The International New Theater Festival "Homo Novus" is the leading festival of contemporary performing arts in Latvia and one of the largest in the Baltic region. The festival takes place in Riga and introduces even young and already recognized artists, whose works show a constant interest and opinion about the modern world and society. In addition to a diverse program of performances, the festival offers opportunities for creative experiments, theoretical and educational sections and other activities. Since 1995, seventeen festivals have taken place in Daugavpils and Riga, showing more than 140 guest performances and producing dozens of new works.

The festival co-curated by the New Theatre Institute of Latvia, Kanuti Gildi SAAL, and Lithuanian Dance Information Centre provides contexts in which to present Baltic work, under the lens of Baltic curators. The Baltic Take Over is in collaboration with URB Festival (www.urb.fi), Kiasma Theatre, Annantalo, Viirus Theatre, Mad House Helsinki and with the help from Eskus, Takamo, Tanssin Talo, TINFO and Circus Dance Finland. Baltic Take Over has been centrally funded by Baltic Culture Fund and The Nordic-Baltic NGO Program from the Office of Nordic Ministers Latvia, Estonian Ministry of Culture, Lithuanian Culture Council and State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia. Baltic Take Over is equally directed towards the diverse audience of Helsinki and the participating artists. For two years all nine artist collectives have come together to meet each other at assemblies, share practices and experiences.

“The Shake Down” was a collaboration project between The New Theater Institute of Latvia and Rosendal Teater in Norway from January 2022 untill May 2023. 10 young curators from Latvia and Norway created programmes for two international performing arts festivals. On September 9–10, 2022, “The Shake Down” programme as part of the International festival of Contemporary Theatre “Homo Novus” in Riga, Latvia, and on April 26–29, 2023, “The Shake Down” programme during “Bastard International Arts Festival” in Trondheim, Norway.

Art for Landscapes is an attempt to develop a methodology of performative interventions to draw cultural creation out of the institution and re-establish it in Landscape. Art for Landscapes reconsiders what is could be if a cultural event was created specifically with the terms and requirements of the landscapes in mind. Timescales are stretched, communication becomes molecular and it won’t always be comfortable/readable for the human gaze. Art for Landscapes has undergone conceptual residencies in Mantova (I), Riga (LV), Leliūnai (LT), Wolverhampton (UK) between 07/2019 – 12/2019. These periods were focused on open ended experiments with form and subject matter. The outcomes included a video works 'Jam made from Contaminated Fruits (The Forbidden market)', 'Liturgy for a Landscape' and 'Timescales Stretch' (all working titles) but also further plans and concepts to develop art.

The New Theatre Institute of Latvia (NTIL) is a non-governmental and non-commercial project organization that works with contemporary theater, dance and other performing arts at the local and international levels. NTIL expands the boundaries of theater creation, distribution and perception and promotes the development of diverse, innovative, responsible and independent professional performing arts in Latvia. NTIL produces the International Festival of Contemporary Theatre "Homo Novus", the leading festival of contemporary performing arts in Latvia and one of the largest in the Baltic region. The festival takes place in Riga and introduces contemporary performing arts that sit on the precipice of practice and form, presenting works that invite dialogues of urgent social issues. In addition to a diverse program of performances, the festival offers opportunities for creative experiments, theoretical and educational sections and other activities.​

Compositions for the pool is an immersive sound experience that offers a new way of enjoying swimming while exploring the way we might be able to capture space, time and a sense of community through sound.

These compositions act as a symphonic monument to a beloved childhood space. Inspired by their mutual love of swimming, Stonnington born artists, Morgan Hickinbotham and Bek Berger (LAAP) invite you to heighten your everyday laps with a new composition made for waterproof headphones.

Working with the Stonnington Symphony, a local volunteer-based symphony, the pair have notated this digital composition for classical notion. The outcome, an experimental composition that encompasses the physical and sonic aspects of the Pool.

The objective of the Possible Futures Forum is to share knowledge and develop new creative initiatives between international and local performing arts professionals who identify as future cultural leaders.

