Continuing the issues raised during our previous PR projects (Ziggurat and Boring Revolution), PROFFICE’s idea focuses on the subject of WORK, with the accent on offices, which are located in various buildings in Riga, executing, from the artists’ perspective, somewhat ambiguous, even mystical actions, which may seem self-explanatory to the professionals working in these offices. The conceptual postulation of the work envisages clarification of the following:

• Art as work – how should one understand this? What do the terms artwork/art as work mean?
• Is an artist’s work comparable to other jobs and what are the criteria?
• What circumstances dictate an artist’s activity in contemporary society?
• Which techniques mastered in the general work environment make the creative process as concentrated as possible?

PROFFICE is comprised of two rooms in a Tsarist-era three-storey brick building at Ganību Dambis, in Riga, Latvia. One room is exclusively dedicated to poetic office activities, while the other room is exclusively dedicated robotic office activities. A work plan and timetable are drawn up, ensuring an efficient working process. Under the auspices of PROFFICE, existing Poetic Robotism ideas are implemented and new ones are generated. Procedural goals are set at monthly meetings and every working week, a specifically designed situation is set out in the PROFFICE – an activity inspired by the actual circumstances of the neighbouring labour market.  One week, this could be a print shop, the next – a jeans warehouse, after that – a sewing workshop, internet services office (Print Pro, Jeans Pro, Dress Pro, Web Pro, Idea Pro, etc.). The premises are configured in accordance with the principle of binary opposition characteristic of Poetic Robotism. They contain concentration tools, which help the implementation of goal-oriented office activity, as well as some furniture and classic office equipment. The instruments and technology which could objectively be available at an institution with the relevant profile are here used for the creation of art.

During the project implementation period, the labour market in Riga as a whole will be ascertained, as well as those forms of activity which are practiced along the entire length of Ganību Dambis, drawing inspiration from zip.lv and ss.lv, as well as from people who work for companies with the relevant profile. Some of these professions will tried out in practice or tested as services. Every weekday, one cube will be made which will directly or metaphorically allude to the relevant day at the office. PROFFICE is a project and workplace, a one-day residence, experiment centre and meeting point for curators, artists and specially invited representatives of other industries. PROFFICE’s zone of interest also includes collaboration with groups of local residents and neighbouring public institutions (the Sarkandaugava Development Society, Sarkandaugava Branch Library, etc.). The activity is regularly documented and reflected on the project’s homepage.

PROFFICE’s operations are due to be conducted for 365 working days. During the last stage of the project, a multi-media installation will be implemented in the two connected rooms, which are an expanded version of PROFFICE’S poetic and robotic premises  on Ganību dambis.

PROFFICE’s operating cycle aims to reveal process, providing more detailed awareness of this age and art as its reflection, and at the same time as an instrument for its creation. The choice of the project’s subject resonates with the recently highlighted media discourse about the artist as a worker, identifying the cross-points between an artist’s and society’s values, as well as uncovering problematic areas in public perception of an artist’s work, remuneration and social status. The choice of district is based on the necessity to expand the territorial boundaries of events in the city’s cultural life.