Kārlis Bergs

Karlis Bergs is a Latvian born filmmaker and photographer based in Los Angeles, CA. He received an MFA in Photography & Media at California Institute of the Arts in 2020. Bergs is a recipient of the prestigious Allan Sekula Social Documentary grant in 2020. Previously, he spent a year studying at The School of Art Institute of Chicago, then transferred to Brighton University in the UK for his BFA.

In his work, Karlis is focused on understanding small communities, including subjects ranging from a small fisherman village in Latvia to California's Central Valley beekeepers. These communities are often surrounded by notions of change, including changes in lifestyle or, more often than not, climate change. Bergs works to shed light on issues and subjects that may seem insignificant at first but, after further contemplation, are clearly crucial. In his recent short film, The Threshold, Bergs documents the almond pollination season in California and the often invisible labor of those who keep bees alive.

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Education:

2018 - 2020 California Institute of the Arts, MFA

2017 - 2018 Visual Comunication, Latvian Academy of Arts

2014 - 2016 BA Photography, University of Brighton, First Class Honours

2013 - 2014 School of Art institute of Chicago

Films:

2022 Weeping Rocks (In Production)

2020 The Threshold (Short documentary)

Screenings:

2021 Jelly Film Festival

Black Hills Film Festival

2020 Tacoma Film Festival

Riga International Film Festival

Selected for James Benning's Block in Bijou Week, CalArts

2018 The Rencontres d'Arles, Nuit De L'Anne, Arles, France

Awards:

2020 Allan Sekula Social Documentary Fund

2018 - 20 Lillian Disney Scholarship

2017 Shortlisted for Luma Rencontres Dummy Book Award

2016 Source photographic review graduate directory

2015 - 20 State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia Creative Grant

2013 SAIC Distinguished Scholarship

Residency:

2018 Art Villa Garikula, Georgia

Solo exhibitions:

2019 "The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually or Every Man Be Blind" California Institute of the Arts, USA

2018 "The Clouds, They Were Blown From a Far Away Land" Riga, Latvia

2018 "What Hath God Wrought" Latvian Museum of Photography, Riga, Latvia

2013 "Between the Lake and the Sea" Engure, Latvia

Group exhibitions:

2018 "Tiešā Griba" Mūsdienu mākslas galerija, Līvāni, Latvia

2018 Selection of Latvian photography books, Photobook Week Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark

2018 Tbilisi Night of Photography, Georgia

2018 20 best screenings of this year’s Nuit de l’Année, Arles, France.

2018 Night of The Year, Les Rencontres des Arles, projections, Arles, France.

2018 "Without Too Much Thinking" Room9, Riga, Latvia

2017 Efti, Plurar, 10 Latvian Emerging photographers, projections. Madrid, Spain

2017 Odesa// Batumi Photo Days Festival projection of contemporary Latvian photography, Odesa, Ukraine.

2016 Cream Graduate Showcase, Brighton, UK.

2016 Pingyao International Photography Festival, Shanxi province, China.

2016 University of Brighton Graduate show, Brighton, UK.

2016 Ryerson Brighton image exchange, School of Image Arts, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada

2015 Tallin Photo Month, "Photography books from Latvia", Tallin, Estonia

2015 ISSP summer school exhibiton, Kuldīga, Latvia

2015 "Where Are We", One Eyed Jacks Gallery, Brighton, United Kingdom

2015 "Shift", Brighton University Second Year Show, Brighton, United Kingdom

2014 Self Publish Riga, Shortlisted of 45, "Between the Lake and The Sea", Riga, Latvia

2013 Grayscale, The Kiernan Gallery, Lexington, VA, USA. Director's Choice Award

2013 Delhi Photo Festival, Evening Screening, Delhi, India

2012 Ping-Pong#8, Contemporary Creation from Latvia, Liege, Belgium

2012 "29 Latvian contemporary photographers Rādītprieks", Riga, Latvia

2012 “9 menesi” ISSP school final exhibiton, Riga, Latvia

Workshops:

2011 – 2013 ISSP school

2008 – 2013 Studio by Andrejs Grants

2015 "Human Nature" ISSP, by Anna Fox and Andrew Bruce

2013 “Book making” ISSP, by Nico Baumgarten

2012 “Editing a project into a book” led by Morten Andersen, ISSP and Norden

2012 “Landscape and Manscape: The Edge of Riga” led by Páll Stefánsson of Iceland Review Magazine, ISSP and Norden

2012 Portfolio review by Anders Petersen, Norden

2012 Arja Hyytiäinen - A personal approach in photography: From diary to fiction, ISSP

2010 “Capturing Your Shadow in Black and White” by Roger Ballen ISSP

2008 “Creative shift in documentary photography” by Andrejs Grants.

Publications:

LR1 Radio Interview [The Threshold National Premiere]

Youtube interview by Careva Contemporary gallery

Radio interview, LR1, "The Clouds, They Were Blown From a Far Away Land"

FK Magazine "The Clouds, They Were Blown From a Far Away Land"

Exhibition review What Hath God Wrought at Latvian Photography Museum

Radio interview Naba radio

Radio interview Latvian Radio 1

Photobooks of 2017

FK Artist Interview

Aint-Bad Magazine

Fotoroom interview 28.07.2017

Latvian Photography Yearbook 2017

Yet Magazine "Once a Dream Did Weave a Shade"

Landscape stories "Once a Dream Did Weave a Shade"

Class of 2016 / The Royal Photographic Sociaty

University of Brighton degree show catalogue BA Photography 2016

ISSP 10 postcard set / Ten years - ten photographers

LenseCulture interview

OST SEE Magazine

Joseph Chladek | On Photobooks and books

The Angry Bat Blog

DocumentEast article

2015 ISSP Weekly Planner

2015 Yet Magazine

2014 ISO Magazine #11: Traces

2013 Delhi Photo Festival catalogue