Gallery Late - "Gleizds, Paper, Scissors" Līva Kreislere, Līva Rutmane

As part of Gallery Late on May 29, join us for a special event at the Paula Stradiņš Museum of the History of Medicine at 17:00. See the full list of participants in Gallery Late here.

Exhibition Tour “Gleizds, Scissors, Little Paper” with Anna Žabicka and Kaspars Vanags
May 29, 2025, at 17:00

Join museum director Kaspars Vanags for a behind-the-scenes look at a museum in transition, using the exhibition dedicated to photographer Jānis Gleizds as an example of how the museum is striving to explore health through an interdisciplinary lens. Museum researcher and social anthropologist Anna Žabicka will focus on the “male gaze” and the “medical gaze” directed at women in both Gleizds’ artistic and documentary photography — imagery closely intertwined with his life and professional work at the Scientific Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedics.

The tour will begin at the museum's Information Centre on the first floor.

The exhibition “Gleizds, Scissors, Little Paper” explores the creative experiments of photographer Jānis Gleizds (1924–2010) during the 1970s and 1980s, and their connection to contemporary surgical research. It weaves together themes such as disability and Soviet-era erotica, the aesthetics of medically altered bodies, and society’s early steps toward accepting difference. The exhibition is open through June 1.

Photo: Vladimirs Svetlovs. Large-format negative by Jānis Gleizds from the Latgale Photographers Association collection.

‍

About the museum

The Pauls Stradiņš Medicine History Museum opened its doors to visitors in 1961, offering an overview of achievements in the history of medicine from the Stone Age to the mid-20th century in its permanent exhibition. The museum is distinguished by the fact that the historical layout and messages of the permanent exhibition, as well as the dioramas popular in 20th-century science museums, have largely been preserved to this day, providing an opportunity to view an example of museology practiced according to Soviet ideological guidelines.   As the museum team begins redefining the institution, special attention is currently being paid to the circumstances of the museum's founding and the development of its collection, as well as the dialogue with the public about the future directions of the museum’s activities. This is reflected in both recent exhibitions and public events programs, as well as in interventions made in the museum's permanent exhibition. In collaboration with curators, artists, scientists from various fields, and non-governmental organizations, the museum team sees the future potential of the museum as an interdisciplinary platform that fosters understanding of care as the foundation of a sustainable society and brings attention to the concept of health as a changing cultural and social construct.   Exhibition Program: Gleizds, Paper, Scissors (2024-2025); Life After Death. Remembrance Practices and the Museum (2024); How I’ve Been Feeling Lately (2023); Sneakers: Eco x Ego (2023); Peace Nourishes. War Destroys (2022); Dairy Diaries (2022); Museum Blood Count (2021-2022).

‍