ISSP Gallery (LV) is an exhibition space dedicated to contemporary photography, operating in Riga since 2018. The gallery focuses on photography as an integral part of contemporary art, exploring its interaction with other media, and exhibiting works by established local and international artists.
At Foto Tallinn 2026, ISSP Gallery presents works by MAREUNROL’S and Rūta Kalmuka, bringing together two distinct yet resonant artistic positions that examine ritual and the search for orientation in uncertain times. Kalmuka’s practice draws on the ancient Liv spring solstice ritual of driving away darkness and ushering in light, transforming folklore, movement and symbolism into a contemporary reflection on healing, protection and renewal. The artist duo MAREUNROL’S approach similar questions from another angle, addressing the psychological effects of information overload, mediated realities, and growing alienation through symbolic imagery. In both works, the bird emerges as a central motif: a common symbol of hope, transition, and the possibility of renewal.
ASNI
ASNI (LV) is an independent contemporary art gallery founded in 2024 by curators Elīna Drāke and Auguste Petre, nestled in the heart of Riga, Latvia. Dedicated to emerging Baltic artists at pivotal early stages of their careers, the gallery’s programme reflects the experimentation, urgency, and diversity of the region today. With a sharp, considered selection, ASNI aims to introduce the next generation of Baltic artists to an international audience.
At Foto Tallinn 2026, ASNI spotlights multidisciplinary artist Agate Tūna, whose works combine analogue photography, experimental video and sound. Her practice explores the relationship between spirituality and technology from a woman’s perspective: research-driven, she traces connections between her family’s spiritualist heritage, hauntology and “techno-ghosts,” examining how historical narratives, personal experiences and technological advancements shape our perception of the unseen.
Photography as a “haunted medium” plays a central role in Tūna’s work, preserving traces of the past while shaping imagined futures. Through analogue techniques such as chemigrams, photograms and film soups, she investigates the materiality of the photographic image. From self-portraits to staged compositions, her process is deeply hands-on, involving set construction, object-making, and direct engagement with physical materials. The presentation at Foto Tallinn features newly produced work, spanning framed photographs, wall vinyls, and analogue photographic negatives.
Gallery Halmetoja
Gallery Halmetoja (FI). Collaborating with artists of various disciplines, Gallery Halmetoja is specialising in Finnish contemporary art. Its exhibitions present artworks in a diverse array of media, from painting and sculpture to photography and media art. Whilst the gallery’s roots date back to 2014, it has operated from its current location in central Helsinki since 2020. Gallery Halmetoja holds exhibitions commenting on the future direction of contemporary art. The gallery appreciates visual artists who want to portray the world candidly and genuinely.
At Foto Tallinn, Gallery Halmetoja’s booth features two award-winning photographic artists from Finland. Elina Brotherus’s 2024 works, set across Alvar Aaalto’s Villa Tammekann in Tartu, explore place and state of mind through quiet, intimate gestures. Antti J. Leinonen’s photographs, meanwhile, are drawn from his Pyynti series, capturing a disappearing fishing tradition in Northern Finland – where demanding conditions shape a way of life passed down through generations.
In their works, both artists emphasise the relationship between human and environment: Brotherus through cultural space, Leinonen through nature, sharing a quiet, contemplative tone. The presentation enhances this sense of a dialogue between the two. On the longer wall, three of Brotherus’s works, Living Room, Stairs, and Ribbon Window, are installed as a cohesive sequence. On the shorter wall, Leinonen’s photographs Era, Rahja, and Karinkannanmatala, form a corresponding grouping. Nearby, a display stand presents publications by both artists and other gallery photographers.
Drifts
Drifts (LT) Set in Vilnius’ historic old town – near Cathedral Square – Drifts was founded by Jolanta Laurent in December 2022. With its name, Drifts is a reference to a 2020 novel by Kate Zambreno, as well as to the guiding questions that shaped the gallery’s establishment – the search for its form and an aesthetics of change. Drifts primarily represents emerging artists, whilst its programme focuses on questions of contemporaneity, reflecting on humanity and the process of creativity today. Drifts’ exhibition programme involves close collaboration with curators, cooperation with other galleries and institutions, and participation in art fairs to ensure a global outlook. The gallery programme is highly dedicated to artists’ creativity and tailored to foster collecting practice.
For Foto Tallinn 2026, Drifts presents a selection of works by Lithuanian photographer Janina Sabaliauskaitė. The photographs were previously exhibited in her 2023 solo show, Trust, curated by Laima Kreivytė. In Sabaliauskaitė’s photographs, glances that meet on both sides of the camera establish mutual trust, support, and proximity; her work spans intimate portraits of queer people to landscapes of bodies. As Laima Kreivytė described, “the way Sabaliauskaitė looks at the earth and rocks is not sculptural, but rather mythological, emphasising the changed attitude of the Anthropocene era: whereas previously the earth meant resources, in her photographs the Earth is a deity, a planet, soil and an element. These pictures are like an encounter of the archaeo-mythology of Marija Gimbutas, the Gaia Hypothesis of James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis, and the ideas of the pioneers of ecosexuality, Beth Stephens and Annie Sprinkle, who changed land art into the love of the Earth.”
FOKU Gallery
FOKU Gallery (EE) is a gallery-showroom and meeting place dedicated to contemporary photography and lens-based art, located in the Old Town of Tallinn, Estonia. Established as a pop-up in November 2024, and formally opened in February 2025, FOKU Gallery presents an annual programme of 4–5 exhibitions, public events and short-term satellite exhibits. Showcasing contemporary lens-based practices by artists across different generations and career stages, FOKU Gallery is run by the Estonian Union of Photography Artists (FOKU).
At Foto Tallinn, FOKU Gallery brings together four artists – Johanna Adojaan, Tuukka Kaila, Tanja Muravskaja, and Roman-Sten Tõnissoo – with distinct sensibilities in relation to material, surface, scale, viewing, and photographic representation. Their works engage with aspects of manual labour, the transmission of knowledge, slow looking, and fragile structures. At different stages of their artistic practices, the artists share an attentiveness to observation, subtle shifts, rhythms and tensions.
ALMA &
ALMA & (LV). Representing both emerging talents and fixtures of Latvian contemporary art, ALMA was founded in 2005 by artist Astrīda Riņķe and art historian Ilva Krišane. The gallery’s programme features carefully selected artists whose works explore the historical heritage of the Baltic region, as well as their own deeply personal mythologies.
After twelve years in Riga’s Art Nouveau quarter, the gallery relocated in 2017 to an elegantly renovated Soviet modernist building at 64 Tērbatas Street. Here, exhibitions and artworks are offset by the building’s architectural forms, whilst a series of street-facing glass walls allow exhibitions to be viewed both day and night. The gallery’s name is inspired by the deaf and mute girlfriend of the sorcerer Fénix, one of the central characters in Alejandro Jodorowsky’s 1989 psychological thriller, Santa Sangre. In the film, Alma’s strengths include courage, intuition, and love.
At Foto Tallinn, ALMA showcases works by two of its represented artists. Where Vika Eksta presents works from her recent Funeral in Sloboda exhibition, Rasa Jansone – a leading feminist voice in Latvian contemporary art – presents works from two solo exhibitions: Your Foot on My Hand; Always, Raphael (2024) and Jesus’ Little Sister (2026).
