Rasa Smite & Raitis Smits

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Rasa Smite (b. 1969) and Raitis Smits (b. 1966) are media artists, organisers and net activists, based in Riga, Latvia. Rasa Smite and Raitis Smits together with Jaanis Garancs are the initiators and founders of the Electronic arts and media centre E-lab (1996) and The Center for New Media Culture RIXC (2000) in Riga. E-LAB (now RIXC) is the organiser of the annual International new media culture festivals Art and Communication in Riga (since 1996).

Since 1997 Rasa Smite and Raitis Smits are working towards the development of experimental interneta radio. They are co-founders of Riga internet radio OZONE (1997); editors of the publication on new media culture and net audio - The Acoustic.Space (1998-2000) and co-founders of the international net.broadcasters network and mailinglist XCHANGE (1997). The project XCHANGE - Net Audio Network, was awarded with the 2nd prize /Award of Distinction/ in the competition of electronic arts "PRIX Ars Electronica '98", Linz, Austria. Rasa Smite and Raitis Smits are also teaching media arts and net culture (Latvian Academy of Arts (since 1998), J.Rozentala Arts College in Riga (in 2000/2001), and in the Media and Arts College in Tornio, Helsinki (1999/2000).

They are actively involved in developing cultural exchange and networks in the field of new media culture within the Europe, in particular in the Baltic Sea and North-East European region. E-LAB is co-founder of the ECB - European Cultural Bakcbone, the coalition of European media art centres; and co-initiator of the Baltic/Nordic media art network - NICE [Network Interface for Cultural Exchange].

They organised Acoustic.Space Lab - research programme and international symposium on sound art, radio and satellite technologies, which took place in the Ventspils Radioastronomy center's radio telescope, former military object, located in the forests of Latvia.

In 2000 they set up new cultural infrastructure in Riga - The Center for New Media Culture RIXC - public space and media lab.

Publications
  • Rasa Šmite, Raitis Šmits. Acoustic Space Laboratory, 2006, [1] A talk initially delivered at the Art and Science conference, organised by British Council in Stockholm School of Economics, Riga, Latvia, October 20, 2006; this text is improved version, written for Kunstradio publication on radioart.
  • "Conversation with Rasa Smite from RIXC", Fucking Good Art, Rotterdam, 2007, mp3, [2]
  • Tilman Baumgärtel, "Rasa Šmite and Raitis Šmits", [3] (Latvian)
  • Rasa Smite, "About New Media Art", 2012. Video.
  • Rasa Smite, Creative Networks: In the Rearview Mirror of Eastern European History, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, Sep 2012, 160 pp. Based on PhD research on network culture of the 90s (2006-2011).
  • Rasa Smite, Talk to Me. Exploring Human-Plant Communication, Riga: RIXC, 2014.
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