The fourth Osokins Freedom Festival dedicated to Ukraine is announced
From 7 May to 11 June, the fourth edition of Freedom Festival by pianist Andrejs Osokins will take place in Riga, which for the second year will be dedicated to Ukraine and its people. It will bring together Latvian and Ukrainian musicians, actors and bands, renowned in Latvia and around the world. New collaborations, concert programmes and other events will be created especially for the Festival to remind people of the ideals of freedom and humanity, to inspire society to be more supportive of each other, to provide a moment of respite and strength, and, in cooperation with Ukrainian support organisations, to promote the involvement of Ukrainian refugees living in Latvia in various activities. The proceeds from ticket sales during the festival will be donated to support Ukraine in cooperation with the “Biļešu paradīze” and the donation fund Ziedot.lv.
Andrejs Osokins, the Festival's creator and promoter, says: “The war has been going on for more than a year, which is absolutely unimaginable, so with this year's Festival programme, we want to promote the social cohesion by combining the strengths, energy and talents of all of us, to remind people how extremely important it is to continue to support Ukraine and Ukrainians. We in Latvia are united in our desire for freedom, we understand and feel the values for which the Ukrainian people are fighting, therefore, with our firm stand against Russia as the aggressor, we are an example for other countries to support Ukraine even more powerfully, because its army is the main force that with its blood brings victory closer and brings peace and freedom to all of us.”
A glimpse into the Osokins Freedom Festival for Ukraine, 2022: https://youtu.be/PtH6C5pY82M
From 7 to 19 May, several festival opening events are planned – lectures, masterclasses and others, information about which will follow soon, and from 20 May to 11 June, eight concerts will take place in various venues in Riga: the Blackheads’ House, Wagner House, Ziedonis Hall of the Latvian National Library, Anglican Church, culture spaces “Ola Foundation” and “Amoralle Level Up”.
During the festival, several concert programmes created especially for the festival will be premiered, bringing together Latvian and Ukrainian classical and popular musicians, bands and actors, creating a space for mutual interaction and enrichment of both cultures. The artists will include actors Gundars Āboliņš, Dita Lūriņa, Larisa Semirozumenko, string ensemble “Kremerata Lettonica”, pianist Georgijs Osokins, musicians Ralfs Eilands, Katrīna Gupalo, Žoržs Siksna, Roberto Meloni, Darya Leleko, bands “Labvēlīgais Tips”, “Shakima TRIO”, “Sub Scriptum”, violinist Nina Khanetska of the Ukrainian Symphony Orchestra, mezzo-soprano Ieva Parša, pianist Iveta Cālīte, piano duo Roksana Tarvide and Kaspars Bumbišs, piano quartet “Quadra”, composers Platon Buravitsky and Annika Lanka, artist Darya Kalashnikova, Andrejs Osokins himself and many others.
Eight concerts have now been announced:
20 May – Opening Concert at the Ziedonis Hall of the National Library of Latvia;
27 May – Concert by Andrejs Osokins and a string quartet, at the Culture Space “Ola Foundation”;
28 May – Poetic Concert by Gundars Āboliņš and Andrejs Osokins at the Celebration Hall of the Blackheads’House;
1 June – Support Concert “People, cats and music” at the Anglican Church for Pets Affected by the War in Ukraine;
2 June – Avant-Garde Night Concert at the Anglican Church;
4 June –Solo Concert by Katrina Gupalo in the Event Space “Amoralle Level Up”;
10 June – Closing Concert at Wagner Hall;
11 June – the Epilogue of the Festival – a Solo Concert by Georgijs Osokins.
The festival is organised in cooperation with the “Spice” shopping centre, the Embassy of Ukraine, the Confederation of Ukrainian Associations “Viche”, Ziedot.lv, the Ukrainian Support Centre “Common Ground” and other supporters.
The festival programme is available and tickets for all concerts can be purchased at all “Biļešu paradīze” box offices and online at https://www.bilesuparadize.lv/lv/custompage/3553.
A photo overview of the Osokins Freedom Festival for Ukraine, 2022: https://failiem.lv/u/aa68uvy6r.
Photographers Žanis Zujevičs, Juris Justs, Reinis Auziņš, Ginta Zīverte, Jānis Romanovskis, Šeila, Jānis Škapars and Sergejs Kaļiņins.
For more information about the festival, visit www.andrejsosokins.com.
