2026 Festival
International "Scent+Art Festival 2026" Concludes in Riga, Uniting Over 100 Participants from 32 Countries
RIGA, 12 May 2026 — The second international Scent+Art Festival 2026 successfully concluded on 10 May at the Creative Factory Veldze in Riga, having brought together more than 100 artists, researchers and practitioners from 32 countries over five days of immersive, multisensory programming.
The festival offered a rich programme of exhibitions, performances, lectures, masterclasses, workshops, literary readings and networking events, affirming scent as a compelling medium of contemporary art and demonstrating the growing global interest in multisensory creative practice.
A Festival That Grew Beyond Expectations
Building on its debut in 2025 — which drew 41 participants from 9 countries and approximately 700 visitors — this year's edition marked a significant leap in both scale and international reach. The 2026 festival attracted participants from 32 countries, cementing Scent+Art Festival's position as a leading platform for experimental and interdisciplinary art practices worldwide.
Festival director Sandris Mūriņš reflected on the event: "Seeing artists and thinkers from across the globe converge in Riga around the shared language of scent has been extraordinary. This festival has become a genuine meeting place for an international community, and that means a great deal — not only for the artists involved, but for Riga and Latvia as a whole."
Program Highlights
The festival opened on the evening of 6 May with a world premiere: a new work for scent and music conceived especially for the occasion by scent art pioneer Brian Goeltzenleuchter and composer Preston Swirnoff, performed live by the mixed choir of the Jāzeps Mediņš Riga Music Secondary School.
On 7 May, two international exhibitions opened to the public — Through the Fog of Uncertainty and Scent Archive — drawing significant interest from both local and international audiences.
The 8 May programme explored scent as a mode of information archiving, while 9 May centred on this year's overarching theme with a keynote online lecture by world-renowned neuroscientist Rachel Herz on the phenomenon of smell loss. The festival concluded on 10 May with a showcase of works by Latvian performance artists.
This Year's Theme
Through the Fog of Uncertainty — the central theme of the 2026 edition — invited artists and audiences alike to reflect on navigating a world shaped by conflict, climate change, shifting values and accelerating technological change. Using fog as a metaphor for instability and the unknown, the festival offered a space to slow down, cultivate awareness and explore new forms of presence and grounding.
About Scent+Art Festival
Scent+Art Festival is an international, community-based contemporary art festival dedicated to the integration of the olfactory sense into artistic practice across audiovisual art, music, performance, dance and literature. The festival is curated by Sandris Mūriņš, Maria Zegna, Marika Rozenberga, Anna Vilāne and Ieva Vilciņa.
The 2026 edition was supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation, Creative Factory Veldze, and Radio NABA. Technical support for the performance programme was provided by Lares Baltic Tribal Gathering.
