Rūta Kalmuka (b.1974) is lens based artist, living and working in Latvia. She became interested in photography in high school and besides her work as a press photographer for the past 20 years she remained faithful to analog technique in her own projects, which are focused on the themes of family and feminism, mythology and rituals. She has participated in many group exhibitions in Latvia and abroad. The solo exhibition on family theme in 2024, in the ISSP Gallery, in Riga should be mentioned as it concludes her long-term project. In 2025 Kalmuka has been nominated as FUTURES artist (an honor awarded by European Photography Platform). In her practice she also experiments with historical photographic processes, such as ambrotype and tintype. The project “Dzen”, shot on photo paper was included in the Gomma grant finalists. The idea of this project encouraged her to focus on an interdisciplinary approach to art, especially combining visual and performance arts. During recent years Kalmuka has been keen on photo book creation. Her self published book “Dublicates” was shortlisted in Self Publish Riga 2021 and the photo book “Interconnections” was exhibited in her solo exhibition in 2024.
