awe” (2016–17; 26 works to the permanent collection) · Old Dominion University retrospective “Life and Limb” (2021, with 13 Basquiats) · UN postage stamp (2013) · The Washington Post, “The saga of Matt Sesow” · documentary “Join Hands” (2017) | American Visionary Art Museum (2012, 2016–17) · Museum of St. Petersburg Art, Russia (2018–19) · American University Museum, “Women Artists of the DMV” (2025) · CNN, USA Today, NPR, The Washington Post · Wikipedia entry |
| Riga 2026 | 14 paintings exhibited · 23 painted in Riga · 4 more inspired by the trip | 21 paintings exhibited · 15 painted in Riga |
| Web | sesow.com · new.sesow.com · history.sesow.com · sesow.com/riga.htm | danaellyn.com · new.danaellyn.com · press.danaellyn.com · riga.danaellyn.com |
Married 2010; share a studio at Mather Studios, 916 G Street NW, Washington, DC. Joint work: DEFILED. Sources: the artists' press packets (Matt, Dana), studio.sesow.com, Delfi 6 Aug 2026.
2 · Chronology
| Date | Time | Event | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 21 Jul 2026 | Delfi Kultūra announces the 2nd Art for Meat Tax festival (4–6 Sept, Veldze); Dana Ellyn quoted; lead image her “Some Toys are More Equal Than Other Toys”. | ||
| Wed 22 Jul 2026 | Satori publishes the organisers' essay “The meat tax is about curbing our gluttony” (Sandris Mūriņš, Jānis Brizga). | ||
| Thu 6 Aug 2026 | Delfi Kultūra feature: “Internationally recognized American artists will be guests at the Art for Meat Tax festival”. | ||
| Mon 31 Aug 2026 | LSM.lv preview: “Buy more, eat more, throw away more…” (Dana's “Playing Favorites” illustrated). Matt and Dana depart Washington Dulles in the evening. | Washington Dulles International Airport | |
| Tue 1 Sep 2026 | Arrive Riga via Copenhagen; move into the apartment-studio on Lāčplēša iela (built 1903, architect K. Pēkšēns). | Our apartment-studio on Lāčplēša iela | |
| Wed 2 Sep 2026 | 10:16 | Photograph the MEDNIEKU (hunters') smoked-cheese label at Galleria Riga — source of Matt's “The hunters”. | Galleria Riga |
| Wed 2 Sep 2026 | 12:56 | LTV Kultūras ziņas (Latvian Television Culture News) films the artists painting in the apartment. Reporter: Alise Zalite. | Our apartment-studio on Lāčplēša iela |
| Thu 3 Sep 2026 | 10:28 | Visit the Bremen Town Musicians statue by St. Peter's Church. | Bremen Town Musicians statue |
| Thu 3 Sep 2026 | 11:30 | Install day in the Veldze cellars; both walls hung by 17:37. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory |
| Fri 4 Sep 2026 | 09:00 | Live on Radio NABA 95.8 FM (University of Latvia) with festival curator Katrīna; hosts Mārtiņš and Irbe. Matt paints “Partridge and black rooster” the same day. | Radio NABA 95.8 FM — Aspazijas bulvāris 5 |
| Fri 4 Sep 2026 | 19:00 | Festival opening, Art for Meat Tax (doors 18:30; lecture by Jānis Brizga 18:00). | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory |
| Sat 5 Sep 2026 | 10:57 | Latvian National Museum of Art. | Latvian National Museum of Art |
| Sat 5 Sep 2026 | 14:00 | Baltā nakts (White Night): Dana Ellyn & Matt Sesow artist talk, in English, at Veldze. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory |
| Sat 5 Sep 2026 | 16:56 | Riga Black Magic bar (Riga Black Balsam) — source of Matt's “hangover”. | Riga Black Magic |
| Sun 6 Sep 2026 | 10:22 | Great Choral Synagogue memorial; Latgale flea market; Academy of Sciences roof; Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum. | Great Choral Synagogue ruins (memorial) |
| Sun 6 Sep 2026 | 17:00 | Closing panel “Activism Art — Changing the World One Painting at a Time”: Dana Ellyn, Matt Sesow, Katrīna Tračuma; moderator Sandris Ādminis. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory |
| Mon 7 Sep 2026 | 10:06 | Freedom Monument, Town Hall Square, first-Christmas-tree marker, Museum of the Occupation, St. Peter's. | Freedom Monument |
| Tue 8 Sep 2026 | 09:33 | Alberta iela and the Riga Art Nouveau Centre. | Alberta iela |
| Wed 9 Sep 2026 | 10:50 | Central Market; Bastejkalns; last painting day. | Riga Central Market |
| Thu 10 Sep 2026 | Matt Sesow's 60th birthday. Fly home Riga → Copenhagen → Washington. |
Times from phone metadata (Riga time, EEST; Washington photos EDT). Photographs are counted and mapped in section 6.
3 · The festival
| Name | Art for Meat Tax (Latvian: Māksla par gaļas nodokli) — 2nd edition. The 1st was in 2025. |
| Dates & hours | Fri 4 Sept 18:30–23:30 · Sat 5 Sept 12:00–00:20 (Baltā nakts / White Night venue) · Sun 6 Sept 11:00–19:00, 2026. Free entry. |
| Venue | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze (Veldze Creative Factory), Matīsa iela 8, Riga — exhibition in the cellars, performances and talks in the courtyard. |
| Organisers | Katrīna Āboltiņa (curator), Sandris Mūriņš, Roberta. Scenography: Agata Agafja Alna. |
| Themes | Empathy, environment, health. Special theme 2026: gluttony (rijība) — excessive consumption of meat and other resources in a consumer society. The festival advocates a meat tax as one possible instrument. |
| Artists | 27 artists from seven countries, including Dana Ellyn (US), Matt Sesow (US), Angela Singer (NZ), Katrīna Tračuma, Jānis Daniels Legzdiņš, Katerina Dementeva, Eda Kranc (PL), Lidia Tomaszewska (PL), Elwira Sztetner (PL), Michael Alstad (CA), Philip McCulloch-Downs (UK), Jūlija Ļahova, Ilze Helgeland, Roberts Brastiņš, Tonijs Strods, Ulrika Bala, Kate Dudure, Dace Kintija Egle, Mailo Mēness, Sandris Mūriņš, Kristiāna Šukste (lists published by Delfi and Baltā nakts). |
| Sales | No commission: all proceeds to the artists (curator, Radio NABA, 4 Sept 2026). |
| Sesow & Ellyn events | Radio NABA, Fri 4 Sept 09:00 · artist talk, Sat 5 Sept 14:00 · closing panel “Activism Art”, Sun 6 Sept 17:00. |
4 · Paintings catalogue
77 works. Click through to the artists’ sites for availability.
