BIO
Ilze Mazpane is a Latvian performance artist based in Riga, working primarily with durational and site-responsive performance. Her background in philosophy, experimental theatre, creative writing, education, and visual communication informs a practice in which conceptual rigour meets embodied and poetic experience. Her work centres on subjective time and the possibilities of making duration perceptible beyond the measure of the clock.
Her practice-based research at the Art Academy of Latvia examined durational performance and the experience of subjective time. Her work has been presented internationally, including at Venice Performance Art Week, PerformIstanbul, and through artist residencies and performance contexts across Europe.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I am captivated by the subjective perception of time and the concept of ‘kairos,’ the right, opportune moment. This fascination propels me to create site-specific durational performances that culminate in installations designed to dissolve over time. Through repetitive actions, extended duration, and poetic structure, my intent is to invite a more acute, sensitive, and immediate experience and contemplation of time. This could be seen as a potential remedy, or at the very least, a diagnosis for the prevailing anxiety in our era.
My creative process begins with simple yet fundamental questions: What characterizes the place where I currently stand? How does the present moment manifest itself? What narrative does my body communicate about this time and space? And ultimately, what significance can be gleaned from it all? By extracting and melding these responses, I shape a ritualistic experience – a durational act tailored to the environment. Throughout this journey, I remain receptive to a spectrum of emotions that manifest themselves over time in my body, environment and interactions with people: from excitement and healthy curiosity to quiet contemplation and moments of boredom and despair. I am willing to invest a part of myself while equally embracing the gifts bestowed by this creative odyssey. As this process becomes a habitual practice over time, my body assists my mind when fatigue sets in, and vice versa – a dynamic that is both challenging and healing.
I firmly believe in the remarkable power of silence and empathy. Consequently, my work embodies an intimate and sensitive exploration of the symbiotic relationship that arises from contrasts – the interplay between structure and freedom, the juxtaposition of fragility and the resilience inherent in the human body and psyche, and the tension between the desire to capture time and the reverence for its inherent unpredictability. My artistic pursuit poses a question to both the viewer and myself: What intricate connections does this practice forge between the past and future of this place, as well as our own personal narratives? What patterns do we perceive, and what do they reveal about us within this specific time and space?
CV
Education
2024–2026 MA in Visual Communication,
2012–2014 Pedagogy Studies, Mission Possible (Teach First Latvia)
2011–2012 Literary Academy – Education Programme for Writers, Latvia
2009 European Voluntary Service (EVS), Graz, Austria (Erasmus+ Programme)
2002–2006 BA in Philosophy, University of Latvia
Selected Performances
2026
• 101 (solo performance), Pāvilosta, Latvia • XXX (duo performance), Riga, Latvia
• Nerve (solo performance), Riga, Latvia
2025
• All the Waters in the World (solo performance), International Performance Festival “Starptelpa”, Riga, Latvia. Award for Emerging Performance Artists, International Performance Festival “Starptelpa”, Riga, Latvia
• A White Trace of Time (solo performance), Blanca, Spain
• Overload (solo performance), Riga, Latvia
• Black Hole II (solo performance), Helsinki, Finland
2024
• 1h 37 min to Read a Book (solo performance), Riga, Latvia
• Clear III (solo performance), Birznieki, Latvia
• Black Hole (solo performance), Vernéřovice, Czechia
• Freedom from the Tyranny of Time (solo performance), International Performance Festival “Starptelpa”, Riga, Latvia
2023
• Hope Is Not Enough (solo performance), International Performance Festival “Starptelpa”, Riga, Latvia
• Future Telling in the Sky (collective performance), Bornholm, Denmark
• The Next Life* (solo performance), Rejmyre Art Lab, Sweden
2022
• Dreamer (solo performance), International Performance Festival “Starptelpa”, Riga, Latvia
2020
• Everything Will Simmer Down (solo performance), as part of Stay LIVE at Home, PerformIstanbul
• The First Light (solo performance), various locations
• A While (solo performance), Venice Performance Art Week, Venice, Italy
2019
• Comfort Zone I (solo performance), International Performance Art Festival “Performance Crossings”, Prague, Czechia
• Linked (duo performance), Bergen International Performance Festival, Bergen, Norway
• (Un)ravel (solo performance), International Performance Festival “Warmflasche”, Berlin, Germany
2018
• Too Dark to Be Shy (duo performance), International Performance Art Festival “Performance Crossings”, Prague, Czechia
• Shoes to Choose (duo performance), International Performance Festival “Perform or Not”, Tallinn, Estonia
Residencies, Masterclasses, Workshops
2026
PAiR residency (4 weeks), Pāvilosta, Latvia
2025
Marilyn Arsem, “On Practice” (5-day masterclass), London, UK Artist Residency, Vernéřovice, Czechia
Artist Residency “On Duration” (1 month), Blanca, Spain
2023
Artist Residency “Refuging” (6 weeks), Rejmyre, Sweden
BIRCA Residency (2 weeks), Bornholm, Denmark
2020
Marilyn Arsem, “Considering Time” (7-day masterclass), Venice, Italy
Vika Eksta “Camera – an Ally of Performance” (3 days workshop), Riga, Latvia
2019
Tine Louise Kortermand (2 days workshop), Riga, Latvia
Anette Friedrich Johannessen and Jan-Egil Finne (2 days workshop), Riga, Latvia Maureen Fleming (2 days workshop), Riga, Latvia
2018
Artist Residency (5 days) Vernéřovice, Czech Republic
Stephanie Lupo, *When the Actor Meets the Performer* (5-day masterclass), Locarno, Switzerland
Press
2026
• Krejere, Dace. “Ilzes Mazpanes performancē Pāvilostā 101 glāze kļūs par laika mēru, materiālu un liecinieku” [In Ilze Mazpane’s Pāvilosta Performance, 101 Glasses Become a Measure, Material and Witness of Time]. LSM.lv, 24 July 2026.
2025
• Buševica, Līga. “Tiešsaistē ar sevi. Par dzīvo performanču programmu festivālā ‘Starptelpa'” [Connected with Oneself: On the Live Performance Programme at the ‘Starptelpa’ Festival]. LSM.lv, 9 June 2025.
• Feldberga, Laura. “Zivis, nāras un citas būtnes. Festivāla ‘Starptelpa’ dienasgrāmata” [Fish, Mermaids and Other Beings: ‘Starptelpa’ Festival Diary]. LSM.lv, 9 June 2025.
2024
• Evelone, Gundega, and Festivāls “Starptelpa”. “Dīvainas transformācijas. Performances festivāla ‘Starptelpa’ dienasgrāmata” [Strange Transformations: ‘Starptelpa’ Performance Festival Diary]. LSM.lv, 1 June 2024.
Professional Experience in Education and Advertising
2026-present Freelance education methodologist and consultant
2024–2026 Senior Expert – Arts, Culture and Literacy Education, State Education Development Agency of Latvia
2016–2023 Senior Expert, National Centre for Education of Latvia
2020–2023 Drama and Cultural Studies Teacher
2014–2018 Coach/Supervisor for teachers of Art, Literature, Design and Latvian Language
2012–2014 Latvian Language and Literature Teacher
2005–2012 Advertising Copywriter
