Baiba Ripa: Yes. So, how I met Mike. So, that was – yeah, of course, that was nothing concerning Piazza virtuale because I met Mike but he was in other project on a tour through the post-Soviet places to Petersburg and he arrived in Riga. But we didn’t met in Riga because I was traveling in a country and we met in Tallinn so that was our meeting, the first. And then after, it was a lot of talk…

Baiba Ripa: Well, ’89 I guess.

Baiba Ripa: 1989, ’89 I guess yeah, ’89 in the summer I think. It was really in a first moment when somebody was allowed to come in more easy with yeah, everything. So, that was…

Baiba Ripa: Yeah.

Baiba Ripa: It’s a common interest. It’s life I guess. No, it was like of course the – I did some project and I was interested about everything, what was new and then he was on a – interest in a Soviet, post-Soviet places and everything, what’s going on here. Just that if you ask like that, I don’t remember easily. But that was like we had a very good connection. And then after I got the invitation from Berlin and when I was in Berlin, I was in connection with the underground scenes and a lot of clubs in Berlin. And then after it just was invitation from Mike to come to Hamburg and we met in academy and I see work of him and we stayed in contact. And the next times when Mike came to Riga, so that starts also this project with piazza. And we get in contact again and yeah, that worked.

Baiba Ripa: I think that was the best way to stay in contact because if you met someone who interests you in a reasons of art or private or whatever, you just keep the contact in mind and when you met again, you would just have this contact.

Baiba Ripa: You actually don’t need the Skype and WhatsApp and (laughs) phones and stuff.

Baiba Ripa: Yes. I know. It’s, I mean when you go somewhere you have one or two contacts and Mike has some contacts in mind from the previous visit and then of course he came. Okay, that was the fax and the phones and yeah. That was the connections.

Baiba Ripa: No. Basically it was like there was – I had no idea about the all new medias and all new technical part because I was totally in art and graphic and paintings and some performance parts in the arts. And in this way, as I remember, he came and started to talk about the project as a connection and as a – okay, I knew about the project, what he did before with Minus Delta T with the television.

Baiba Ripa: And then was like, yeah, he explained the whole idea and the idea of how it works. And then after he teach me all the techniques how it has to be connected. So, I mean in the principal, in a way not the technical way.

Baiba Ripa: I think it was the – it was half a year before or something like that. It’s, before it starts. It was in – it was, the main project was in the summer as I remember (unclear)

Baiba Ripa: No. It was interesting project organised. So, it was like more I was working as a curator or a manager for the whole project because I connect all the places and all the spots in Riga and all connections. And technically of course there was another thing. So, it for me was interesting to work with a project where there’s so much connection between the people, between the east and west so that was my main interest because I was like I see how the west, how the east was so closed in the Soviet times and then you get so much information abroad. And when they opened the wall and also the Soviets fallen down so there was a lot of interest to exchange knowledge and all the interest to show how we work, how we are, how we live, so.

Baiba Ripa: Yeah. That was also – that’s what everybody wants to do because I mean I especially doesn’t organise that but that was kind of way like to show that we are, that we’re proud of this, what we are (laughs) and all the things what we have because it was a famous artist and journalists and politicians (laughs) and musicians so everybody was involved. And there was a lot of people on the streets who came to the place to Piazzetta and talked.

Baiba Ripa: Yeah, that’s true. That was the – that was the first year when it happened. When people was – of course, a lot of people was afraid still, a lot of afraid and there was also people who said to me that, “Do I really understand what I’m involved and do I really understand what the project are and so on?” But yeah. I had – I was maybe too young and I didn’t take it. And basically, that was very interesting. The people act very differently. Somebody talked a lot about that, somebody not at all, so.

Baiba Ripa: Yes.

Baiba Ripa: Yes, but maybe that was because it’s like – yeah, you know, I don’t think that someone in that time really realised that moment what was for Riga to be in such a project because Italians, it was Italians and they took part on that and Germans was the Germans and they took part on it. And in this time that this project where the Latvians could be part of something global and not in Soviet Union. I think this took also some moments. So, because it’s like – but it was not only Latvians. So there was also some-, I mean there was different people on it so that was not a special. That as I said, it was not special organised but in the same time, in that year and the next years, that was a lot of movements about the to be Latvian, not the Soviet Union person. So, that’s-, I think it was like a kind of mixture but of course from the abroad it looked differently.

Baiba Ripa: I think it was like, as I said, that was free communication. It was some way that you can express yourself very naturally, not like through the telephone lines where you wait for many hours to get in connection. And in the same time, it’s – I think it’s like always something which interests people when you can see someone in abroad and how he looks, how he dresses, what he talks and what is the situation on the street and about what we are talking. And that was the – I mean I don’t know how everybody who was involved, what they saw but basically with whom we talked it was very open-minded. And after Soviet times it was like (theme? #00:10:46-1#) which was quite hidden. So, that was the project where you can talk openly about everything and express yourself and your personality and interest about some other places and see what is common. And yeah, different nationalities and different ages.