| Title | Artist | Category | Size · medium | Status | Inspiration / notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Bremen Town Musicians | Dana Ellyn | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 8.5" x 11" acrylic on canvas | SOLD | Dana's Bremen Town Musicians — rooster, cat, dog and donkey — painted after we met the statue by St. Peter's on 3 September. Photos: Meeting the musicians (2026-09-03), A gift from Bremen (2026-09-03), Selfie with the musicians (2026-09-03) |
 | Cat House | Dana Ellyn | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6" x 9" acrylic on paper | SOLD | The Cat House cat on its rooftop peak against a Riga sunset. Photos: Cats everywhere (2026-09-03), The Riga cat (2026-09-07) |
 | Goat. Cheese. | Dana Ellyn | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6" x 8" acrylic on paper | $60 | Goat. Cheese. — the animal, and what we make of her. Photos: White goat (2026-09-03) |
 | Katrina | Dana Ellyn | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 8" x 10" acrylic on canvas | SOLD | A portrait of Katrina, our host in Riga, painted against white tiles like the ones in the Veldze cellars where the show hung. |
 | One Way Ticket (#1) | Dana Ellyn | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 5" x 6.5" pencil on watercolor paper | $55 | Faces at the barred window of a freight wagon, a yellow star at the edge. Painted in Riga the week we visited the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum, where a deportation wagon stands in the yard. Photos: The wagon (2026-09-06) |
 | One Way Ticket (#2) | Dana Ellyn | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6" x 8" pencil and acrylic on paper | $55 | The second version, in pencil and acrylic. Photos: The wagon (2026-09-06) |
 | She Wouldn't Take Off Her Boots | Dana Ellyn | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 11" x 14" acrylic on canvas board | $200 | |
 | She Wouldn't Take Off Her Boots (Study) | Dana Ellyn | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6" x 9" watercolor/pencil on paper | $60 | |
 | Swim Lesson | Dana Ellyn | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6" x 9" watercolor on paper | $55 | From the cover of a 1979 issue of the Soviet Latvian magazine Veselība (“Health”) — three girls in swimsuits on the gym bars — one of the vintage magazines Dana photographed at the apartment on 7 September. |
 | Take One | Dana Ellyn | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6" x 9" acrylic on paper | $70 | |
 | Take Two | Dana Ellyn | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 8" x 10" acrylic on canvas | $200 | |
 | Tethered | Dana Ellyn | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 7.5" x 9" watercolor/ink on paper | $50 | |
 | The Costume | Dana Ellyn | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 7" x 9" acrylic/watercolor on paper | $55 | |
 | Understudy | Dana Ellyn | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 7" x 9" watercolor on paper | $50 | |
 | Woman with Hen | Dana Ellyn | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 8" x 10" acrylic on canvas | SOLD | Dana and Matt both painted a woman with a hen in Riga — compare Matt's Lady with hen. |
 | a smiling face is half the meal | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $70 | Two diners and a proverb, for a festival about how we eat. |
 | accordion player, with dancer | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6" x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | |
 | bunny family | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $70 | |
 | Cat in Riga latvia | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | The Cat House cat on its turret. The yellow Art Nouveau house on Meistaru iela (1909) is famous for two black cats on its roof — turned tail-first, the story goes, toward the Great Guild across the street, whose members had snubbed the owner. Photos: Cats everywhere (2026-09-03), The Riga cat (2026-09-07) |
 | Cat of Riga | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $70 | The black cat of Riga's Cat House, back arched on a dome with three stars — the stars Milda holds up on top of the Freedom Monument. Photos: Cats everywhere (2026-09-03), The Riga cat (2026-09-07), Milda (2026-09-03) |
 | family | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $70 | |
 | hangover | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6" x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $70 | The Latvian on the canvas reads “balzama paģiras” — a balsam hangover. Riga Black Balsam is the bitter black herbal liqueur that is Latvia's national drink; Matt and Dana found its bar in the Old Town on 5 September. Photos: Black Magic (2026-09-05) |
 | Happy hour | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | From the gluttony theme — Matt: “I did one with like a bar scene where people are just getting too drunk … of that kind of gluttony.” |
 | Hedgehog in the fog | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $70 | Hedgehog in the Fog — Yuri Norstein's 1975 animated short, a classic for generations across the former Soviet Union. Hedgehogs were everywhere in Riga that week: they were on the White Night poster. Photos: Hedgehogs (2026-09-09) |
 | Lady with hen | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 5 x 7" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | Matt and Dana both painted a woman with a hen in Riga — compare Dana's Woman with Hen. |
 | latvian blue cows | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $70 | A whole herd of Latvian Blues. The blue-grey Latvian Blue (zilā govs) is a native breed that nearly disappeared in the Soviet decades and is now protected. Matt painted one in Washington for the show — The Latvian Blue Cow — then met the cow again on an Old Town shop sign and painted the herd in Riga. At the panel he added a twist: it is a breed made by people, so he has “mixed feelings about having the breed preserved for human enjoyment.” Photos: BLUE COW (2026-09-05) |
 | Onward Riga Latvia | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | A crowned rooster marching on. Golden roosters top the spires of Riga's old churches — St. Peter's has had one for centuries. Photos: Weathercock (2026-09-07), St. Peter's (2026-09-07) |
 | outpatient surgery | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $70 | |
 | pacifist | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $70 | A pacifist in a bar fight — another of the Riga bar paintings. |
 | Partridge and black rooster | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 5 x 7" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | On air at Radio NABA on Friday morning, 4 September, the hosts explained their names. Mārtiņš: on Mārtiņdiena, his name day, Latvian tradition offers up a black rooster. Irbe: her name means partridge. Matt promised to paint them both — and did, that same day. The painting reads “naba 95,8”, “partridge” and “black rooster”, with the station's scissors logo between the two birds and a little Latvian flag. Signed SESOW Sept. 4 '26. Photos: Radio NABA (2026-09-04), On air (2026-09-04), Katrīna on the mic (2026-09-04), Back at the radio building (2026-09-07) |
 | self portrait, latvia | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $70 | Matt's self-portrait from the apartment-studio. Photos: Matt at work (2026-09-08) |
 | The hunters | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 5" x 7" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $60 | Painted from a cheese label. On the second day in Riga Matt photographed a packet of Jaunpils smoked cheese — “Kūpinātais siers MEDNIEKU”, hunters' cheese — with a hunter and his dog on the wrapper. At the festival panel he explained: “We go around the grocery store, take pictures of labels and all the words … so I've been painting from some of that.” The word MEDNIEKU is on the canvas. Photos: MEDNIEKU — the hunters (2026-09-02) |
 | The musicians of Bremen (1) | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $70 | Five small Bremen paintings came out of the apartment-studio after the 3 September visit to the bronze Bremen Town Musicians behind St. Peter's Church — donkey, dog, cat and rooster, a gift from the city of Bremen in 1990, shown peering through a split in the Iron Curtain. “It's just a wonderful visual for my style of art because I put the lips and the teeth.” Photos: Meeting the musicians (2026-09-03), Through the Iron Curtain (2026-09-03), Selfie with the musicians (2026-09-03), The rooster on top (2026-09-03) |
 | The musicians of Bremen (2) | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | One of Matt's five Riga Bremen paintings, made after visiting the statue on 3 September. Photos: Meeting the musicians (2026-09-03), Selfie with the musicians (2026-09-03) |
 | The musicians of Bremen (3) | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $70 | One of Matt's five Riga Bremen paintings, made after visiting the statue on 3 September. Photos: Through the Iron Curtain (2026-09-03) |
 | The musicians of Bremen (4) | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $70 | One of Matt's five Riga Bremen paintings, made after visiting the statue on 3 September. Photos: The rooster on top (2026-09-03) |
 | The musicians of Bremen (5) | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $70 | One of Matt's five Riga Bremen paintings, made after visiting the statue on 3 September. Photos: Selfie with the musicians (2026-09-03) |
 | this is 60 | Matt Sesow | Painted in Riga (Sept 2026) | 6 x 9" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $70 | Sixty little rabbits, one for every year — the rabbit is Matt's long-running personal icon. Matt turned 60 on Thursday 10 September, the day we flew home. On air he said: “I'm going to turn 60 in a couple of days, and I'll be, I think, up in the sky.” |
 | Hare Today Gone Tomorrow | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 11" × 8.5" acrylic on cardboard | $140 | |
 | Hipster Bacon | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 14" x 11" (8" x 10") acrylic on repurposed book page, mounted on board | $65 | |
 | Just Right | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 15" x 15" acrylic on canvas | SOLD | |
 | Little Pig (Cūciņa) | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 12" x 18" acrylic on mat board | $180 | Dana's first Latvian painting, made in Washington from research: a piglet standing in a bowl of grey peas, Latvia's national dish — the same move as her Barcelona series, where a pig stands on the tapas. On Radio NABA: “Grey peas were the first thing.” |
 | Mine (1) | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 8.5" × 11" acrylic on cardboard | $90 | |
 | Mine (2) | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 8.5" × 11" acrylic on cardboard | $90 | |
 | Mine (3) | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 8.5" × 11" acrylic on cardboard | $90 | |
 | Playing Favorites | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 15" x 15" oil on canvas | $480 | Three girls holding a bulldog, a rabbit and a piglet — why do we love one and eat the other? Delfi led its 6 August feature on Dana and Matt with this painting, and LSM showed it in its festival preview. Photos: Dana's wall (2026-09-04), Playing Favorites, Tea Party and more (2026-09-04) |
 | Playing Favorites, Illuminated | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 15" × 11" acrylic and gold leaf on watercolor paper | $180 | |
 | Playing with your Food | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 14" x 18" acrylic on canvas | $350 | |
 | Prized | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 8.5" × 11" acrylic on cardboard | $140 | |
 | Selective Compassion | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 15" x 30" oil on canvas | $480 | |
 | Skewered | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 11" x 15" acrylic on watercolor paper | $160 | A piglet threaded onto vegetable kebab skewers. Dana at the panel: for sensitive viewers, “I did go back to my roots of a little aggression.” |
 | Some Toys are More Equal Than Other Toys (Tea Party) | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 18" x 24" oil on canvas | $500 | Delfi's lead image for the festival announcement in July 2026 — a crowned child serving the toy animals at a doll's tea party. Photos: Playing Favorites, Tea Party and more (2026-09-04) |
 | Sprats on Rye | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 12" x 18" acrylic on mat board | SOLD | Riga sprats on dark rye with a blue cornflower. “Those were great for painting, just that gold shiny.” It left the show with new owners on closing day. Photos: Two paintings go home (2026-09-06), Selfie with the new owners (2026-09-06) |
 | Sum of Her Parts (3) | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 11" × 8.5" acrylic on paper | $100 | |
 | Sum of Her Parts (4) | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 11" × 8.5" acrylic on paper | $100 | |
 | Sunday Dinner | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 12" × 9" acrylic on cardboard | $140 | |
 | Sushi | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 9" × 12" acrylic on paper | $90 | |
 | This Little Piggy Went to the Market (2) | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 11" × 8.5" acrylic on cardboard | SOLD | |
 | Trussed | Dana Ellyn | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 12" x 18" acrylic on mat board | $180 | |
 | Bremen Town Musicians | Matt Sesow | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 12" x 18" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | Painted in Washington in August from research, before either of us had seen the statue — then hung in the Veldze cellars a few hundred metres from the real thing. Photos: Meeting the musicians (2026-09-03) |
 | Bull Dog | Matt Sesow | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 12" x 18" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | On the radio: the bomb-sniffing dogs who inspect every package Matt and Dana carry past the White House to the post office. |
 | Charles Bukowski | Matt Sesow | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 12" x 18" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | Charles Bukowski — who turned up again on a Riga wall: “BUKOWSKI WAS RIGHT ABOUT US!” Photos: Bukowski was right about us! (2026-09-06) |
 | Double Dog | Matt Sesow | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 12" x 18" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $80 | |
 | Franz Kafka | Matt Sesow | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 12" x 18" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | Kafka was a vegetarian; Matt paints his line about looking fish in the eye. Hung on Matt's wall in the cellars. |
 | Grey Peas | Matt Sesow | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 12" x 18" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $80 | Pelēkie zirņi ar speķi — grey peas with bacon — is Latvia's national dish. Painted in Washington in August after researching Latvian food; we carried a bag of the peas home. |
 | Inside the Ring | Matt Sesow | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 12" x 18" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | |
 | Isaac Singer | Matt Sesow | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 12" x 18" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | $80 | Isaac Bashevis Singer, Nobel laureate and famous vegetarian. |
 | Large Fish with escort | Matt Sesow | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 18" x 12" acrylic/mix on paper | $80 | Painted on paper taken from Felix Gonzalez-Torres's “Untitled” (Always to Return) at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. |
 | Last Call | Matt Sesow | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 18" x 12" acrylic/mix on archival thick paper | $80 | |
 | Mr. Monopoly | Matt Sesow | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 12" x 18" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | |
 | Rabbit Village | Matt Sesow | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 12" x 18" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | Painted on paper taken from Felix Gonzalez-Torres's “Untitled” (Always to Return) at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. |
 | The Latvian Blue Cow | Matt Sesow | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 18" x 12" acrylic/mix on archival thick paper | SOLD | Painted in Washington before the trip. Latvian Public Broadcasting (LSM.lv) led its festival preview with this painting, and Riga's White Night (Baltā nakts) programme used it for the festival's official listing — then on closing day it left Veldze with its new owners. Photos: BLUE COW (2026-09-05), Two paintings go home (2026-09-06), Selfie with the new owners (2026-09-06) |
 | Vegetarian | Matt Sesow | Exhibited at Art for Meat Tax | 12" x 18" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | “I don't eat my friends.” On Radio NABA the hosts played The Smiths' “Meat Is Murder”; Matt pointed out that the video for Morrissey's “Every Day Is Like Sunday” has a girl in an “I don't eat my friends” T-shirt — the T-shirt in this painting. |
 | Conjoined | Matt Sesow | Inspired by Riga, painted in DC | 8.5" x 11" acrylic/mix on archival paper | $60 | From a Latvian magazine bought while exhibiting in Riga; painted back in Washington. |
 | Curveball | Matt Sesow | Inspired by Riga, painted in DC | 8.5" x 11" acrylic/mix on archival paper | $60 | From a Latvian magazine bought while exhibiting in Riga; painted back in Washington. |
 | Princess, with monkey | Matt Sesow | Inspired by Riga, painted in DC | 32" x 15.75" acrylic/mix on matboard | SOLD | Painted in Washington after the trip. |
 | Refugee | Matt Sesow | Inspired by Riga, painted in DC | 12" x 18" acrylic/mix on thick archival paper | SOLD | Painted in Washington after the trip. |
5 · Places
Every named place that appears in the photographs, with coordinates and a short history.
