“Kaláčos” opens a new exhibition and celebrates the anniversary of Weidenbaum / Article

“Eduard Weidenbaum receives a beautiful birthday present for his 155th anniversary. We also receive a beautiful gift. The new Memorial Museum exhibit is not only a place where you can get to know the forever young Weidenbaum, who was not destined to grow old, but also a place where today’s young man, knowing one of the greatest poets of our nation, is invited and can get to know each other better “, Ritvars Jansons, parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Culture, greeted the creative team of the museum and all Latvian residents at the opening event of the exhibition.

“More light!” On behalf of the team, the project manager and curator of the exhibition Inga Surgunte stressed the need and responsibility to keep the interpretation of heritage alive and relevant to the public: “We have in our hands the manuscripts of Eduards Weidenbaum, his stories of life and the Weidenbaum family, the Vidzeme farm in Kalači, which is included in the list of national protected cultural monuments. What do we want to say about this heritage, do we want to know? It is the responsibility of every future generation of heirs to answer these questions in a meaningful way and honest. On the 155th anniversary of Eduard Weidenbaum, the museum responds to them by focusing on the themes of mental health, interpersonal relationships, provoking discussions on the formation of an equitable and inclusive society and the role of art, including poetry, in these processes. . The Weidenbaum legacy offers us a solid foundation for these crucial conversations. “

The exhibition and related educational programs invite you to learn about the dreams and aspirations of the early Latvian poetry modernist, troubled relationships with family and friends, fragile health, idealistic ideas of democracy and equality and, of course, his innovative poetry. To fully unveil the various facets of Veidenbaum’s heritage, the exhibition team brought together representatives from various sectors: project manager and curator Inga Surgunte, museum director Andra Ķise, literary scholar Marians Rižijs, artist Dace Džeriņa, writer Andris Akmentiņš, adolescent and youth psychotherapist Nils Konstantinovs, researcher of natural processes Laura Blacksmith, sociologist Liene Ozoliņa, specialist in youth affairs and museum teacher Baiba Roze. Young people from the Cēsu region also actively participated in the development of the contents of the exhibition.

Aija Tūna, head of the “Latvijas skolas soma” program, observed: “Another cultural place in Latvia is preparing to tell our cultural values ​​in a contemporary way, in a language understandable to today’s young people. This will help them meet and find young people who have lived with them for a long time, thinking together, which youth subculture would belong today “.

In 2022, the Eduards Weidenbaum “Kaláči” memorial museum initiated significant changes. By highlighting parts of the collection that have not been illuminated so far, the museum becomes a place where you can learn about everyone’s personal mental health and learn how to build harmonious relationships with those around you. To achieve this, in addition to a careful and modern analysis of Eduard Weidenbaum’s poetry and opinions, the museum will tell even more than before about the state-protected monument – the “Kaláči” farm – and the Weidenbaum family, who cultivated it, on their joint works and relationships.

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