Baiba Ripa: I think there was like – I mean there was some, we got some sponsors to organise it at a scene because it was a huge rent in the city. But like I mean this was kind of budget for the working, I mean the paper and all the technical parts and for the rooms and things like that. So, I mean I did remember that I got some special honour I mean for the time of the project, everything was settled for the working because the flat where it was the office, it was permanently full with different people. Because there was the organisation and technically and there was only a few persons who take care about the techniques because there was not so much knowledge but there was technicians which had done very well and also there was all the sponsors who helped with like telecom, no, the mobile phone Latvian and things like that.
So, the technical part that took part of the one group and then the Croatian and there was involved also a Latvian culture ministry and it was-, it was quite official project in, I can say not quite but it was very official project in Latvia because another way, still in that times, you can’t get the place in Latvian television. So, I mean you can’t use the Latvian television if you don’t have partners in a governmental level. So, I think something like this.

Baiba Ripa: Yes. But not – yeah that was in a night I guess somewhere. In a television in a night spots very late I guess. And then in the daytime, that was the spots which was where you can meet people and be on a stage like on an open piazzettas where the people could come.

Baiba Ripa: No, only in Latvia. Sure.

Baiba Ripa: No, I think it’s because you, if you broadcast in Latvian television so you can broadcast somewhere, you have only one country (laughs) so that’s nothing. Yes.

Baiba Ripa: Yes. So, there was the Piazzetta in a centre of the city, which was quite important for all Latvians because there’s the spot in-between the old and new city and I mean this is the central part of the city if I may say. And then there was, I think, I don’t remember really because about the places and setting of the places it was also very much Mike’s idea to make this Piazzetta in different places not in the same all the time.

Baiba Ripa: Yes. But there was like basically there was – as I remember there was three places because one was like a closed place. It was like our office, which was not far from this open space and there was one in a central old city which was near to the radio. So that was all connected to the technical possibilities because I mean the satellite, it was a television satellite bus how we make it and the mobile phone that was all. There was no other possibility. There was no cables and nothing. So, I mean…

Baiba Ripa: No, no. Sure (laughs). That was – but we had very, as I remember there was the one guy who was very updated in all this technical part regarding internet and regarding all new techniques. And he did very well. So, he was one of the youngest in the group but he did perfectly everything.

Baiba Ripa: There was nothing. I mean the television and the talk, radio and television. So, the mobile phones was like appear old in that time in our country. So, that was one of the first projects what they did it, so.

Baiba Ripa: No. Why do you think so?

Baiba Ripa: Right.

Baiba Ripa: No. Just like all the telephone was – I mean the mobile phones, it was the mobile phones of the private company, the Latvian mobile phone.

Baiba Ripa: I don’t remember. Maybe in that time, they had some part of Finnish. I don’t remember anymore. But basically there was no Finnish in the ground so there was maybe only connecting to the mobile phones. Regarding some of the partners of mobile phone or something like that. And there was the ministry, the cultural ministry and also the ministry who had television. So, I mean this was like governmentally was a television, culture ministry and kind of support of foreign ministry or something like that. That allowed to do this project or something. Like I mean there was not really official document but of course everybody was involved, there was a group of people with whom it was agreed in a sense of content and things like that.

Baiba Ripa: Yeah. It was audio connection. It’s only. It’s kind of, I don’t remember all details at all but I think it was like a microphone or something like this.

Baiba Ripa: This I don’t remember, or it was not working, or it was, because it permanently was thousand levels which was not working or connecting was bad or something or this or that. And then on the places, on the different spots we had to set up. But I think it was kind of way that it was good audio from the phones and picture phones could get only the picture because as you see now in the Skype, so if you want everything in good quality, you have to turn something down, so.

Baiba Ripa: I think so. Something was like that. But as I said, so then I had to prepare the stock. I have to check (laughs) a lot of things. So, because I know that we had a broadcasting bus which was the satellite and through this bus was a lot of connections possible but absolutely directly I can’t. The concrete things I can’t tell you. So, like…

Baiba Ripa: (Laughs) Just like that-, that was the people who came there and who had interest but I can’t say that mostly – the mostly was involved it was from the art scene and media, the all people. And then the people on the streets, it was coincidence who came there, so. It was not very special groups or something like this. So, there was people who was-, who wanted to talk and there was totally different groups of people. I mean there was politically orientated and or expressed personally or something like that. So, that’s-, I think there was something or some girls or some kids which was going round so, because of course we used all from the crowd to make the event there in Piazzetta so I mean it’s a Piazzetta where you see all the people who are coming and you take a chance to communicating in-between.

