MASA is an art and jazz club that draws inspiration from salon traditions and reimagining them in a contemporary form.
The art gallery primarily hosts group exhibitions built around socially relevant topics and philosophical ideas, inviting artists from different generations and geographies to reflect on them using the visual language. The artworks are positioned to create a dialogue between the works and the viewer, resulting in a visually rich and expressive composition.
The cultural bar is a central meeting point and a platform for live music. Concerts take place here every week, featuring both established musicians and emerging talents. The programme is largely focused on jazz, which naturally resonate with the salon idea — a free, nuanced, and interaction-based form of expression.
Beyond exhibitions and concerts, MASA weaves together different layers of cultural experience. Our drink menu extends this approach — each cocktail is named after an art movement of the 19th or 20th century and designed to capture its aesthetic and atmosphere, turning even a glass in hand into part of the dialogue between art, music, and culture.
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MASA has a story
In May 2020, the project "Con-Non-Con" was launched in a 316 m² space located on the grounds of a former factory. After completing the necessary construction and renovation work, we opened the space with the first group exhibition. Throughout the summer of 2020, the venue hosted three major events, featuring large-scale installations, paintings, sculptures, and media art. In total, 71 artists from Latvia, Russia, Estonia, and Cyprus participated in the exhibitions.
In 2021, after a brief pause, we resumed our activities under a new identity — MASA. This name symbolizes the interdisciplinary approach we have chosen as the foundation of our practice
From October 2021 to October 2022, eleven more group exhibitions took place at our former location on Alauksta iela 7, Rīga.
At that time, we were learning and gradually entering the art world — it was a period of experimentation and gaining experience that laid the groundwork for our next ambitious project.
Since February 10, 2023, MASA relocated to the new premises and established a cultural space, which includes an art gallery, event space, bar and workshop rooms for local craftsmen.
It is not a coincidence that we settled in a historic building erected in 1881 and designed by the architect Victor de Grabe. The house is built in an eclectic style, which combines some elements of various architectural historical directions. The interior of MASA is created following the philosophy of eclecticism, harmoniously combining the styles of three generations in one space.
As well MASA curates exhibitions outside the gallery space — at the conceptual cocktail bar “Nosaints” since 2023. The aim is to make contemporary art more accessible and to allow a wider audience to experience it within their everyday rhythm and environment.
I’m driven by a genuine interest in what I do. It’s important for me to create a space where people feel comfortable, find inspiration, and want to return. Since 2020, I have been working in the field of contemporary art, and since 2024 I have also been organizing live music events. Contemporary art and jazz are especially close to me, and MASA is where these interests naturally come together.
I focus on building a thoughtful and high-quality cultural environment that is open to different experiences and people. I hope you will feel it when you visit MASA.
Interviews with me: Latvijas Radio 3; Jazzin.lv
Meet Ksenija Afanasjeva — Founder and Director of MASA