| Place | Address | Coordinates | Photos | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory (Radošā rūpnīca “Veldze”) | Matīsa iela 8 | 56.95845, 24.12978 | 100 | A brewery site since 1796 (Gustav Kuntzendorff), then from 1945 a wine, liqueur and soft-drinks works that became the Fruit and Berry Wine and Soft Drinks Factory “Veldze”. Production ended in the 2000s and the block became a creative quarter of studios, cafés and shops. Art for Meat Tax 2026 hung its exhibition in the vaulted brick and tiled cellars. “Veldze” means coolness — the refreshment of a cold drink. |
| Bremen Town Musicians statue (Brēmenes muzikanti) | Skārņu iela, behind St. Peter's Church, Old Town | 56.94772, 24.10977 | 14 | A bronze of the donkey, dog, cat and rooster from the Grimm fairy tale, given to Riga by its twin city Bremen in 1990 and shown peering through a split in the Iron Curtain. Visitors rub the animals' noses for luck. Source of seven Bremen paintings by Matt Sesow and Dana Ellyn. |
| Our apartment-studio on Lāčplēša iela (Lāčplēša iela) | Lāčplēša iela, Riga centre | 56.95443, 24.12469 | 11 | Our home and studio for ten days: an apartment house built in 1903 to a design by Konstantīns Pēkšēns (1859–1928), one of the busiest architects of Riga's Art Nouveau boom. The street is named for Lāčplēsis, the Bear Slayer, hero of Andrejs Pumpurs's national epic (1888). |
| Freedom Monument (Brīvības piemineklis) | Brīvības bulvāris | 56.95151, 24.11338 | 8 | Latvia's monument to independence, unveiled on 18 November 1935 to a design by the sculptor Kārlis Zāle and paid for by public donations. The figure on top — nicknamed Milda — holds up three gilded stars. It stood through the whole Soviet occupation; an honour guard has stood at its base again since 1992. Inscription: TĒVZEMEI UN BRĪVĪBAI — For Fatherland and Freedom. |
| Latvian National Museum of Art | Jaņa Rozentāla laukums 1, Esplanāde | 56.95581, 24.11395 | 8 | Latvia's national art museum, in Riga's first purpose-built museum building (1903–05, architect Wilhelm Neumann). A renovation completed in 2016 added underground galleries and a roof terrace over the city. |
| Riga Central Market (Rīgas Centrāltirgus) | Nēģu iela 7 | 56.94401, 24.11735 | 8 | One of Europe's largest markets. Its huge pavilions reuse German First World War zeppelin hangars; the market opened here, beside the Daugava, in 1930. Part of the UNESCO-listed historic centre of Riga. |
| Marijas iela | Marijas iela, Riga centre | 56.94950, 24.11900 | 5 | A street of shops and apartment houses in the centre, on the walk from the Old Town to our apartment. |
| Radio NABA 95.8 FM — Aspazijas bulvāris 5 (Radio NABA · Aspazijas bulvāris 5) | Aspazijas bulvāris 5 | 56.94774, 24.11566 | 5 | Radio NABA is the University of Latvia's non-commercial station. It broadcasts from a university building put up in 1902–04 as the city's imperial Post and Telegraph Office; Riga Radio moved into the same building in 1932. The boulevard is named for the poet Aspazija (1865–1943). |
| St. Peter's Church | Reformācijas laukums 1, Old Town | 56.94752, 24.10931 | 5 | First mentioned in 1209. Its wooden spire, long one of the tallest in Europe, burned in 1941; the steel replacement, completed in 1973, carries a lift to a viewing gallery and a golden rooster weathervane on top. |
| Great Choral Synagogue ruins (memorial) (Lielās horālās sinagogas drupas) | Gogoļa iela 25, Maskavas forštate | 56.94245, 24.12630 | 5 | The foundations and wall fragments of Riga's largest synagogue, built in 1871. On 4 July 1941, days after German forces entered Riga, it was set on fire with people trapped inside. The ruins became a memorial in 1988; in 2007 a monument to Žanis Lipke and the Latvians who rescued Jews was added beside it. |
| Latvian Academy of Sciences — “Stalin's birthday cake” (Latvijas Zinātņu akadēmija) | Akadēmijas laukums 1, Maskavas forštate | 56.94333, 24.12194 | 5 | Built 1953–61 in the style of Moscow's Stalinist skyscrapers; Rigans call it Stalin's birthday cake. Hammers and sickles mix with Latvian folk ornament on the facade. An open-air terrace about 65 m up looks over the Central Market, the Daugava and the Old Town. |
| Lāčplēša iela | Lāčplēša iela, Riga centre | 56.95651, 24.12063 | 4 | Our street: the café and bar end of Lāčplēša iela, a few doors from the apartment. |
| Nativity of Christ Cathedral (Rīgas Kristus Piedzimšanas pareizticīgo katedrāle) | Brīvības bulvāris 23, Esplanāde | 56.95389, 24.11556 | 4 | Riga's gold-domed Orthodox cathedral, built 1876–84. In the Soviet years it was turned into a planetarium; it was returned to the church and restored after independence. |
| Galleria Riga | Dzirnavu iela 67 | 56.95466, 24.12084 | 3 | A shopping centre in the city centre — where we bought our first groceries, including the MEDNIEKU cheese. |
| Riga Black Magic | Kaļķu iela 10, Old Town | 56.94866, 24.10892 | 3 | A café-bar and shop devoted to Riga Black Balsam, the bitter black herbal liqueur that is Latvia's national drink — with a hidden room behind a bookcase. |
| Town Hall Square — the first Christmas tree marker | Rātslaukums, Old Town | 56.94749, 24.10673 | 3 | An octagonal marker in the cobbles in front of the House of the Blackheads marks the spot where, Riga says, the Brotherhood of Blackheads set up the first decorated Christmas tree in 1510. |
| Alberta iela | Alberta iela, Quiet Centre | 56.95904, 24.10971 | 3 | A short street of Art Nouveau apartment houses, many designed by Mikhail Eisenstein (1901–08) — sphinxes, masks and screaming faces. About a third of the buildings in central Riga are Art Nouveau; the historic centre has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. |
| Brooklyn Pub & Whiskey Room | Lāčplēša iela | 56.95353, 24.12722 | 2 | A basement bar on our street. |
| Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum (Rīgas geto un Latvijas Holokausta muzejs) | Maskavas iela 14a | 56.94138, 24.11782 | 2 | A mostly open-air museum at the edge of the former Riga Ghetto, beside the Spīķeri warehouses: a wall of names, a furnished wooden house and a railway goods wagon. About 70,000 of Latvia's Jews were murdered in the Holocaust; most of those held in the Riga Ghetto were shot at Rumbula forest in late 1941. |
| House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams · Rātslaukums) | Rātslaukums 7, Old Town | 56.94722, 24.10694 | 2 | Guild house of the Brotherhood of Blackheads, unmarried foreign merchants, first mentioned in 1334. Bombed in 1941 and its ruins cleared in 1948, it was rebuilt from old photographs and drawings in 1995–99. |
| Museum of the Occupation of Latvia (Latvijas Okupācijas muzejs) | Latviešu strēlnieku laukums 1 | 56.94709, 24.10636 | 2 | The museum of Latvia under Soviet and Nazi occupation, 1940–1991, on Latvian Riflemen Square next to Town Hall Square. |
| Riga Art Nouveau Centre (Rīgas jūgendstila centrs) | Alberta iela 12 | 56.95961, 24.10852 | 2 | The architect Konstantīns Pēkšēns's own apartment house (1903), with a flat restored as it was in the early 1900s and a painted spiral staircase. Pēkšēns also designed the house we stayed in. |
| Brīvības iela | Brīvības iela | 56.95663, 24.12226 | 1 | Freedom Street, central Riga's main avenue — renamed with each change of regime: Alexanderstraße under the tsars, Adolf-Hitler-Straße under Nazi occupation, Lenin Street under the Soviets. |
| The Three Brothers (Trīs brāļi) | Mazā Pils iela 17, 19 and 21, Old Town | 56.95041, 24.10419 | 1 | Three houses in a row that make up Riga's oldest surviving group of medieval dwellings; No. 17 dates to the 15th century. The middle one houses the Latvian Museum of Architecture. |
| Latgale Market (Latgalīte) (Latgalītes tirgus) | Maskavas forštate | 56.94268, 24.12907 | 1 | Riga's flea market in the Moscow Suburb: Soviet medals, old tools, records and everything else laid out on the ground. |
| Siļķītes un Dillītes, Central Market (Siļķītes un Dillītes) | Fish pavilion, Riga Central Market | 56.94350, 24.11406 | 1 | “Little Herrings and Little Dills” — a fish restaurant inside the Central Market's fish pavilion. |
| Antikvariāts Planēta | Lāčplēša iela | 56.95449, 24.12533 | 1 | A second-hand and antiquarian bookshop on our street — vintage postcards, magazines and books in Latvian and Russian. |
| Bastejkalns and the city canal (Bastejkalns) | Between the Freedom Monument and the Old Town | 56.95189, 24.11042 | 1 | A park on the old city ramparts beside the canal. Red stone slabs mark where people were killed on 20 January 1991, during the barricade days, when Soviet OMON troops attacked the nearby Interior Ministry — among them the cameramen Andris Slapiņš and Gvido Zvaigzne. |
6 · Photo index
246 photographs on the site (Matt Sesow: iPhone 13 Pro; Dana Ellyn: iPhone SE). Times are local Riga time (EEST), except the Washington departure photos (EDT); coordinates from the phone’s GPS.