Baiba Ripa: Yeah, that’s what I said. They came there. So, we didn’t organise them. So that means if they came and they wanted to talk, we tried to organise that they possibility to talk. So, I mean there was, like as you see in the pictures, there was one of the speaker is a German (unclear) who was in Latvia in that time. He was also very involved in this project and he liked it very much. And he was also in Piazzetta. He came and there were some other people who hear what he is talking. Of course, there is a question. There’s a lot of people who don’t speak English so that’s of course there was those people who could speak English.

Baiba Ripa: Or they speak Latvian and so there’s also the parts where they speak Latvian and Russian so that’s all. I mean, the communication level was very, yeah, it was only possible if you had the language or the body language or you are singing (laughs), so (laughs).

Baiba Ripa: Yeah. I think it’s just like, in some way that’s concerning the moment in that political situation that in the past nobody take care and has interest about normal people. If there are television and nobody, everybody saw that is television project. And if there is a television, it’s some famous people or known people or governmental people and now there was a possibility that yeah, please come and talk what you want or what is your interest. So, and they express themselves. So, what was important for them.

Baiba Ripa: No, no. That’s exactly, yeah. So, that’s what this is. So, that they had a feeling that they can express himself to someone who maybe hears it and maybe helps it because of course in that time it was a bit feeling that the Europe is interested to us and that maybe they will come to help us.

Baiba Ripa: No, it was ambassador. Yeah, yeah. That was ambassador.

Baiba Ripa: No, that was like, in that moment, it’s regarding, I mean this is, my English is not so like I can express everything but there is like a question about that moment when people can open talk about everything, politicians or what is bad and what is good and so on and so on and nobody puts him in the prison or takes away and something. And there was like a lot of people was expressed like they have not enough money or there’s a pension or some Russia and house they live in now. And there was kind of health problems and something. So, they put the papers and stands on there because of course in the-, there was several times when we made it and there was-, yeah, of course they are interested to show like a kind of background.

Baiba Ripa: Yeah. Because they think it’s like this Piazzetta is political Piazzetta in some way in Riga. And in that time that was a place where people sometimes walked with the slogans also when was not our project at all. And as we also use that, it’s like very (lebendish?) (laughs). It’s just like that. That there’s a place where the people express themselves as they want. They’re street singers and still now so there is not so much political demonstrations but there’s the…

Baiba Ripa: No, not really. I don’t remember it that way. So, I mean…

Baiba Ripa: I think that someone uses it but not – I can’t say that it was really the main reason for everything, so.

Baiba Ripa: What I-, I’m just sorry that I confused that when I have to translate also mine. So, there’s a place of freedom monument in this. So, it’s a Piazzetta or freedom monument and there is a lot of things going around this Piazzetta, it’s very special in Latvia. And it’s very national and it’s like a yeah, proudness of Latvia that place in some way. The piazzettas place where we took it. So, and there’s a lot of people going around so we use all this situation which was around all the communication was happening these days. And also I can say honestly that there was of course there was a lot of people who were thinking that it’s just some recording for some Latvian television show or something like that.

Baiba Ripa: We understand that the real sense of all the Piazzettas so it’s for sure.

Baiba Ripa: Maybe but I don’t remember (laughs).

Baiba Ripa: Yeah. That was of course this time when the regular television was like separating from the Russian programmes and there was just the Latvian television and then after it’s starting the private televisions which was open up. There was a possibility that they got the frequency and there was just channels where you can see films. And then also was the private channels which was organised after the project, which took the design of the monitor, so the layout. That there is a different, there was a chart under. So, one which took like even the name, there was a pizza TV in Latvia so the pizza TV, it’s like a pizza, piazzas or whatever.
And later complete all the design of the screen of the chat under it and the picture in it. And they did I think from, I don’t know five years I think or more, a long time. So, it’s quite good, quite interesting and quite creative. So, that was what was totally, it was commercial television, private commercial television but it’s, the beginning was very creative, very interesting with the content and so on. And then after it was developed, it was just very, very normal commercial television. So, it’s like with a different name. And piazza was also one smaller television which was also all the time live. So, the other channel was TV 4 and it was, I think it exists two or three years but it was completely live. All that transmit, all the talks was live and they were recorded on these three different (themes?). And it was very, yeah, fluently the next step of Piazza virtuale (laughs).

Baiba Ripa: TV 4.

Baiba Ripa: No, they organised the (themes?) and then they had the interviews on a studio and they parallel record the different interviews on the streets.

Baiba Ripa: No, no, no, no. That’s for the commercial television. It was commercial television, there’s different programmes and part of them was live and you can call in or you can play the games or you can talk about the problems or you can discuss or…

Baiba Ripa: Yeah.

