The opening of the exhibition “Greener Than Green...” took place in Kuldīga on 23 July

From 12:00 on 23 July, an exhibition of works by students of the Kuldīga Art School, “Greener Than Green...”, will be on display at the Kuldīga Art House.

A total of 130 students from Years 1 to 6 took part in the Art School’s Green Practice—a plein-air workshop. They drew and painted in Kuldīga’s streets, courtyards and parks.

The children were assisted by eight teachers from the school: Inga Pūce, Iveta Goldberga, Ina Ozola, Danute Sīle, Egils Ozoliņš, Iveta Brence, Lauma Astra Grīnvalde and Ruta Lapsa.

The exhibition also features works created in the ceramics workshop (see D. Sīle): stained glass, mosaics, three-dimensional works and ceramics.

At 16:00, the opening of the photo exhibition “People of the Suiti Land” by Dzintars Leja, a member of the “Two Rivers” photo club, also took place . The series “People of the Suiti Land” is an emotional tribute to the Suiti people, who have preserved their identity over the centuries.

The Suiti cultural space is a unique phenomenon of Latvian culture. Within a compact territory historically surrounded by Lutheran regions, its distinctive cultural environment and identity developed over almost four centuries under the influence of the Catholic Church and through interaction among Latvian, Livonian, Polish and German cultures, and have largely been preserved to this day. Today, only around 2,000 inhabitants of Suiti origin remain in the historic Suiti territory around Alsunga. The Suiti cultural space is included on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Geographically, the Suiti cultural space is located in three municipalities: Jūrkalne Parish in Ventspils Municipality, Gudenieki Parish in Kuldīga Municipality, while Alsunga Parish has retained its independence in the separate Municipality of Alsunga.

The photographic series “People of the Suiti Land” reflects the lives of Suiti people over the course of one year (2013). Moments from childhood, youth, the prime of life and the wisdom of old age were captured both in the Suiti land and beyond its borders. This body of work is a small part of a project lasting more than four years, which visually portrays Suiti traditions, people, spiritual values and cultural heritage. The photographic series has been exhibited in many galleries in Latvia.

The exhibitions are open from 23 July to 6 August.