The autumn voting cycle for the Latvian Public Broadcasting annual cultural award “Kilograms kultūras 2025″ officially opened on September 17. Public participation runs through September 28 at 23:59 on the LSM.lv portal, with final winners determined entirely by audience votes across spring, autumn, and winter rounds.
Autumn Nominees Span Architecture, Heritage, and Monumental Concerts
According to Latvian Television (LTV) Culture Department Head Ieva Rozentāle, the autumn voting list combines classic values with expressive and bold contemporary examples, alongside a strong showing of summer open-air events. In the “Architecture and Design” category, nominees include the “Zolitūde Memorial Garden” by the association “Zolitūde 21.11.”, featuring metadata authors “ALPS ainavu darbnīca”, “H2E”, and “Copywriter/Levelup”, as well as the Bolderāja Library Garden Pavilion created by K. Jaunromāns, R. Kovškis, T. Duka, E. Mucenieks, and D. Gertners.
Heritage nominees feature the exhibitions “Eight Centuries in Turaida Castle” and “The Seventh Tower of Turaida Castle” at the Turaida Museum Reserve, designed by architect Didzis Jaunzems alongside content and visual solution authors Roberts Rubīns and Kaspars Eglītis. Literature representation includes Inita Saulīte-Zandere’s biography “Viena mūža grāmata. Jānis Peters. Dzejnieks, diplomāts, cilvēks,” published by Aminori.
Additional music nominees include the concert story "Maestro. Raimondam Paulam – 90" held on May 29 at the Riga Congress Centre featuring the Latvian Radio Choir, Latvian Radio Big Band, "Sinfonietta Rīga", mixed choir "Sōla", and Riga Project Choir under conductor Sigvards Kļava, alongside Richard Wagner’s opera "Loengrin" performed on August 6 and 8 at Concert Hall "Cēsis" by the LNSO and State Choir "Latvija" under Tarmo Peltokoski.
Premiere Performances and Multidisciplinary Artworks
The “Event” category showcases the world premiere of Emily D’Angelo’s program “In the Hands of Ghosts” on July 18 at the “Hanzas perons” cultural venue, featuring musicians Emily D’Angelo, Ēriks Kiršfelds, Kajs Šūmahers, Bruno Helštrofers, and Kaspars Kurdeko. Rudzinska, M. Čudars, Ē. Lazarevičs, H. Ločmelis, J. Lūsis, U. Upenieks, and I. Saliete. The “Invasivus!” multimedia event by the Nature Concert Hall, held on August 15 at the former Sloka Paper Factory by musicians Ingus Ulmanis, Andris Sējāns, Aigars Votišķis, Kaspars Tobis, and Anrijs Grīnbergs, shares space in this category.
Did you know? While the “Kilograms kultūras” professional jury nominates candidates across ten categories, the final decision rests exclusively with viewers and listeners through three seasonal voting phases.
A Rigorous Selection by Public Media Professionals
The works selected for the autumn vote were chosen by a joint jury of Latvian Public Broadcasting professionals representing Latvian Television, Latvian Radio, and LSM.lv, who evaluated original and high-quality cultural events occurring between May 1 and August 31, 2026. According to LTV, the jury panel includes Ieva Rozentāle, Gunda Vaivode, Orests Silabriedis, Henrieta Verhoustinska, Daira Āboliņa, Liene Jakovļeva, Anete Ašmane-Vilsone, Kaspars Zaviļeiskis, Aigars Bumburs, Liene Millere, Ilze Dobele, and Anete Lesīte.
Voters can participate once daily by authenticating their profiles on LSM.lv. The works securing the highest public support in each category will advance to the final round, with finalists scheduled for announcement on September 30.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the Kilograms kultūras 2025 autumn voting close?
Public voting closes on September 28 at 23:59 on the LSM.lv portal.
Who decides the final winners of the awards?
While a joint jury of public media professionals nominates the candidates, final winners are chosen entirely by audiences across the spring, autumn, and winter voting rounds.
When will the finalists from the autumn vote be announced?
The works advancing to the final stage will be announced on September 30.
Call to Action: Have a favorite among the autumn nominees? Head over to LSM.lv to cast your ballot before the September 28 deadline, and let us know your top cultural picks of the season in the comments below.
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