Participants
Evija Ābrama, Irina Adam, Oriente Pimentel Aldaz, Rosa Almeida, Arnolds Ariņš, Kate Armstrong, Se Young Au, Normal Babyy, KITAPOLENG BALI, Andreas Barth, Inese Bērziņa, Ilmārs Blumbergs, Anna Brudzinska, Elīne Buka, Butō Lab, Michaela Cagáňová & Sleepy Press, Gabriel De Carvalho, Lilia Chak, Perry Chong, Juice Cui, Katerina Dementeva, Caetano Mendes Dias, Ieva Dzintare, Elīza Eikerte, Catherine Haley Epstein, Anna Laura Erdei, #FFFF00, Erik Fooladi, Diana Galli, Brian Goeltzenleuchter, Polina Golovátina-Mora, Franzi Goralski, Maryna Gradnova, Emīlija Grinberga, Velta Gūtmane, David Häuser, Prof. Rachel Herz, JMRMV jauktais koris vai Dziesmuvara., Velta ESmeralda Kalnozola-Kalsere, Viola Karule, Alexandre Zafar Khan, Sergey Khismatov, Sille Kima, Dmitri Kourliandski, Santa Kristiāna Krūze, Hyeeun Kwak, Ēvalds Lazarevičš, Solvita Lazdāne, LEFRANG Lucille, Diana Lelis, Liss Leussant, Alexandre Levi, Kaú Lim, Mailo Mēness, Zsolt Mesterhazy, Bruno Mesz, Sandris Mūriņš, Darta Mutule, Arta Ozola-Jaunarāja, Pasiphae Kythera Non Profit Organisation, Arturs Petersons, Rita Pranča, Maria Miguel Pratas, Eeva-Liisa Puhakka, Mojca Radkovič, Dominique Rivoal, Bruno Rodrigues, Lisa Rommé, MARIKA ROZENBERGA, Kristina Elettra Rubine, Bridget Sheridan, Maija Sjomkāne, Leni Smoragdova, Annija Sprīvule, Krišjānis Stikāns, Kristiāna Šuksta, Preston Swirnoff, Sebatstian Tedesco, Emilia Telese, Michael Tippett, Daria Titova, Nada Tomic, Katrīna Tračuma, Roberta Tukiša, Yuliya Untilova, Dana Vetrova, Anna Vilāne, Ieva Vilciņa, Arturs Voinovs, Emerson Voss, Xinlyu Wang(Shu), Shuntaro YOSHIDA, Maria Zegna, Nora Žeigure
Smell walk, Downtown Riga (2026).
Selected Projects
Rosa Almeida (Instagram: @atelierosaalmeida), A Scented Non-Site, A Natural Coastal Park, 2026
Gabriel De Carvalho (Instagram: @the_olfactory_art_studio), A Time for Peace, A Time for Waltz, 2026
Velta Esmeralda Kalnozola-Kalsere (Instagram: @vel_tas), ŠANEL NO 5, 2026
Captions Captions 100% 10 aly 1 of 1 B8 Alyssa Keil (Instagram: @abkeil) — Scratch 'n Sniff Ohio River — May 6–10 B8 Alyssa Keil (Instagram: @abkeil) — Scratch 'n Sniff Ohio River — May 6–10 Alyssa Keil (Instagram: @abkeil), Scratch 'n Sniff Ohio River, 2026
Roberta Recuerda (Instagram: @robertacataryna), Patrīcija Kronberga (Instagram: @patricija.kronberga) & Tonijs Strods, MĒS ESAM ZEME / WE ARE EARTH, Pole Performance, 2026
Nada Tomic (Instagram: @nacke), When Life Gives You Lemons, 2026
Brian Goeltzenleuchter (Instagram: @bg_projects) and Preston Swirnoff (Instagram: @prestonswir), Odophonics: A Performance for Scent and Choir, 2026
Alexandre Levi (Instagram: @alexparistokyo), KNOT YET, 2026
Franziska Goralski (Instagram: @franziska_goralski), Do You Remember What It Smelled Like Back Then?, 2026
Maija Sjomkane (Instagram: @maija.sjomkane), Distant Memories, 2026
Emerson Voss (Instagram: @chesscompoer), A Poetic of Space, 2026
Ieva Dzintare (Instagram: @dzintareieva), Rūta Kalmuka & Ojārs Apinis — Tango in the Ivy — Performance, 2026
Mailo Mēness (Instagram: @sputnikflieshigh), Alfa for Courage, performance, 2026
Butō Lab (Instagram: @buto.lab), Peeling Earth, Performance, 2026
Eeva-Liisa Puhakka (Instagram: @eevaliisapuhakka), Smell of Hug, 2026
