Opening of the exhibition “Everything That Happened in Strenči”

On October 2 at 6 p.m., the Latvian Museum of Photography will open its traveling exhibition “Everything That Happened in Strenči.” Its first stop will be the exhibition hall of the Latvian Academy of Art at Kronvalda Boulevard 4. The exhibition consists of a collection of glass plate negatives from the Strenči Photographic Workshop, which is included in the Latvian national register of the UNESCO program “Memory of the World.”

Dāvis Spunde, founder of the Strenči photo studio, used to say that he photographed “for history.” With more than 13,000 glass plate negatives in the collection of the Latvian Museum of Photography, the town of Strenči has found a home, as created by the workshop’s photographers. What is it like? And does it reveal everything that happened in Strenči? “Most of the photographs in the exhibition do not fit into the larger narratives – they show random poses, movements, emotions, and humor. We have created a story that encourages us to think about human life in the context of family, community, and country, as well as the role of photographers and archives in shaping the visual history of a place and creating it in mental geography,” ” reveals the exhibition’s author, museum historian Džūlija Rodenkirhena.

The exhibition design was created by artist and scenographer Artūrs Arnis. “In the dark pavilion with light images, viewers will be able to escape from the surrounding world and enter the interwar period of Latvia in a documentary atmosphere. It will be an immersive journey,” he describes.

The exhibition will be on view at the Latvian Academy of Art exhibition hall from October 3 to November 27. Admission is free, Monday through Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The exhibition is supported by the VKKF.

Text and photo selection: Džūlija Rodenkirhena

Design: Artūrs Arnis

Glass plate digitization: Gints Birznieks

Project management: Ilze Zigerte

Exhibition element production: SIA “Balta Trends”

The Exhibition is supported by VKKF