By organizing a series of practise-based workshops, meetings and artistic residencies in the Baltic and Nordic countries the network commits to the cross-cultural development of the field of performing arts. 
 The networks first meeting in Riga during Homo Novus festival in 2019 was hosted by Theatre Ģertrūdes ielas teātris (Gertrude Street Theater) and facilitated by producer Bek Berger. This brought together 16 participants who participated in the 2018/19 IETM Campuses representing 11 countries and 9 different native languages.

In November 2019 a new generation of artists and art lovers will assembled in Helsinki. Lead by Australian Curator and Dramaturg, Bek Berger, they explored the performance programs of both Moving in November and Baltic Circle festivals. They gathered to witness, be witnessed and delve deeply into discussion. They will dealt with difficult realities, imagined futures and themes usually reserved for older generations. The program included six performances over two weeks with the option to join public discussions and other festival activities. Tickets were be provided free of charge to Critical Futures participants.

Reflection II is an immersive sound and film installation inspired by the phenomena of auditory hallucinations in dreamlike states.

Over an 18 month period composer Morgan Hickinbotham used this method to induce and compose music in dreamlike states and notate them while awake. These fragments of dreamed music have been compiled and composed into three movements electronically. Reflection II invites you to immerse yourself in the composition alongside a new super 8 film. This film was developed with Dancer, Amber McCartney and collaborator, Bek Berger.

Using the classical score as a starting point the team worked to embody concepts of visualising the unconscious self in relation to the environment. The team shot the film throughout Victoria including locations such as Collingwood Pool, Phillip Island and Hanging Rock.

A one-day forum initiated in May 2015, Convergence was a space to investigate the realities of being an independent artist in Australia – underlining independent as a positive choice and central value of artistic practice.

Through a series of keynotes, workshops, facilitated open discussions and informal social frameworks, Convergence offered a moment to focus on the strengths and possibilities of our overlapping, unaffiliated and complementary independent community.

Convergence is a model of form that unfolds by a unique framework, designed by the convenors and inspired by and aligned with ten key principles;

independence – courage – community – difference & diversity – living work rigour & precision – disruption – quickness – sustainability – transparency.

La Discorso is a series of performative community discussions by Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Migrants and all New Australians.

Held at La Mama Theatre in Melbourne, It serves as a platform for in depth discussion to debunk stigma regarding cultural backgrounds and create a forum about cultural identity and belonging. Each La Discorso event invites three panel members to be in conversation with curators, Dagmara Anna Gieysztor and Obaid Ashna.

Territory covered over the next three conversations include home sickness, ‘trying to fit it’ and ways of creating social unity in the future. The ultimate aim of this discussion series is to humanize an often-politicised issue of migration and cultural identity. We hope to open up further dialogue within the community which brings about a greater understanding and acceptance.

Portal is a performative exchange between Bek Berger and Emily Warner. This practice has no edges.

Good food, great wine and smooth tunes pave the way for The Supper Club – a participatory event and space for creative thinking and doing.Spirited discussion and irresistible invitations to share your thoughts with peers and interested others – egged on by some of the brightest minds in Australia’s arts scene. Curated this season by Bek Berger, through her Australia Council Early Career Residency, The Supper Club responds to the current artistic climate and grapples enthusiastically with the notion of our cultural responsibility as individuals

Big Talk, Little Talk Debriefing and rethinking after the Australian Theatre Forum with David Williams and Emma Valente

Legacy Just another word for remembering privilege? with Matthew Lutton, Angus Cerini & Meredith Rogers, Pitching a Perfect Future Discuss. with Nakkiah Lui, Atlanta Eke and Ian Pidd, T

Spitting Art is a podcast dedicated to chatting to interesting artists around the world. Spitting Art is brought to you by Bek Berger “an explorer, a producer and currently situated on the opposite of her world”.

Spitting Art has been supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council of the Arts, The Ian Potter Cultural Foundation, The Copyright Agency Career Fund and The City of Moreland.