Catherine Haley Epstein (Instagram: @mindmarrow) — A Case for Scent as an Artist’s Most Powerful Tool: Scent’s Vital Role in Free Association, Divergent Thinking, and Creativity — Lecture/Installation, 2026
Norte y Sør (Instagram: @norteysoer), Gradual Descent (Rothko Rooms 2), 2026
Viola Karule (Instagram: @viola_karule.art), Inta Paula Briņķe (Instagram: @inta.zelts) & Arta Ozola-Jaunarāja (Instagram: @artaozolajaunaraja) — BIJUMA BIJĪBA / Reverence of Time — Installation, 2026
Rita Pranča (Instagram: @prancarita), Pollinated by Touch, 2026
Caetano Mendes Dias (Instagram: @caetanodiasstudio / @caetanomendesdias), Deep Breath, 2026
Emīlija Grinberga (Instagram: @emilija.grinberga & @grafika.grinberga) — The Bridal Bouquet Held by Latvian Women, 2026
Mojca Radkovič (Instagram: @rojca), What You Take to Bed With You, 2026
Santa Kristiāna Krūze (Instagram: @sanyakristiana) — Figure at the Table, 2026
Lisa Rommé (Instagram: @art_olfactory) — What Does Art Smell Like? — Lecture, 2026
Diana Lelis (Instagram: @lelispoems) & Elīza Eikerte (Instagram: @elizaeikerte) — PPP – Present Perfect Process — Session-video performance-installation, 2026
Erik Fooladi (Instagram: @erikfooladi) — Aroma Jockeying — Workshop, 2026
Hyeeun Kwak (Instagram: @olfactoryartist_hyen) — Nice to Sniff You (맡나서 반가워요) — Performance, 2026
Polina Golovátina-Mora & Bridget Sheridan (Instagram: @bsheridan.walkingart), Rosemary’s Anarchiving, Workshop, 2026
Program
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16:00 - 17:00 1 Shed Speed Networking Session by Sandris Mūriņš
18:00 - 19:00 1 Shed Festival Opening Words by Sandris Mūriņš
Lecture “A Case for Scent as an Artist’s Most Powerful Tool: Scent’s Vital Role in Free Association, Divergent Thinking, and Creativity” by Catherine Haley Epstein
Scented-video dance “Cindence” by Maria Zegna & Artūrs Petersons (Nōrtean)
19:00 - 21:00 1 Shed Performance “Salt, Ink, and the Breathing Ocean” by Maryna Gradnova
19:00 - 20:00 2 Performance space Music performance “Odophonics: A Performance for Scent and Choir” by Brian Goeltzenleuchter, Preston Swirnoff & Jāzepa Mediņa Rīgas Mūzikas vidusskolas jauktais koris (Choir conductor Tomass Meri, Artistic director Nora Žeigure)
20:00 - 21:00 2 Performance space Live streaming “Under the Fog, Under Ground, Under Memory, day 1 in remembrance of the seas and oceans” by Alexandre Zafar Khan
Technological demonstration “From Septimus Piesse to the ESP32: Building the Osmo v5” by Bruno Mesz
21:00 - 23:00 2 Performance space Experience “Aroma Dancing” by Ieva Vilciņa & Sandris Mūriņš
21:00 - 23:00 3 Office Experience “Scented Tinder” by Kristiāna Šuksta
21:00 - 23:00 Meeting in (1) Shed Experience “Dreaming Futures” by Annija Sprīvule & Inese Bērziņa
21:00 - 23:00 1 Shed Scented Video dance “A ceremony for the burnt land” by Pasiphae Kythera
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10:00 - 11:00 1 Shed Mentoring Sessions with Brian Goeltzenleuchter, Bruno Mesz, Gabriel De Carvalho, Lisa Rommé, Hyeeun Kwak, Erik Fooladi
11:00 - 12:00 1 Shed Masterclass “The Olfactory Present: Strategies for Integrating Scent and Contemporary Art” by Brian Goeltzenleuchter
12:00 - 15:00 1 Shed Workshop “Olfactory Translation: From Concept to Composition. Translating ideas, images, and narratives into scent” by Gabriel De Carvalho