| Date · time | Title & note | Place | GPS | By | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Mon 31 Aug 2026 18:12 | Wheels up Matt and Dana at the gate at Washington Dulles on the evening of 31 August — the start of the Riga trip. | 38.94879, -77.45422 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Mon 31 Aug 2026 18:19 | Lincoln, with cherry blossoms Dana takes Lincoln's chair at Dulles Airport's America 250 display, cherry blossoms and all. A very Washington send-off. | 38.94888, -77.45134 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Mon 31 Aug 2026 21:17 | Seat 41E Dana's meal on SAS flight 926 to Copenhagen — the tag reads MS ELLYN, seat 041E. | 38.94881, -77.44771 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Mon 31 Aug 2026 21:17 | Scandinavian An SAS glass somewhere over the Atlantic. | 38.94881, -77.44771 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Tue 1 Sep 2026 12:42 | Copenhagen, coffee Dana at Copenhagen Airport between flights, SAS tails lined up outside. The connection to Riga lands at 15:10. | 55.62855, 12.64418 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Tue 1 Sep 2026 17:14 | First courtyard Dana in a Riga back courtyard on the first afternoon, 1 September — layers of old plaster, pipes and a tiny garden. Riga's centre is full of these hidden yards behind the street façades. | — | Dana Ellyn | |
 | Wed 2 Sep 2026 08:58 | Brīvības iela Dana on Brīvības iela, the main avenue through the centre. The street has changed its name with every occupation — Alexanderstraße under the Tsar, Adolf-Hitler-Straße under the Nazis, Lenin Street under the Soviets; since 1990 it is simply 'Freedom Street' again. | Brīvības iela | 56.95582, 24.12239 | Matt Sesow |
 | Wed 2 Sep 2026 09:02 | A wooden house One of Riga's surviving timber houses, repainted and restored. Wooden buildings like this once filled the suburbs outside the old city walls. | — | Dana Ellyn | |
 | Wed 2 Sep 2026 09:23 | Breakfast outside Dana at an outdoor table on the second morning. | Lāčplēša iela | 56.95660, 24.12030 | Matt Sesow |
 | Wed 2 Sep 2026 09:41 | Doorways Dana in a carved Art Nouveau-era doorway in the centre. Riga has one of the largest concentrations of Art Nouveau architecture in the world — about a third of the buildings in the centre. | Lāčplēša iela | 56.95686, 24.12052 | Matt Sesow |
 | Wed 2 Sep 2026 09:58 | 7:40 — Jewish cuisine Dana points out '7:40', a café and shop — 'Kafejnīca · Veikals · Ebreju virtuve · Jewish cuisine' — the sign also in Hebrew. | 56.95665, 24.11699 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Wed 2 Sep 2026 10:16 | MEDNIEKU — the hunters A packet of Jaunpils smoked cheese, 'Kūpinātais siers MEDNIEKU' — hunters' cheese — bought on the second morning. The hunter and his dog on the label became Matt's painting THE HUNTERS, made in Riga. As Matt told the audience at Veldze: 'we go around the grocery store and take pictures of labels.' | Galleria Riga | 56.95444, 24.12066 | Matt Sesow |
 | Wed 2 Sep 2026 10:18 | A Riga cat A photograph of a black cat on a barrel in an Old Town lane — one of the city's favourite images. Riga's most famous cats sit on the roof of the Cat House on Meistaru iela. | Galleria Riga | 56.95445, 24.12060 | Matt Sesow |
 | Wed 2 Sep 2026 11:38 | Walking the centre Dana on a centre street lined with five- and six-storey apartment blocks from the building boom of 1900–1914. | — | ||
 | Wed 2 Sep 2026 12:56 | Latvian Television arrives Wednesday 2 September, 12:56 — the LTV Culture News crew arrives at the apartment to film Matt and Dana painting. The festival had pitched them as artists who travel and paint. | — | ||
 | Wed 2 Sep 2026 12:59 | On camera The LTV crew filming in the apartment-studio. The piece aired on Latvian Television's Culture News (Kultūras ziņas). | — | ||
 | Wed 2 Sep 2026 13:27 | Dana paints for the camera Dana at work while LTV's camera rolls — the brushes and jars laid out on the kitchen table that became her Riga studio for ten days. | Our apartment-studio on Lāčplēša iela | 56.95447, 24.12460 | |
 | Wed 2 Sep 2026 13:36 | First Riga painting, shown off Holding up a painting made in the apartment for the television crew. | Our apartment-studio on Lāčplēša iela | 56.95440, 24.12460 | Matt Sesow |
 | Wed 2 Sep 2026 16:28 | Rīgas alus A Latvian beer and two coffees in a 'Latvija' folk-pattern mug and a 'Riga' mug, back at the apartment after the filming. | — | Dana Ellyn | |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:03 | Wilhelm Ostwald The relief monument to Wilhelm Ostwald (1853–1932), the Riga-born chemist who won the 1909 Nobel Prize. It stands near the old Riga Polytechnic, where he taught. | Marijas iela | 56.95090, 24.12008 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:07 | Poster column Dana beside an old-style advertising column (a Litfaßsäule), still used for concert and theatre posters. | Marijas iela | 56.94923, 24.11684 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:08 | The composer The seated monument to Alfrēds Kalniņš (1879–1951), composer of the first Latvian opera, 'Baņuta'. | Marijas iela | 56.94928, 24.11626 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:09 | 1938–1948 A sign from the centenary trail of spruce trees, one per decade of Latvia's first hundred years — a gift to the city from Riga Black Balsam. This decade: 'A taste of bitter, but still a victory' — occupation, deportations, war. | Marijas iela | 56.94931, 24.11621 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:11 | Park bench Dana on a park bench in the green ring along the old city moat. | Radio NABA 95.8 FM — Aspazijas bulvāris 5 | 56.94839, 24.11504 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:15 | Old Town, together Matt and Dana in Old Town on Thursday morning, 3 September, on their way to the Bremen Town Musicians. | Bremen Town Musicians statue | 56.94718, 24.11241 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:15 | Cobbles Another Old Town selfie. The Old Town — Vecrīga — is a UNESCO World Heritage site, listed in 1997 together with the Art Nouveau centre. | Bremen Town Musicians statue | 56.94725, 24.11257 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:21 | Cats everywhere A souvenir shop window full of painted cats — the Riga cat, courtesy of the Cat House legend, is on everything. | Bremen Town Musicians statue | 56.94699, 24.11154 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:24 | Behind St. Peter's The lane behind St. Peter's Church, where the Bremen Town Musicians stand. | St. Peter's Church | 56.94730, 24.11001 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:26 | Follow the donkey The Bremen Town Musicians as a restaurant sign — donkey, dog, cat and rooster stacked up. | Bremen Town Musicians statue | 56.94776, 24.11012 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:27 | St. John's Church The stepped brick gable of St. John's Church (Jāņa baznīca), beside St. Peter's. The site was a Dominican monastery in the 13th century. | Bremen Town Musicians statue | 56.94769, 24.10977 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:27 | St. Peter's The massive brick base of St. Peter's Church tower — first mentioned in 1209. Its golden rooster weathervane is the city's oldest symbol. | Bremen Town Musicians statue | 56.94776, 24.10986 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:28 | Meeting the musicians Dana looks up at the Bremen Town Musicians statue — the source for Matt's six Bremen paintings and Dana's own 'Bremen Town Musicians' made in Riga. | Bremen Town Musicians statue | 56.94772, 24.10983 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:29 | Through the Iron Curtain The Bremen Town Musicians — donkey, dog, cat and rooster from the Grimm fairy tale — peering through a gap. Bremen gave the sculpture to its fellow Hanseatic city in 1990; the animals are looking through a crack in the Iron Curtain. | Bremen Town Musicians statue | 56.94776, 24.10982 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:29 | A gift from Bremen The plaque at the statue, in Latvian and German: 'The Bremen Town Musicians — a gift of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen.' | Bremen Town Musicians statue | 56.94777, 24.10982 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:29 | Selfie with the musicians Matt and Dana with the statue. Rubbing the animals' noses is supposed to bring luck — they are worn to a shine. | Bremen Town Musicians statue | 56.94775, 24.10978 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:29 | The rooster on top Another take. Matt painted the stack six times on paper while in Riga — THE MUSICIANS OF BREMEN (1) to (5) — and brought his 12x18 BREMEN TOWN MUSICIANS to the show. | Bremen Town Musicians statue | 56.94775, 24.10978 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:30 | Stone saints A carved stone epitaph set into an Old Town church wall. Riga's churches are lined with memorials to Hanseatic merchants. | Bremen Town Musicians statue | 56.94774, 24.10984 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:32 | St. Peter's spire St. Peter's Church. The spire burned in 1941 and was rebuilt in steel in the late 1960s and 1970s; the golden rooster on top has watched over the city since the Middle Ages. | St. Peter's Church | 56.94784, 24.10963 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:32 | Skārņu iela Dana resting in the lane beside St. Peter's. | Bremen Town Musicians statue | 56.94793, 24.10947 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:34 | Hanging head A bronze sculpture — a head and scarf hanging from an empty frame — on a white Old Town wall. | Bremen Town Musicians statue | 56.94805, 24.10898 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:34 | White goat A leaping white goat on an Old Town wall. | Riga Black Magic | 56.94820, 24.10878 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:44 | The Freedom Monument The Freedom Monument, unveiled in 1935 and paid for by public donations. It survived fifty years of Soviet occupation — and in the late 1980s became the place where Latvians gathered to demand independence back. | Freedom Monument | 56.95119, 24.11286 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 10:45 | Milda The figure on top, nicknamed Milda, holds up three stars for Latvia's historic regions. The inscription below reads 'Tēvzemei un Brīvībai' — for Fatherland and Freedom. | Freedom Monument | 56.95119, 24.11286 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 11:03 | Clasped hands A cross-shaped memorial with a sculpted face and clasped hands, in the park by the Nativity of Christ Cathedral. | Nativity of Christ Cathedral | 56.95286, 24.11633 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 11:06 | A Soviet plaque 'In this house from 1951 to 1970 lived Hero of Socialist Labour, People's Writer of the Latvian SSR, Andrejs Upīts (1877–1970)' — a Soviet-era memorial plaque, in Latvian and Russian, still on the wall. | 56.95435, 24.11850 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 11:11 | Three owls Three owls carved over a window — a National Romantic flourish from the early 1900s. | Lāčplēša iela | 56.95556, 24.11996 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 11:11 | National Romantic A steep-gabled apartment house in the National Romantic style — the Latvian strand of Art Nouveau that drew on folk building, after 1905. | Galleria Riga | 56.95551, 24.11992 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 11:30 | Install day — the cellars Thursday 3 September, 11:30: first walk through the Veldze cellars where the show will hang. White-tiled rooms from the factory's working life, a hole in the ceiling to the world above. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95821, 24.12874 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 11:30 | Dana in the tiled room Dana in one of the white-tiled cellar rooms under Veldze. The brewery on this site dates to 1796; the 1872 plans already show an ice cellar and deep vaulted cellars. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95821, 24.12874 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 11:30 | Into the dark Walking the unlit cellars. The festival had to give guided tours every 15–20 minutes — you can't let people wander around down here like in a gallery. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95821, 24.12874 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 11:30 | Vaults The brick vaults under Veldze — built for a 19th-century brewery, then used by the Soviet-era wine and soft-drink factory. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95821, 24.12874 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 11:31 | Peeling tiles A tiled vault, half its tiles gone. The architects' brief for the site's redevelopment calls these cellars 'a special value' to be restored and opened to the public. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95821, 24.12874 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 11:31 | Through the arch A cellar passage ending in an iron gate. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95821, 24.12874 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 11:34 | The pillar hall A vaulted hall on cast-iron columns — where the paintings would hang the next evening. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95935, 24.12960 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 11:34 | Empty, for now The pillar hall before the install. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95935, 24.12960 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 11:35 | The tunnel A long barrel-vaulted cellar under the old factory yard. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95864, 24.12984 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 11:52 | A wall of yarn Cones of coloured yarn in a Riga wool shop. Knitting — patterned mittens above all — is a living Latvian tradition. | — | Dana Ellyn | |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 11:56 | The courtyard Pink parasols in the courtyard of the old factory block — where the festival's performances and talks took place. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Dana Ellyn |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 12:31 | Coffee in the courtyard Dana with a coffee and a book at the Veldze courtyard café, between install jobs. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95824, 24.13002 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 12:37 | Install-day lunch Dana with one of the festival team at the Veldze café. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95821, 24.12999 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 13:18 | Built 1903 — Pēkšēns The plaque on the building where Matt and Dana stayed: 'Nams celts 1903. gadā. Projekta autors ir arhitekts Konstantīns Pēkšēns (1859–1928)' — built in 1903 to a design by Konstantīns Pēkšēns, the most prolific architect of Art Nouveau Riga. He also designed the house on Alberta iela that is now the Riga Art Nouveau Centre. | Our apartment-studio on Lāčplēša iela | 56.95434, 24.12502 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 14:11 | Brooklyn, in Riga Matt at the Brooklyn Pub & Whiskey Room, a basement bar on Lāčplēša iela — a Brooklyn Brewery neon a long way from home. | Brooklyn Pub & Whiskey Room | 56.95352, 24.12683 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 14:12 | Brooklyn Pub Dana outside the Brooklyn Pub & Whiskey Room. | Brooklyn Pub & Whiskey Room | 56.95342, 24.12682 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 14:37 | Painting at the window Dana at work at the apartment window on Thursday afternoon. She painted every day in Riga — fifteen new works in ten days. | Our apartment-studio on Lāčplēša iela | 56.95440, 24.12460 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 14:37 | Sketch in progress Dana holds up a drawing in progress at the apartment window. | Our apartment-studio on Lāčplēša iela | 56.95440, 24.12460 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 15:08 | Lilita Bērziņa A memorial plaque to the actress Lilita Bērziņa (1903–1983), one of the great names of the Latvian stage, near Veldze. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95748, 24.12933 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 15:10 | Under the Veldze sign Matt and Dana in the Veldze courtyard under the old factory's rooftop letters. The site was a brewery from 1796; after 1945 a wine and soft-drinks factory that took the name Veldze; one of the first in the Baltics to bottle Pepsi and Fanta in the 1980s, and Coca-Cola in the 1990s. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95818, 24.12866 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 15:10 | Veldze, take two Another one under the sign. 'Veldze' means coolness, refreshment — a good name for a lemonade factory. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95819, 24.12866 | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 15:11 | Down the shaft Matt at the bottom of a deep brick pit inside the old factory, a crane hook hanging overhead — photographed by Dana from above. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Dana Ellyn |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 15:11 | Hello from below Matt waves up from the pit. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Dana Ellyn |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 15:28 | Unpacking Dana unpacks the paintings she carried from Washington, laid out on the cellar floor before the hang. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Dana Ellyn |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 17:37 | The hang — Matt's wall Matt's paintings up on the cellar wall at 17:37 on install day: Kafka, Isaac Singer, Bukowski, Mr. Monopoly, the dogs, the Latvian Blue Cow. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 17:38 | Dana's corner Dana in front of the finished wall. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 17:38 | Wall of Sesows The complete wall, the night before the opening. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 17:38 | Matt and his wall Matt with his paintings in the old brewery cellar. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 18:25 | A drink after Matt, after the hang. | — | Dana Ellyn | |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 20:02 | Evening at Veldze Dana with one of the festival team, the evening before the opening. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | |
 | Thu 3 Sep 2026 20:02 | The night before Matt and Dana back under the Veldze sign at 20:02 — everything hung. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 06:56 | On Katy's Instagram A screenshot of the festival curator Katrīna Āboltiņa's Instagram story from the Veldze courtyard, tagging @danaellyn and @sesow. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 09:03 | Radio NABA Friday 4 September, 09:03 — Matt at the Radio NABA studio, under the station's scissors logo. NABA means 'navel' in Latvian, and also stands for Nekomerciālā Audiālās Baudas Akadēmija — the Non-Commercial Academy of Audio Pleasure. | Radio NABA 95.8 FM — Aspazijas bulvāris 5 | 56.94775, 24.11565 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 09:10 | On air Radio NABA hosts Irbe and Mārtiņš at the desk. On air, Matt promised to paint them as a partridge (irbe) and a black rooster — and did, that same day. | Radio NABA 95.8 FM — Aspazijas bulvāris 5 | 56.94781, 24.11579 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 09:24 | Katrīna on the mic Katrīna, the festival's curator, explains Art for Meat Tax to Latvian radio listeners. | Radio NABA 95.8 FM — Aspazijas bulvāris 5 | 56.94774, 24.11561 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 10:15 | The city canal Dana by the city canal after the radio interview, a canal boat going by. The canal follows the line of the old city moat; the ramparts were torn down in the 1850s and replaced by this ring of parks. | Freedom Monument | 56.95061, 24.11302 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 10:16 | Willows Dana by the canal and its willows, the green ring between the Old Town and the 19th-century centre. | — | Dana Ellyn | |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 10:17 | The Opera Dana with the Latvian National Opera behind her — built in 1863 as the city's German theatre. | Freedom Monument | 56.95016, 24.11347 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 10:18 | Opera garden Matt by the fountain in the Opera garden. | Freedom Monument | 56.95017, 24.11334 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 10:19 | Making friends Dana with a bronze dog — part of a bronze Belle Époque couple on the canal-side promenade. | Freedom Monument | 56.95013, 24.11403 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 10:19 | Three's company Matt joins the bronze couple. | Freedom Monument | 56.95014, 24.11397 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 10:22 | Gulls Gulls on the canal bank. Riga sits where the Daugava meets the Gulf of Riga. | 56.95008, 24.11547 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 10:23 | Portrait of a gull A young herring gull, unimpressed. | 56.95010, 24.11548 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 10:26 | The Icon Matt outside a new building called The Icon. | Marijas iela | 56.94916, 24.11738 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 10:50 | Caffeine Dana at the door of a coffee bar called, simply, Caffeine. | — | ||
