We invite you to the opening of the exhibition "Garden" on September 25th

The exhibition “Garden” features the following artists: Daiga Aže, Liene Ratnika, Irīda Lazdiņa, Gunta Ploka, Sandra Utāne, Zinta Miezaine, Baiba Ūlande, Laima Akmentiņa, Māra Kalnišķe, Gundega Zikmane, Dins Kopštāls, Helmuts Āķis, Ieva Nagliņa. The exhibition will feature works created in various techniques: paintings and textile works, ceramics and metal art, and installations. All artists are united by their affiliation with the Riga Lutheran Church and long-standing creative cooperation with the Jānis Akuraters Museum, which annually culminates in an exhibition at the museum during Christmas. In 2023, during Christmas, it was the exhibition “Garden”, which has now been slightly expanded and moved to the Pēteris Upītis Horticultural Museum – the place that inspired the idea of the exhibition. The exhibition is complemented by a video description, directed and filmed by Aldis Šenbergs, which documents the artists' comments on the creation of their works, includes a message about the theme and significance of the garden in the work and life of Jānis Akuraters, and also captures a story about the Dobele Lilac Garden.

“I am just a flower, Just a flower / You, lilies and roses, in the garden of the night. I bless you / With my signs: With blood you will bloom!” writes Akuraters in his collection of poems “Astras”, where his poetic world has turned into a garden with blooming roses, chrysanthemums, lilies and sunflowers. The miraculous diversity of nature is reflected in Akuraters’s work in a magnificent and unusual way. The poet feels himself as a son of the Sun, as a breath, a breath of Nature. Nature is for him a source of eternal inspiration.

The immortal nature, the beauty of eternal life, the insights and lifestyle of Akuraters have always inspired the artists of the Riga Lutheran Church. The titles of the works on display at the exhibition speak for themselves: “Garden in Winter”, “Blooming Time”, “Angel Horns”, “Snow Roses”, “Fireflies”, “Lilac Rain”, “Tulips”, “Willows and Willows”, “In the Garden”, “The Relationship of Light and Shadow”, etc.

The exhibition opening event on September 25 at 3:00 PM at the Pēteris Upīšis Gardening Museum in Dobele will feature artists, soloist Ieva Parša, who will perform songs with lyrics by Jānis Akuraters, and representatives of the Jānis Akuraters Museum – exhibition curator Ruta Cimdiņa, poet Aivars Eipurs, and museum director Maira Valtere.

The exhibition at the Pēteris Upītis Horticultural Museum in Dobele will be on display until May 31, 2025.