Anna Laganovska

Episode 7: 'The Ratting Hour' has been archived on @we_are_various website and soundcloud. 🐀🐀 In this seventh episode, The Rat Hour circles around the pursuit and exhaustion that are inherent to the 'rat race'. The set is driven by both instinct and resistance, tracing the echoes of ratting pits, urban survival, and the restless desire to keep moving at all costs. Tune in today for 'Episode 8: 'The Ratronaut', airing today, Thursday 14.05, at 2 pm on We Are Various! 🐀🐀 Image description: Die Gartenlaube (c. 1858) gestures toward a once-popular, unethical spectacle: ratting, or rat-baiting, was a blood sport in which dogs – most often terriers known as ‘ratters’ – were set loose in a pit of rats, timed and wagered upon for their massacre. Now largely outlawed, it remains a stark image of desire, instinct, and abuse. Ratters were also tasked with curbing rat populations in urban areas. Seen today, this illustration might echo differently. We move through our own dusty cities in states of self-rattilation – driven, chasing meanings and missions. At times, we throw ourselves to the dogs, caught in cycles of urgency, self-sacrifice and stress-driven fatigue, waiting for the dog days to pass. Perhaps what remains to be questioned is not the performance itself, but how and why we continue to chase (and be chased), and what it might mean to step outside the pit at last.

Tasting Tendrils → Group exhibition and public programme → 14 – 17 May, part of the Antwerp (Academy) Art Weekend @antwerpart → at @mixlab.royalacademyantwerp @royalacademyantwerp Friday May 15 → Public gathering with performative culinary interventions and artist talks _______________________ Mathias Mu presents ‘Tasting Tendrils’, an exhibition arising from year-long collaborations aligned with his ongoing research into digital fabrication using organic and edible materials. Throughout the year, the Academy’s Mixlab hosted residencies exploring how digital fabrication techniques might fold novelty into their practices. Working with food as both medium and metaphor, the resident artists found themselves in messy material encounters with machines: printed plates, edible sculptures, moulds of many kinds, and ongoing material negotiations. The exhibition brings together a series of collaborative projects developed through residencies, including @justine.grillet , @ninajoythielemans , @designagainstdesign , @love_aesthetics , @juliatr.o.scher , @daan__peeters__ and @mathias.mu As part of his artistic research project, @mathias.mu introduces ‘Neo Seer: Vessels Unhold & Ewers in Tender’. On 15 May, the public programme will present two artist talks by @yemopark & @gerolamore alongside culinary interventions With collaborations and contributions by @samulsu , @saskiasmithlife , @lad_boo , @arnofleerackers , #Joukeverlinden, #marnixvansoom, @quintendecuyper , pietervanderdonckt @eline.de.clercq , @gerolamore , @yemopark , students 2BA Jewellery Design _______________________ Friday May 15 – Public programme 13:00-15:00 Culinary intervention by Nik Naudts 16:00-17:00 Artist talk by Luca Conte 17:00-18:00 Artist talk by Yemo Park 19:30-21:00 Culinary intervention by Justine Grillet → More info #linkinbio _______________________ 📷 1-3 graphic design by @lad_boo , text by @saskiasmithlife / 4-17 photos by @elvismilofederico and the participating artists #researchroyalacademyantwerp #royalacademyantwerp

✨👏🏻🏆 Uzvarētājs kategorijā GADA TEKSTS – Anna Laganovska. Kuratora teksts Annas Malickas personālizstādei “Pūra lāde (((pure lady))) Kim? Laikmetīgās mākslas centrā Žūrijas komentārs: Dzīvs teksts, kas savieno trāpīgas kultūras atsauces ar patiesu iedziļināšanos mākslinieces praksē. Tas ved skatītāju intelektuālā ceļojumā, paplašinot izstādes materiālo pieredzi un iezīmējot domāšanas virzienus un estētiskās stratēģijas jaunākajā Latvijas mākslā.