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:26 | Opening night Friday 4 September, 19:26 — the crowd arrives for the opening of Art for Meat Tax in the Veldze courtyard. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95850, 24.12913 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:26 | Queue for the cellars Waiting at the cellar door. Visitors went down in guided groups every 15–20 minutes. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95850, 24.12916 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:26 | Dana, opening night Dana in the courtyard as the festival opens. The brewer on this site in the 1870s was Gustav Kuntzendorff — the 'Gust' sign behind her shares his name. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95851, 24.12915 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:26 | Here we go Matt and Dana at the cellar door on opening night. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95851, 24.12907 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:27 | Signposts The signpost in the Veldze courtyard pointing to the studios, bars and shops that have moved into the old factory since it reopened as a creative quarter in 2024. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95850, 24.12920 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:28 | Circled The White Night (Baltā nakts) programme for 5 September, pasted on a wall — Dana circled Art for Meat Tax in pink. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95852, 24.12920 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:30 | Down in the cellars Opening night, 19:30 — the first tour group in the vaulted cellars. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95836, 24.12897 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:30 | The first crowd Visitors under the brick vaults. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95839, 24.12899 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:30 | Listening to the guide A tour group in the cellars on opening night. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95839, 24.12899 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:30 | Looking up A shaft up through the vaults, with a wooden hatch and old pipework — traces of the factory. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95836, 24.12897 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:31 | The tiled tunnel The tour moves into the white-tiled tunnel. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95836, 24.12897 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:31 | Single file Visitors in the narrow tiled passage. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95836, 24.12897 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:31 | The long corridor The longest of the tiled corridors under Veldze, lit for the exhibition. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95836, 24.12898 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:32 | Matt, underground Matt in the tiled vault, with the shadow of a sculpture on the wall. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95836, 24.12898 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:32 | A dark creature A towering black sculpture by one of the festival's other artists, rising through the white-tiled vault. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95836, 24.12898 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:33 | Teeth The same sculpture, close up. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:33 | Dana's wall Dana's paintings in the cellar on opening night — 21 works on the festival's themes of empathy, environment and health. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95836, 24.12898 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:33 | Crowd at Dana's wall Visitors in front of Dana's paintings. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95836, 24.12898 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:34 | Playing Favorites, Tea Party and more Dana's wall: 'Playing Favorites', 'Some Toys are More Equal Than Other Toys (Tea Party)', 'Playing with your Food', 'Little Pig (Cūciņa)', 'Sunday Dinner' and the rest. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95836, 24.12898 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:34 | Down the hall Dana's wall, with the tunnel stretching away behind. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95836, 24.12898 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:34 | Dana's wall, whole The full wall of Dana's paintings on their wire grids. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95836, 24.12898 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:35 | On tour A guided group reaches the painting walls. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:35 | Phones up Visitors photographing the work. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:35 | In front of Dana's work A visitor with Dana's paintings. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:36 | The guide A festival guide talks a group through the paintings. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:36 | Pointing it out The guide points to one of the paintings. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:36 | Listening A tour group listening in the vault. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:38 | Looking closely Visitors at Dana's wall. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:38 | Opening-night face A visitor in front of Dana's paintings. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:39 | A tiled cell A white-tiled cell given over to a video installation. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95889, 24.12889 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:41 | The wall text Matt's wall text in the cellar: 'On a summer evening in rural Nebraska in 1975, an eight-year-old boy walked into the propeller of a landing airplane and lost his left hand and most of his left arm…' It ends: 'Everything on display can be acquired — ask Katrīna.' | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:41 | Talking paintings Matt's wall, with visitors deep in conversation. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:41 | Matt's wall, opening night Matt's paintings under the vaults: Mr. Monopoly, the dogs, Kafka, the Latvian Blue Cow. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:42 | Dana's label Dana's wall text, with her painting beside it. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:43 | The white tunnel, full The white-tiled tunnel packed with visitors. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95896, 24.12919 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:43 | Three photographs Photographs by another festival artist on the tiled wall. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95896, 24.12919 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:43 | The long tour A tour winds down the tiled tunnel. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95891, 24.12890 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:43 | Colour, underground A tour group gathers around one of the other artists in a white-tiled room. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95896, 24.12919 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:44 | Peeling tile A small dark sculpture hung on the broken tiles of a vaulted cellar room. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95891, 24.12890 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:44 | From New Zealand Prints of reworked-taxidermy animals on the tiles. The festival showed high-quality prints sent from New Zealand by Angela Singer, one of the best-known animal-rights artists working today. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95899, 24.12831 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:45 | The artist and her cow A festival artist beside her large painting of a black-and-white cow. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95958, 24.13000 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:46 | Artist talk underground Visitors listening to an artist in one of the tiled rooms. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95891, 24.12890 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:48 | Cuts A butcher's diagram reworked as an artwork on a black board. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:48 | Installation An installation stretching down the tiled tunnel. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:49 | Other walls Visitors with work by two more of the festival's 27 artists. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95891, 24.12890 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:50 | Gathered A crowd around one of the installations. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95891, 24.12890 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:55 | Behind bars Matt and Dana by an iron grille in the cellars. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95891, 24.12890 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:55 | Opening-night faces Matt and Dana in the tiled tunnel, 19:55. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95891, 24.12890 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:57 | A water meter An old water meter left on the tiles — one of the factory's leftovers. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95918, 24.12912 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 19:57 | Dana, in the vault Dana in the half-light of the brick vaults. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95918, 24.12912 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 20:00 | Matt meets the creature Matt nose-to-nose with the black sculpture. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95867, 24.13119 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 20:00 | Shadows Dana in the white tunnel, a sculpture's shadow on the wall. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95867, 24.13119 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 20:01 | Exit A running-man exit sign hanging askew on the cellar wall. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95836, 24.12898 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 20:02 | Wet floor The long tiled corridor, its floor wet from Riga's worst storm in twenty years, which hit a fortnight before the festival. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95836, 24.12898 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 20:24 | Friends from the festival Dana with two new friends from the festival, outside the cellar door. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95848, 24.12944 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 20:33 | The way up The steep iron stair up out of the cellars. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95836, 24.12898 | Matt Sesow |
