Ten years of ISSP: interview with Julija Berkovica and Liana Ivete Benke

Designed for young professionals, students of photography and art, and artists working with photography, the International Summer School of Photography takes place in Latvia every August since 2006. The ISSP offers six advanced masterclasses by renowned international photography masters, who guide the students in the production of their photography projects that are presented in an exhibition held in the town of KuldÄ«ga on the last day of the school. 

From 1 to 9 August, ISSP 2015 hosted 73 photographers from 23 countries in the wonderful settings of Pelči Boarding School, a picturesque complex of buildings surrounded by trees and pounds – an element that made close interaction between the participants an integral part of the event. During the week, a rich evening programme of presentations and talks was offered, which had its grand conclusion in a free evening of artist talks in the capital Riga.

YET magazine is one of ISSP partners and our Deputy Editor Paola Paleari had the chance to be present in Pelči, KuldÄ«ga and Riga for the whole duration of the event, in which she met and interviewed Julija Berkoviča and Liāna Ivete Beņķe, two milestones of the ISSP team. 

This year, the school is celebrating its 10th anniversary. How did everything started, and why?

Julija: It all started basically because in Latvia there were no resources for photography education, with the exception of some amateurs’ clubs. Back in 2001, I was in first person interested in photography as a hobby, and looking for possibilities where to study, so I took part to a summer school programme in Slovakia together with one of the other three girls I then founded ISSP with. It was an amazing useful experience, but when I came back two years later it wasn't so good anymore: it had turned into a commercialized event and the original atmosphere was totally gone. That led us to organize something analogue in Latvia, in the way we liked it as participants.
The first edition was in Ludza, in the very countryside, and it was just a big experiment, because we didn't have any experience in organizing such an event. It was much smaller and more local than now: we had 49 participants, mostly from Latvia and from some neighbour countries like Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and Russia. Since the very beginning, though, it turned out to be very good and in the end everybody was asking us "Ok, will you do it again next year?". We didn’t have an answer at that time, but somehow the thing started to have a life on its own and we’ve just kept it on growing ever since.

Teaching is always an act of responsibility. In photography, it can be even more evident, since it means transmitting a perspective, a point of view on things. On which bases do you operate the selection of the masters that run the workshops?

Julija: We seek for people who are not just great photographers and artists, but also have an experience in teaching and particularly enjoy the sharing side of it. During the selection of the masters, we try our best to foresee if and to what extent this is going to occur during ISSP, because sometimes it can happen - as it actually happened! - to find out that the great artist is in fact a bad teacher.

Liana: True! We don’t want the masters to push only their own visions: for us, the most important thing is that they understand and support the choices the students can autonomously develop. In the best case, you get a photographer who, along his or her career, has been producing great bodies of work and at the same time has never ceased being curious and involved in other people’s projects.

Every year, ISSP gathers for a whole intense week people with very different backgrounds, experiences and expectations. How do you keep this kaleidoscopic situation under control? Where do you, as organizers, put the line between freedom and discipline?

J: I guess you should ask the participants how they feel about it! From our point of view, the main task is to create the best possible frame for learning, and learning can happen only when you are driven by an inner motivation and you are free to express yourself and try new solutions. At the same time, having a frame means also knowing at what time you have lunch or dinner - very simple things that can prevent the whole situation to fall into anarchy. 

For sure, details are extremely important. But I feel there’s something on an intangible level too: it’s like you are able to create an atmosphere and everybody tunes into it - quite naturally, it seems.

L: Yes, there’s a strong energy that changes at every edition. Much of it depends on the workshops and the masters: the ISSP group is one thing, but each workshop has a different “character” that reflects the master’s approach towards production, deadlines and so on.
From our side, from year to year we try to restructure the programme in order to encourage a sharing atmosphere – for example, three years ago we decided to set up an internal bar, a place where everybody could come together at the end of the working day instead of being in the workshops or on their own. And this year, we opened the week with a group quiz, which turned out to be a very good way for the participants to break the ice and feel involved in a collective challenge. At the same time, we want to leave the border a little bit open. There’s space for improvisation as well.

Your vision is obviously international, but you also act local: the Latvian culture, habits, atmosphere and landscape are a big part of the ISSP experience. Can you tell us something about your relationship with the territory? And what about the local people’s reactions?

L: This is our fifth year in Pelči and it's been good since we've got here. People have accepted us and on every August they wait for our arrival. They consider us the summer inhabitants of this castle and for us it really feels like coming back home. In Kuldīga too: from what I've heard from the students, people are really comfortable about opening their homes and being photographed.

Has your presence been having some effects also on local people’s awareness and knowledge towards photography?

J: The final exhibition is actually the most attended show of the year in KuldÄ«ga Art House. Local people are very curious: many of them look for the portraits where they pose as models, but at the same time they see all the pictures in the show, getting unconsciously acquainted with them. Artis Gustovskis, who is the head of KuldÄ«ga Tourism Office, was even an ISSP student in 2014! 

L: This is also the second edition we’re holding the workshop No.7, a special class dedicated to young people of the village of Pelči, which  a very nice consequence of our being here. When we arrived, the local kids and teenagers soon became interested in us and they started to hang around the castle. For the first couple of years, students were photographing them, but they didn't have any real active role. I’m really happy that now we can give something back by making them take part in the week.

Let’s be nostalgic and open the memory album! Tell me about the toughest moment of these ten years, and the happiest one. 

J: The hardest one was in the very beginning. When we launched ISSP, we only knew what we wanted as participants, but as organizers we didn’t know what to expect. We got something completely different from being on the other side of the process, it was a quite challenging moment and it was not granted that the event could survive. But then it came a turning point, when ISSP was transformed into an organization and we became conscious this was something we could and wanted to do professionally. That shift changed the whole situation. 

L: Well, happy memories, there have been so many! Every year, after the exhibition opens, it’s a moment of pure joy. The week is so intense and quick that we don't have time to process what’s happening while we’re living it. It's always afterwards, when we have time to reflect and when we all meet again (we always try to organize reunions along the year in occasions like Paris Photo) that we realize how strong and solid is the network of people that shared this experience with us.

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