Episode 6: The Entanglement - Prat II has been archived on @we_are_various  website and soundcloud. 🐀🐀 In this sixth episode, The Rat Hour entangles songs of love and loss, closeness and constraint. Through two chapters - or prats, as we like to call them - this valentine's edition ties a polyamorous knot of longing, where multiple bodies, sounds and voices momentarily merge into one over two months. Keep your (h)ear(t)s open for 'Episode 7: 'The Ratting Hour', airing tomorrow, Thursday 16.04, at 2 pm on We Are Various! 🐀🐀 Image description: A “rat king” is a rare phenomenon in which the tails of multiple rodents become hopelessly entangled, forming a single intertwined mass that binds them together in life - and often in death. These enigmatic knots have been reported since at least the 16th century, mostly during winters in Europe, and while some scientists doubt their authenticity, the many preserved examples suggest that entanglement can be both accidental and catastrophic. The idea of individuals fused into a collective body captures a curious composition of connection and constraint: in their attempt to free themselves the rats only tighten the knot, trapping them in a shared fate. Like a Valentine for the weird and uncanny, the rat king mirrors our imperative to desire and to love – even when the knot tightens.

~ big nostalgia disclaimer ~ exactly 7 years ago today, i opened my first big (read: i got to speak on national tv and live radio yay!) exhibition as a baby curator, about to graduate from the art academy of Latvia. looking back, i am, of course, feeling like this was such an obvious student show, and one you are unlikely to see documented in my professional portfolio. but the energy of it all is something that still amazes me every time i think about it. the daring, humorous ‘here we are’ attitude and the sensation white photoshoot for our poster? getting this poster on a massive banner? several, actually. six sponsored liters of Rizhskiy Samogon (iykyk) to serve at the opening, which was soundtracked by a loud, and i mean LOUD, hard techno dj set? this shall never be repeated, but I am SO happy for the time and space I got to share with this stunning group of artist hotties who synergised this epically joyful and unseriously serious moment with me. big love to Krišjānis @krisjanis_elviks , Rūdolfs @rudolfs_stamers , Luīze @luize.ruksane , Jānis @redzams , Alise @akasiela , Madara @madarakeidza & Marija @marijaulmane across Rīga, Paris and Berlin and thank-you to @peterisviksna for the photographic treasures ♡

Episode 5: The Entanglement - Prat I has been archived on @we_are_various website and soundcloud. 🐀🐀 In this fifth episode, The Rat Hour entangles songs of love and loss, closeness and constraint. Through two chapters - or prats, as we like to call them - this valentine's edition ties a polyamorous knot of longing, where multiple bodies, sounds and voices momentarily merge into one over two months. Keep your (h)ear(t)s open for The Entanglement - Prat II, airing this Thursday at 2 pm on We Are Various! 🐀🐀 Image description: A “rat king” is a rare phenomenon in which the tails of multiple rodents become hopelessly entangled, forming a single intertwined mass that binds them together in life - and often in death. These enigmatic knots have been reported since at least the 16th century, mostly during winters in Europe, and while some scientists doubt their authenticity, the many preserved examples suggest that entanglement can be both accidental and catastrophic. The idea of individuals fused into a collective body captures a curious composition of connection and constraint: in their attempt to free themselves the rats only tighten the knot, trapping them in a shared fate. Like a Valentine for the weird and uncanny, the rat king mirrors our imperative to desire and to love – even when the knot tightens.

Episode 4: The Ratual has been archived on @we_are_various website and soundcloud. 🐀🐀 In this fourth episode, The Rat Hour drifts through folk and experimental sonic landscapes, tracing cycles of devotion, death and rebirth. The Ratual evokes a rat rite that is shared, repeated, and imbued with intensity. From choral invocations to trance-like lamentations, this set attunes to frequencies that dwell between the earthly and the spiratual. 🐀🐀 Image description: The Karni Mata Temple in Deshnoke, India is home to tens of thousands of sacred rats, known as kābā, believed to be the reincarnated souls of Karni Mata’s devoted followers. They wander freely through the temple, drinking milk, sharing offerings with pilgrims, and embodying a spiratual cycle of death and rebirth. Devotees consider it a blessing to eat food touched by them, and great care is taken to protect and honor this rat rite. Among the dark-furred masses, rare white rats appear like living omens, said to carry the presence of the goddess herself.