 | Fri 4 Sep 2026 21:24 | 'Tikai ar atļaujām' Dana beside a sign reading 'Tikai ar atļaujām' — authorised access only — at the end of opening night. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95824, 24.12911 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 09:31 | Tiles Matt and Dana against the broken white tiles of the cellars. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 09:31 | Three, smiling Dana with the two friends from opening night. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 10:12 | Espresso Saturday 5 September, 10:12 — coffee before the museum. | Lāčplēša iela | 56.95675, 24.12034 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 10:57 | The National Museum of Art Matt and Dana at the Latvian National Museum of Art, built in 1903–05 as Riga's first purpose-built art museum. | Latvian National Museum of Art | 56.95597, 24.11287 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 11:33 | From the roof The view over Riga's rooftops from the museum's roof terrace, added in the 2016 renovation. | Latvian National Museum of Art | 56.95558, 24.11286 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 11:37 | On the glass floor Matt in the museum's new underground galleries, walking on the glass floor. | Latvian National Museum of Art | 56.95570, 24.11298 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 11:39 | White chairs Dana in the museum's light-filled upper gallery. | Latvian National Museum of Art | 56.95567, 24.11292 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 11:39 | Sitting still Dana in the upper gallery. | Latvian National Museum of Art | 56.95558, 24.11284 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 11:58 | Soft giants Dana with two giant soft-sculpture figures in the museum's historic halls. | Latvian National Museum of Art | 56.95586, 24.11305 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 12:00 | Sitting in a lap Dana, dwarfed by a giant soft figure. | Latvian National Museum of Art | 56.95591, 24.11316 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 12:55 | Splendid Dana at the Splendid Palace, the grand cinema on Elizabetes iela that has been showing films since 1923. | 56.95349, 24.11935 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 13:18 | Saturday crossing A Riga street at lunchtime on Saturday 5 September — shopping bags, road works and cobbles, a few blocks from our apartment. | 56.95497, 24.12394 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 13:28 | A small Sesow goes home Matt outside Veldze with a festival visitor holding up one of Matt's small paintings. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95850, 24.12921 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 14:55 | In front of Matt's wall Dana with two festival visitors in front of Matt's wall of Riga paintings in the Veldze cellars. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95841, 24.12928 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 15:37 | TRIBE Dana under a TRIBE sign on the walk to the Latvian National Museum of Art. | Latvian National Museum of Art | 56.95687, 24.11472 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 16:39 | A table in the Old Town Dana takes a break at a café on the cobbles of Mazā Pils iela, by the Three Brothers — Riga's oldest surviving group of medieval houses (No. 17 dates to the 15th century). | The Three Brothers | 56.95030, 24.10397 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 16:53 | BLUE COW An Old Town shop sign with an iron bull and the words BLUE COW. The Latvian Blue (zilā govs) is a rare native cattle breed — Matt painted it before the trip and painted a whole herd again in Riga. | Riga Black Magic | 56.94933, 24.10869 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 16:56 | Black Magic Matt and Dana inside the Riga Black Magic Bar, named for the Old Town apothecary where Riga Black Balsam is said to have been invented in the 1750s. | Riga Black Magic | 56.94868, 24.10881 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 19:41 | Evening walk Dana on an evening walk among the apartment houses of the city centre. | 56.95273, 24.12229 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Sat 5 Sep 2026 23:06 | Painting at 11 pm Dana at work in the apartment-studio at 23:06 — the Riga paintings were made on this table between gallery hours, walks and interviews. | Our apartment-studio on Lāčplēša iela | 56.95440, 24.12461 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 10:10 | Bukowski was right about us! Graffiti near the Central Market: “BUKOWSKI WAS RIGHT ABOUT US!” | 56.94702, 24.12542 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 10:22 | The Great Choral Synagogue Dana at the ruins of Riga's Great Choral Synagogue on Gogoļa iela. On 4 July 1941, in the first days of the Nazi occupation, it was set on fire with people locked inside. The foundations and fragments of wall are now a memorial. | Great Choral Synagogue ruins (memorial) | 56.94240, 24.12643 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 10:22 | What remains The low brick walls of the synagogue's foundations, now a memorial garden. | Great Choral Synagogue ruins (memorial) | 56.94242, 24.12642 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 10:25 | An arched window A surviving arched window in a fragment of the synagogue wall. | Great Choral Synagogue ruins (memorial) | 56.94254, 24.12614 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 10:25 | Under a big sky The synagogue ruins in wide angle. | Great Choral Synagogue ruins (memorial) | 56.94252, 24.12612 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 10:26 | Memorial stone Dana beside the tall stone memorial at the synagogue site. | Great Choral Synagogue ruins (memorial) | 56.94246, 24.12600 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 10:44 | Latgalīte Matt and Dana at the Latgale flea market (Latgalīte) in the Moscow Suburb — Riga's rummage market, where everything from Soviet medals to used tools is laid out on the ground. | Latgale Market (Latgalīte) | 56.94262, 24.12884 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 10:54 | Stalin's birthday cake The Latvian Academy of Sciences, built 1953–61 in the Stalinist “wedding-cake” style of Moscow's Seven Sisters. Rigans still call it “Stalin's birthday cake”. Look closely and the ornament mixes hammers and sickles with Latvian folk motifs. | Latvian Academy of Sciences — “Stalin's birthday cake” | 56.94314, 24.12380 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 11:09 | On the roof Matt and Dana on the observation terrace of the Academy of Sciences, about 65 m above the Moscow Suburb. | Latvian Academy of Sciences — “Stalin's birthday cake” | 56.94285, 24.12199 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 11:10 | Dana, windblown Dana on the Academy terrace with the Daugava and Riga's TV tower behind her. | Latvian Academy of Sciences — “Stalin's birthday cake” | 56.94315, 24.12213 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 11:10 | The Daugava Matt on the Academy roof, the Daugava river and the city laid out below. | Latvian Academy of Sciences — “Stalin's birthday cake” | 56.94316, 24.12209 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 11:11 | Top of Riga Matt and Dana at the top of the Academy of Sciences. | Latvian Academy of Sciences — “Stalin's birthday cake” | 56.94310, 24.12193 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 11:14 | The five hangars Looking down on Riga Central Market: its huge pavilions were built from German First World War zeppelin hangars and opened as a market in 1930. | Riga Central Market | 56.94316, 24.12178 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 11:14 | Market and river The Central Market pavilions, the railway bridge and the Daugava from the Academy roof. | Riga Central Market | 56.94316, 24.12178 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 11:27 | Market walls Dana against the brick walls behind the Central Market. | Riga Central Market | 56.94344, 24.11953 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 11:29 | Back of the market The market's back lots: an iron gate with a Latvian sun pattern, crates, puddles. | Riga Central Market | 56.94331, 24.11823 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 11:29 | Crates Stacked wooden crates and an old brick warehouse behind the market. | Riga Central Market | 56.94332, 24.11823 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 11:29 | The cake, from below The Academy of Sciences rising above the market district. | Riga Central Market | 56.94331, 24.11822 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 11:29 | Market building A red-brick warehouse and stacked crates in the market yards. | Riga Central Market | 56.94331, 24.11825 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 11:50 | The wagon A freight wagon in the yard of the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum — the kind of car used for deportations. | Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum | 56.94162, 24.11819 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 12:20 | Remembering Books in the Riga Ghetto museum, among them histories of the Holocaust in Latvia. | Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum | 56.94201, 24.11812 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 12:27 | Market Sunday Matt among the outdoor stalls of the Central Market, by the fish pavilion. | Siļķītes un Dillītes, Central Market | 56.94329, 24.11513 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 16:41 | Veldze, Sunday The Veldze gate under a blue sky on Sunday 6 September — the festival's last weekend. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95819, 24.12866 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 17:06 | Activism Art — the closing panel Sunday 6 September, 17:06: the audience settles in the Veldze courtyard for the festival's closing panel, “Activism Art — Changing the World One Painting at a Time”, with Dana, Matt and Katrīna Tračuma, moderated by Sandris Ādminis. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95872, 24.12945 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 18:15 | Sunday crowd Visitors reading Matt's wall in the cellars. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95847, 24.12930 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 18:15 | Looking closely A Sunday crowd in front of the Sesow wall. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95847, 24.12930 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 18:15 | Young critics Families and kids at the painted walls. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95847, 24.12930 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 18:15 | Black and white Visitors in the tiled cellar rooms, Sunday evening. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 18:15 | Phone out A visitor photographs Matt's wall. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95847, 24.12930 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 18:49 | Two paintings go home Friends of the show with Dana's Sprats on Rye and Matt's The Latvian Blue Cow on closing day. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95845, 24.12910 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 18:57 | Dana and friend Dana at Veldze with a friend of the show, in front of the festival posters — “Māksla par gaļas nodokli”, Art for Meat Tax — and GLUTTONY. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95840, 24.12936 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 18:58 | Selfie with the new owners Matt, Dana and friends with Sprats on Rye and The Latvian Blue Cow — the same blue cow that illustrated the festival's listing in the White Night programme. On the wall behind: the Baltā nakts poster, 5 September. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95848, 24.12917 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 20:06 | The Veldze yard Matt and Dana with friends in the Veldze yard, the old factory buildings behind. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | 56.95850, 24.12917 | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 20:33 | Into the tunnel Dana walking into the cellar tunnels after the crowds have gone. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 20:33 | Silhouette Dana silhouetted in a cellar arch. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Sun 6 Sep 2026 20:33 | The empty vault A vaulted cellar room, empty at 20:33. | Radošā rūpnīca Veldze — Veldze Creative Factory | — | Matt Sesow |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 09:43 | nude Dana strikes a pose under a NUDE sign, Monday morning, 7 September. | 56.95516, 24.11701 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 09:52 | Old Riga, this way Matt under the “Vecrīga / Old Riga” sign in the boulevard parks. | 56.95524, 24.11287 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 09:54 | Rainis The seated granite Rainis in Esplanāde park, unveiled in 1965 for the centenary of Latvia's national poet Jānis Rainis (1865–1929). His wife, the poet Aspazija, gave her name to the boulevard where we recorded on Radio NABA. | 56.95419, 24.11316 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 09:57 | The golden domes Matt and Dana in front of the Nativity of Christ Cathedral (1876–84). In Soviet times it was turned into a planetarium; it was returned to the Orthodox church after independence. | Nativity of Christ Cathedral | 56.95339, 24.11442 | Matt Sesow |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 10:00 | The linden alley Dana at the end of a long alley of trees in Esplanāde. | Nativity of Christ Cathedral | 56.95279, 24.11520 | Matt Sesow |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 10:00 | The linden alley (Matt) Matt in the same alley, photographed by Dana. | Nativity of Christ Cathedral | 56.95267, 24.11527 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 10:06 | For Fatherland and Freedom The honour guard at the Freedom Monument (1935, sculptor Kārlis Zāle), inscribed TĒVZEMEI UN BRĪVĪBAI — “For Fatherland and Freedom”. It survived the whole Soviet occupation. | Freedom Monument | 56.95132, 24.11328 | Matt Sesow |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 10:11 | Līvu laukums Livonian Square in the Old Town — gabled houses, café umbrellas and late-summer flower beds. | 56.94933, 24.10932 | Dana Ellyn | |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 10:13 | The Baltic Way A street exhibit on the Baltic Way of 23 August 1989, when about two million people joined hands in a chain more than 670 km long across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — on the 50th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. | 56.94939, 24.10947 | Dana Ellyn | |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 10:24 | Olde Riga Matt under the Olde Riga restaurant sign. | 56.94772, 24.10727 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 10:29 | The Riga cat A souvenir hoodie with the arched-back cat of Riga's famous Cat House — the cat that turned up in the Riga paintings. | Town Hall Square — the first Christmas tree marker | 56.94783, 24.10683 | Matt Sesow |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 10:33 | RIGA Matt and Dana at the big RIGA letters in Town Hall Square. | Town Hall Square — the first Christmas tree marker | 56.94760, 24.10656 | Matt Sesow |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 10:34 | House of the Blackheads The House of the Blackheads and the Roland statue. The guild house of 1334 was bombed in 1941 and its ruins cleared by the Soviets; it was rebuilt in 1995–99. | House of the Blackheads | 56.94755, 24.10676 | Matt Sesow |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 10:36 | Weathercock A rooster weathervane over the Old Town — Riga's church spires are traditionally topped with cockerels. | 56.94741, 24.10655 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 10:37 | The first Christmas tree The bronze marker in Town Hall Square: Riga claims the first decorated Christmas tree, put up by the Brotherhood of Blackheads in 1510. | Town Hall Square — the first Christmas tree marker | 56.94732, 24.10640 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 10:38 | 1939, in cartoon A 1939 cartoon in the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia: Stalin “befriending” the little Baltic states after the mutual-assistance pacts that opened the door to occupation. | Museum of the Occupation of Latvia | 56.94714, 24.10659 | Matt Sesow |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 10:40 | Under the flag Matt in the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia beneath the carmine-white-carmine flag — banned during the Soviet occupation, raised again in 1988–90. | Museum of the Occupation of Latvia | 56.94718, 24.10628 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 10:46 | Blackheads, looking up The stepped brick gable and statues of the House of the Blackheads against a blue sky. | House of the Blackheads | 56.94725, 24.10656 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 10:46 | Spire A copper spire and weathervane over Town Hall Square. | 56.94725, 24.10644 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 11:08 | St. Peter's St. Peter's Church, first mentioned in 1209. Its wooden spire burned in 1941; the new one, finished in 1973, carries a lift to a viewing gallery and a golden rooster on top. | St. Peter's Church | 56.94733, 24.10784 | Matt Sesow |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 11:10 | The tower from a lane St. Peter's tower glimpsed down a narrow Old Town lane. | St. Peter's Church | 56.94703, 24.10884 | Matt Sesow |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 11:10 | Green copper Dana's view up St. Peter's tower. | St. Peter's Church | 56.94706, 24.10910 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 11:15 | Naughty Squirrel The Naughty Squirrel hostel sign on an Old Town lane. | 56.94688, 24.11267 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 11:19 | Back at the radio building Matt and Dana at Aspazijas bulvāris 5, the University of Latvia faculty building that also houses Radio NABA — three days after the interview. | Radio NABA 95.8 FM — Aspazijas bulvāris 5 | 56.94785, 24.11495 | Matt Sesow |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 13:53 | Latvian beer Two Latvian beers in the apartment window: Užavas from the Ventspils coast and a Gaišais (light) lager. | Our apartment-studio on Lāčplēša iela | 56.95433, 24.12473 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Mon 7 Sep 2026 18:08 | A Sesow for friends The two friends from the Veldze wall, with a Matt Sesow painting at the door of our building. | Our apartment-studio on Lāčplēša iela | 56.95436, 24.12452 | Matt Sesow |
 | Tue 8 Sep 2026 09:33 | Alberta iela Dana on Alberta iela, the street of Mikhail Eisenstein's Art Nouveau facades (1901–08). About a third of central Riga's buildings are Art Nouveau — the densest collection anywhere, part of the UNESCO-listed historic centre. | Alberta iela | 56.95882, 24.11088 | Matt Sesow |
 | Tue 8 Sep 2026 09:34 | Dana and the sphinx Dana beside a sphinx guarding an Art Nouveau doorway. | Alberta iela | 56.95874, 24.11079 | Matt Sesow |
 | Tue 8 Sep 2026 09:40 | Wine and a fish sandwich A bar sign on Alberta iela: a glass of wine and a fish on bread. | Alberta iela | 56.95930, 24.10924 | Matt Sesow |
 | Tue 8 Sep 2026 09:46 | White facade Dana in front of an elaborate Art Nouveau apartment facade in the Quiet Centre. | Riga Art Nouveau Centre | 56.95927, 24.10759 | Matt Sesow |
 | Tue 8 Sep 2026 09:54 | Little porcelain people Painted porcelain figures lined up in front of old kitchen canisters. | Riga Art Nouveau Centre | 56.95897, 24.10597 | Matt Sesow |
 | Tue 8 Sep 2026 10:28 | Someone at the window A small figure in an open window above the street. | 56.95620, 24.11324 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Tue 8 Sep 2026 10:49 | The iron door Dana at a wrought-iron Art Nouveau doorway. | 56.95704, 24.11491 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Tue 8 Sep 2026 11:16 | Lift selfie Dana and Matt in the lift of our apartment building, Tuesday morning, 8 September. | Our apartment-studio on Lāčplēša iela | 56.95438, 24.12468 | Dana Ellyn |
 | Tue 8 Sep 2026 13:49 | Street portrait Matt and Dana on the street by the apartment with a friend and a painting. | Antikvariāts Planēta | 56.95441, 24.12521 | Matt Sesow |
 | Tue 8 Sep 2026 16:09 | Matt at work Matt painting in the apartment-studio, headphones on, 8 September. | Our apartment-studio on Lāčplēša iela | 56.95440, 24.12461 | Matt Sesow |
 | Wed 9 Sep 2026 09:52 | Hedgehogs Matt with a Baltā nakts (White Night) 2026 poster, all hedgehogs. Hedgehog in the Fog, the Soviet-era animated classic, is one of the Riga paintings. | 56.95109, 24.11967 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Wed 9 Sep 2026 10:50 | Living kvass A kvass tanker at the Central Market: “JAUNUMS! JŪSU KVASS” (New! Your kvass). Dana tries a cup of the fermented rye-bread drink. | Riga Central Market | 56.94461, 24.11592 | Matt Sesow |
 | Wed 9 Sep 2026 11:27 | A toast Matt and Dana at a café in the Old Town, Wednesday 9 September. | 56.94956, 24.11066 | Matt Sesow | |
 | Wed 9 Sep 2026 12:06 | The city canal Matt and Dana by the city canal at Bastejkalns, where memorial stones mark those killed in the January 1991 barricade days. | Bastejkalns and the city canal | 56.95144, 24.11177 | Matt Sesow |
 | Wed 9 Sep 2026 13:09 | The paint table Dana at the paint table by the apartment window, 9 September. | Our apartment-studio on Lāčplēša iela | 56.95440, 24.12461 | Matt Sesow |
7 · Recordings & transcripts
| Radio NABA 95.8 FM, 4 Sept 2026 (21:08) | video, English captions · transcript |
| LTV Kultūras ziņas, filmed 2 Sept 2026 (3:05) | video, English subtitles · transcript |
| Closing panel “Activism Art”, 6 Sept 2026 (51:01) | audio (mp3) · transcript |
| Opening night on 8mm, 4 Sept 2026 | clip 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 |
8 · Sources
- Delfi Kultūra, “Festivāls «Māksla par gaļas nodokli» ar mākslu rosinās diskusiju par gaļas patēriņu”, 21 July 2026. delfi.lv
- Delfi Kultūra, “Festivālā «Māksla par gaļas nodokli» viesosies starptautiski atzīti amerikāņu mākslinieki”, 6 August 2026. delfi.lv
- Sandris Mūriņš & Jānis Brizga, “Gaļas nodoklis ir par mūsu rijības mazināšanu”, Satori, 22 July 2026. satori.lv
- LSM.lv, “Vairāk pirkt, vairāk ēst, vairāk izmest: festivāls «Māksla par gaļas nodokli» reflektēs par rijību”, 31 August 2026. lsm.lv
- Baiba Kušķe, “Kā izskatās mūsu rijība?…”, LSM.lv / Latvijas Radio “Labrīt”, 4 September 2026. lsm.lv
- Baltā nakts 2026, official programme listing “Art on Meat Tax Festival”, 5 September 2026. baltanakts.lv
- “Apbūves attīstība Rīgā, Matīsa ielā 8” — design programme for the 2024 open architecture competition, section 4: historical development of Matīsa iela 8 (Veldze).
- Radio NABA 95.8 FM morning show, 4 September 2026; LTV Kultūras ziņas, 2 September 2026; Art for Meat Tax closing panel, 6 September 2026 — recordings above.
- Photograph metadata (date, time, GPS) from the artists' phones; place histories compiled for this site.