12:00 - 13:00 2 Performance space Workshop “Smell Organ Demo” by Bruno Mesz
13:00 - 14:00 3 Office Workshop “Flamenco: Rhythm in Motion, Scent in Space” by Arta Ozola-Jaunarāja
14:00 - 15:00 2 Performance space Experiment “Olfaction and Music: Crossmodal Links” by Oriente Pimentel Aldaz
18:00 - 19:00 1 Shed Lecture “What Does Art Smell Like?” by Lisa Rommé
19:00 - 20:00 1 Shed Exhibition Opening Words by Curators – Marika Rozenberga, Anna Vilāne & Sandris Mūriņš
20:00 - 21:00 2 Performance space Performance “KNOT YET” by Alexandre Levi
20:00 - 21:00 Exhibition hall “Through the Fog of Uncertainty”
Performance “Memories Unheard, Futures Forgotten” by Juice Cui
21:00 - 23:00 2 Performance space Session-video performance-installation “PPP – Present Perfect Process” by Diana Lelis and Elīza Eikerte
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10:00 - 11:00 1 Shed Collaborative Networking moderated by Sandris Mūriņš
11:00 - 12:00 1 Shed Masterclass “Reimagining Domestic Space: A Multisensory Music-Theatrical Methodology of Home” by Emerson Voss
12:00 - 14:00 2 Performance space Workshop “Aroma Jockeying” by Erik Fooladi
12:00 - 13:00 3 Office Workshop “Rosemary’s Anarchiving” by Polina Golovátina-Mora & Bridget Sheridan
13:00 - 14:00 Exhibition hall “Through the Fog of Uncertainty”
Workshop “Smell Organ Demo” by Bruno Mesz
13:00 - 14:00 3 Office Workshop “Flamenco: Rhythm in Motion, Scent in Space” by Arta Ozola-Jaunarāja
14:00 - 15:00 2 Performance space Workshop "ESSIRE Deprivation made Eroticism - Cinema and Olfaction " by Liss Leussant
14:00 - 15:00 3 Office Experiment “Olfaction and Music: Crossmodal Links” by Oriente Pimentel Aldaz
17:00 - 18:00 1 Shed Demonstration “SCENTINEL: Safeguarding Olfactory Landscapes in a Changing World” by Bruno Rodrigues
18:00 - 19:00 1 Shed Masterclass “Afarsemon — an ancient fragrance once used in sacred rituals in the region of Israel” by Lilia Chak
18:00 - 19:00 Exhibition hall “Scent Archive”
Reading “Do you remember what it smelled like back then?” by Franzi Goralski up
19:00 - 20:00 Exhibition hall “Scent Archive”
Performance “Nice to Sniff You (맡나서 반가워요)” by Hyeeun Kwak
19:00 - 20:00 1 Shed Scented Video Dance “NuCarob” by Shuntaro Yoshida
20:00 - 21:00 3 Office Workshop “Rosemary’s Anarchiving” by Polina Golovátina-Mora & Bridget Sheridan
20:00 - 21:00 1 Shed Scented Video Dance by KITAPOLENG BALI
21:00 - 22:00 2 Performance space Performance “KNOT YET” by Alexandre Levi
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11:00 - 11:40 1 Shed Lecture “Instruments of Synesthesia: Translating Insect Olfaction into Human Perception” by Anna Laura Erdei
12:00 - 13:00 RAA SPACE Music Performance “AromaPiano” by Yuliya Untilova & Marynka
12:00 - 13:00 2 Performance space Performance “Tango in the Ivy” by Ieva Dzintare, Rūta Kalmuka & Ojārs Apinis
13:00 - 14:00 Exhibition Hall “Through the Fog of Uncertainty”
Performance “BIJUMA BIJĪBA / Reverence of Time” by Viola Karule, Inta Paula Briņķe & Arta Ozola-Jaunarāja
14:00 - 15:00 2 Performance space Scented Music Performance “Cheap Tea” by Normal Babyy
13:00 - 15:00 Hall 3 Experience “From the Dunes to the Forest” by Darta Mutule
15:00 - 16:00 1 Shed Lecture / Technological Demonstration “Foundations of Aromagraphy with Demonstration of Scent Camera as Multisensory Recorder” by Sandris Mūriņš, Ilmārs Blumbergs and Arnolds Ariņš
