Wandering the Streets: Urban Visions of Latvian Modernists

The first half of the 20th century was a time of rapid change in Latvian and European culture. The exhibition invites visitors to trace the experiences of Latvian writers and artists in three significant cities – Riga, Berlin and Paris. They were flâneurs and flâneuses – leisurely observers of the city who documented modern architecture, traffic, advertising, shop windows, the sounds and rhythms of urban space in texts and images. In a similar way, visitors to the exhibition will wander among the exhibits, sensing the atmosphere of the era and becoming acquainted with its visual language.    The exhibition title Wandering the Streets is taken from Lūcija Zamaiča’s 1923 collection of poems. The exposition brings together both canonical and lesser-known artworks, as well as poetic texts, original printed materials, photographs, and video works.    The exhibition has been created in collaboration with the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia as the concluding event of the project Walking Through Time: Flânerie and Modernity in Latvian Interwar Culture (lzp-2022/1-0505; project leader Kārlis Vērdiņš).

Curators: Dr. art. Aija Brasliņa, Dr. philol. Eva Eglāja-Kristsone,  Artis Ostups, Dr. philol. Kārlis Vērdiņš, Dace Džeriņa

On the last Sunday of the month (May 31), admission is free.

‍

About museum

The Latvian National Museum of Art is the most significant art museum in Latvia and the first building in the Baltics constructed specifically for the needs of an art museum. LNMA is the largest repository of professional art in Latvia and plays a vital role in enriching, preserving, researching, and promoting the country’s cultural heritage internationally. The museum regularly organizes art exhibitions, educational programs, and cultural events.