Looking back on last year with so much warmth and love in my heart – when at this exact time of the year we were deep in the process of preparing Pūra lāde (((pure lady))) with Anna Malicka @nnmlck at @kim_cac . It was such a pleasure and a privilege to work closely with one of the brightest gems of the young Latvian art scene, and to develop a presentation that has brought us yet another beautiful gift just this week: two nominations in the Annual Art Award of Latvia @makslas_balva – Artwork of the Year and Text of the Year. Thank you to the jury for this recognition. It is truly heart-warming to see our work listed among our fantastic, talented peers and colleagues, and a truly special feeling to be able to contribute to art processes back home. Looking forward to more and more of that in the months and years to come. Another thank you goes out to the team of @kim_cac for giving us the opportunity to realise this exhibition and for their support throughout, as well as to @kulturkapitals for funding the project. And, of course, to all the people who helped the exhibition take shape in practical ways, lending their hands to days of wood work, textile experiments, graphite magic and video shooting. So here are the installation photos, taken by Ansis Starks @ansisstarks . 🪡🪡🪡🪡🪡🪡🪡🪡🪡🪡🪡🪡🪡🪡

Happy New Year! ☃️# ❄️ #🏂 Happy to see Belgian snow covering my sculptures, and grateful for all the people and things that made this possible. 🤍 “A Short History of Unresolved Spaces Caused by Attempting a Greater Speed I–III”, 2024 Site-specific installation produced by @thwrkshp Commissioned by @borderbuda Curated by Anna Laganovska @samulsu and Koi Persyn @koi_persyn Dream team!

The third episode of The Rat Hour has been archived on the website of @we_are_various and Soundcloud. 🐀🐀 This one started out exactly a year ago when Koi and I were putting together a list for a new year’s party at @sparewheel_brussels . Throughout 2025, the shared playlist called “new year koi & anna jams. mood: eclectic & epic” became the place where we dropped all of our favourite bangers, and exactly that high energy soundtrack we would pull out anywhere from focused office hours, to the gym, to 3am kitchen party booty shakes. So for the holiday season of The Rat Hour, we put together some of our favourite praty party tunes, progressing from quirky to smooth, to increasingly fast and dirty. 🐁🐁 Image description: Screen printed RAT Party singlet, designed for one of the many club nights organised by the Recreational Arts Team (RAT) in Sydney during the 1980s. This artistic collective was known for its experimental, queer-inclusive, underground culture that merged performance, fashion, graphic design and nightlife. The garment reflects the DIY-ethos and social energy of the pRATy scene.

past few months of life on film ☆ becoming belgian ☆ athens and istanbul with koi, meeting the most wonderful locals, and swimming in the sea on last days of october ☆ research trip bringing me to my childhood beach in latvia, frames haunted ☆ cutie scorpio birthday joy ☆ john maus concert and loves ☆ me looking at stine, and stine looking at me on a warm december saturday in brussels

Episode 2: The Rat Hole has been archived on @we_are_various website and soundcloud. 🐀🐀 Capturing the feels and moods of this autumn season, it's a mix of new and old tunes, and a usual eclectic switch of temperaments and forms. Weaved with recollections of the past month's travels, and shapeshifting, and seeking of new fortunes and meanings in the abstract shapes of life in and around us. Ending in a capture of the warmest memory of our dear @tgrltlk reading my fortune on a terrace in Istanbul. We hope you enjoy this. For the next mix, we are switching it up again and upping the bpm's to put together a selection of the dirtiest praty party bangers for the holiday season. So stay tuned. 🐀🐀 Image description: In Chicago’s Roscoe Village, a small 'roadent'-shaped imprint in the sidewalk sparked an unlikely local legend. Believed by some to be a rat frozen in wet concrete, it inspired visitors to leave tiny offerings and treat the spot like a miniature shrine. Its uncertain origin deepened its appeal as a pilgrimage site. The rat hole was described by The New York Times as "Chicago's Stonehenge", after which the slab was relocated to its City Hall.