15:00 - 16:00 3 Office Workshop “Flamenco: Rhythm in Motion, Scent in Space” by Arta Ozola-Jaunarāja
16:00 - 17:00 2 Performance space Pole performance “MĒS ESAM ZEME / WE ARE EARTH” by Roberta Tukiša & Patrīcija Kronberga, scents added by Tonijs Strods
16:00 - 17:00 Exhibition Hall “Scent Archive”
Experience during Tea House “A Scented Non-Site: A Coastal Natural Park” by Rosa Almeida
17:00 - 18:00 2 Performance space Music Performance “Sensitise” by Erik Fooladi & Andreas Barth
17:00 - 18:00 Exhibition Hall “Through the Fog of Uncertainty”
Performance "In the wheel" by Kaú Lim
18:00 - 19:00 1 Shed Keynote Lecture “Smell Loss” by Rachel Herz
19:00 - 20:00 Exhibition Hall “Through the Fog of Uncertainty”
Performance “Peeling Earth” by Butō Lab
19:00 - 21:00 3 Office Workshop “Embodied Ways of Being with Uncertainty” co-led by Dominique & Daphne
20:00 - 21:00 2 Performance space Music Performance “Happy Mill” (composed by Dmitri Kourliandski) by Ēvalds Lazarevičs
21:00 - 3:00 2 Performance space DJ Night organized by Artūrs Voinovs
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10:00 - 12:00 Meeting in 1 Shed Scent Walk “Spring, Riga” by Solvita Lazdāne
11:00 - 12:00 1 Shed Marikas Rozenbergas lekcija “Vai smaržas var uzskatīt par mākslu? Iepazīstieties: mākslinieciskā parfimērija!”
12:00 - 13:00 2 Performance space Scented Video dance “A ceremony for the burnt land” by Pasiphae Kythera
Scented Video Dance “NuCarob” by Shuntaro Yoshida
12:00 - 13:00 Exhibition hall “Through the Fog of Uncertainty”
Performance “so, life gave me lemons” by Katerina Dementeva
13:00 - 14:00 1 Shed Performance “Dzira” by Velta Gūtmane
13:00 - 14:00 2 Performance space Scented Video Dance by KITAPOLENG BALI
14:00 - 16:00 2 Performance space Workshop “Embodied Ways of Being with Uncertainty” co-led by Dominique & Daphne
13:00 - 14:00 Meeting in 1 Shed Performance "Medium spicy" by Anna Vilāne & Krišjānis Stikāns
14:00 - 15:00 3 Office Performance “Alfa for Courage” by Mailo Mēness
15:00 - 16:00 Exhibition hall “Through the Fog of Uncertainty”
Performance “elegy of the lilac” by Maria Miguel Pratas & Sille Kima
16:00 - 17:00 1 Shed Announcement of “Scent + ART Festival 2027” by Sandris Mūriņš
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Funding Support
The festival was made possible with the support of the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia (VKKF).
Additional support was provided to individual festival participants through a range of international grants, research programmes, and cultural mobility initiatives, including:
NTNU Artistic Research Project Grant
Instituto Camões
Volda University College
Nature of Us: Mobility for Scientists, Workshop Foundation
Goethe-Institut
Culture Moves Europe, a European Union mobility grant programme
ETD Project, funded by the HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-TALENTS-02-01 programme
We gratefully acknowledge all funding partners and supporting institutions whose contributions enabled the participation of artists, researchers, and practitioners from diverse international backgrounds and supported the development of the festival’s artistic and educational programme.