Baiba Ripa: No, they took – the both of concept, it was just a television concept. It was not like, there was like moderators and there was, the whole system was organised. It was not like free calls in or something like this. It was, I think in the beginning maybe it was nobody can, nobody controls it but then after there was some changes also on it that it’s not all the chat is coming online.

Baiba Ripa: I will check.

Baiba Ripa: That could be because it was really time, I don’t know. Basically, I think they have something but it’s a question. I can’t say. Yeah, it was a private TV. I have no idea why they…

Baiba Ripa: Okay.

Baiba Ripa: No, I had worked eight years in television (laughs), so.

Baiba Ripa: No, just like after the studying art in Hamburg so yeah, I was working in this next, in Piazza TV, I was working and also on channel, a little bit Channel 4 and to make some connections and things like that but I was working as a, yeah, producer, organiser who organise and connect and things like that, so.

Baiba Ripa: Not really. I used my knowledge that’s all (laughs), everything that I knew.

Baiba Ripa: No, I think-, I think that the main influence really wasn’t this television programmes because there was like things. I think five or six years or even more. It was very creative scene in television. So, of course in that moment, I was not thinking like that because I think it’s still very commercial television. But when we see nowadays that the commercial television also on Riga, it’s very boring. It’s so boring as even you don’t want to work there. But when that time that we was working, there was a lot of young people, very creative people. There was a lot of programmes which was produced here and not just that recorded with the Latvian like language or things like that. And we had also the life that the reality shows we made a lot of things so that also was kind of part what I did. So, we did like three or four live shows and then some of them we produced like originally here. And that’s, yeah, it’s some kind of part of open-mind thinking or something like that (laughs).

Baiba Ripa: That I don’t know (laughs).

Baiba Ripa: No. I didn’t see the numbers then, no. No, no, no time because there was so much job that we did and we was happy that everything happens, not bog downs or something like that.

Baiba Ripa: No, in the end we did very good party (laughs).

Baiba Ripa: No, everything was fine. So, it really was an enjoyable time and then after, yeah, I was pretty excited and went to the Germany to study (laughs).

Baiba Ripa: No. But I think Bremen in some way it’s Bremen and Riga was some friend cities or something but I don’t remember. Really this moment I don’t remember at all.

Baiba Ripa: Yes.

Baiba Ripa: Yeah, that was also because this is very connected, these cities in that moment. And there was maybe some artist who was living there and-, because main part of the all the people it was really maybe an art scene which was connection, it’s a Documenta as a cultural project that was like the main reason why we did it. And that was the way how we expressed this kind of performance, this kind of art project. And there was so much involved with the art scene.

Baiba Ripa: Yeah.

Baiba Ripa: Yeah, yeah. Okay. So, it’s not…

Baiba Ripa: I’m not very happy of the – I mean for me it’s very difficult to talk about all this and I really don’t know what you will ask and there is so much themes and so much works and so much expression about this whole project because I can say one thing which was we were starting after we was talking in Berlin so we were starting to talk about maybe to make some kind of project part in Riga or some kind of, I don’t know whatever exhibition or whatever but with everybody whom we talked even with the mobile phone for everybody it was like such a confusion that they don’t understand it belongs to the art, it belongs to the foreign ministry or it belongs in which level it belongs and with him to talk about it still now.
So, I mean I can say only that I have a group of people who remember is who we can talk who understand the project but still it’s really, and then after they think, yeah, who is playing in Germany? Art university, yeah maybe then you have to talk with university maybe them it’s interesting for the history and education or something like that because normally nobody can really switch in about work because there’s a kind of themes about the talk.

Baiba Ripa: (Laughs) No, it’s okay.

Baiba Ripa: No, it’s for you but like I still didn’t – I didn’t learn my English better so sorry.

Baiba Ripa: Yes, it was (unclear #00:41:26-7#) so that was a Latvian artist who was living in German all the life long and he’s really involved in everything. So, and he was brilliant. I think he was working with Mike, Minus Delta T. He’s still alive.

Baiba Ripa: Basically, I think, I don’t know what Mike says but he is very interested in also, for some short interview maybe.

Baiba Ripa: Ja, because he-, he knows, I mean he’s-, he knows all the part which was before in Latvian arts before the Soviets come down and then this moment and everything. So, and he can speak fluently English and German (laughs) and Latvian.

Baiba Ripa: Yeah. Anyway, but he’s really special person that’s all. So, I was there and it was also a coincidence in all these connections because I was connected with him through the different dozen people and then I find out that they work with Mike and that was really like very confusing in some way but -, and he was working in arts scene with a (DJ?). So, for me it was very interesting. I came to Germany and then I know a few people. In the end, I have the all commune of different kind of people’s in different scenes and they are all connected. So, it was very interesting concept.

Baiba Ripa: Yeah. Thank you. Okay.