From 9 October 2022 to 15 January 2023, the exhibition halls on the fourth and fifth floors of the main building of the Latvian National Art Museum will host the Bank of Latvia’s centenary exhibition “Signs of Valor”.
–
–
The content will continue after the announcement
Advertising
–
The exhibition dedicated to the centenary of the Bank of Latvia (LB), created in collaboration with the Latvian National Museum of Art (LNMM), invites you to appreciate money not only as an integral part of the rational economic world, but also as a cultural symbol and historical, the embodiment of the history and spiritual values of the Latvian people. The legendary five lats silver coin, popularly known as Milda – a brilliant work of art by Rihards Zariņš – is associated with the country’s independence for every Latvian, is held with respect and honor, inherited for generations and is still a recognizable mark of Latvia, according to the creators of the exhibition.
As Inese Baranovska, curator of the exhibition, head of the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, recalls, on March 13, 1991 a decision was made “On the production of banknotes of the Republic of Latvia” and the Banknotes Story Solution Commission was founded, in which it was very active the design graphic Laimonis Šēnbergs – later the Bank of Latvia the artistic consultant, in fact a professional who directs the creation of all Latvijas Bankas lat and the first collector euro coins.
In the concept of national banknote design, two main tasks have been defined: the first – we must abandon standardized methods and seek new original artistic means of expression, the second – the graphic design of the national currency must be non-traditional, which displays concisely and pinpoints significant scenes for 20th and 21st century Latvia, says Baranovska.
The exhibition features coins from the collection of the Bank of Latvia, which have been issued regularly since 1996. Latvian artists from all generations and industries have participated in their creation, researching, exploring and experimenting to create unusual solutions, using unique materials and the latest technologies. Each banknote issued by Latvia is created as a miniature work of art, encoding a universal message for today and for the future. The coins in the collection of the Bank of Latvia have obtained wide recognition and international awards in competitions, are always the center of attention of the world’s numismatists, but above all they are concise stories about our history, culture and values.
High artistic criteria are guaranteed by the Coin Design Commission of the Bank of Latvia, which has been operational since 12 November 1993. A competition is held for each coin design and the ideas submitted by the artists are carefully evaluated. In addition to the main employees of the bank, well-known experts of art, culture, history and science in Latvia participate in the work of the commission, who advise topics, suggest ways to develop coins, select artists for the coin design development competition, evaluate performance and mint samples.
Former president Vaira Vīke-Freiberga, a poet, worked on the coin design commission Imants Ziedonisartist and art historian Imants Lanczmanisthe artist Ilmārs Blumbergs, the architect Modris Ģelzis, the artist Kristaps Ģelzis and the academician Jānis Stradiņš.
The contribution of Marutas Brūkles, the longtime head of the Monetary Department of the Bank of Latvia, and, of course, Laimoņš Šēnbergs, is invaluable in learning the specific secrets of coin minting that were little known at first and in pursuing the le best mints ready to experiment and implement the innovative ideas of Latvian artists. Currently, the coin design commission of the Bank of Latvia is chaired by Jānis Blūms, head of the money circulation administration, and includes graphic designer Edgars Zvirgzdiņš, chief designer of the Bank of Latvia Ieva Bela, artists Sandra Krastiņa, Ivars Drulle, Artūrs Analts, Laimonis Šēnbergs, the architect and curator of the exhibition Ieva Zībarte, the art scientist Ramona Umblija, associate professor of the University of Latvia, Vyačeslavs Kaščejevs, corresponding member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, and the scholar of letters Janīna Kursīte.
The conceptual idea of the exhibition is to reveal coins as important symbols of Latvia’s national image and values, unique art objects, all our common values, highlighting important events and personalities, create a connection to long term between past, present and future. The 80 artistically selected most valuable and original coins of the collection are collected in eight thematic groups: “Our Riga” (800-year cycle of coins), “Our gold”, “Our Latvia” (coin program “Letvia. Times and values Of epochs “),” Our history “,” Our foundations “,” Our culture “,” Our tales and fables “,” Our world “.
The exhibition art form was developed by designer Artūrs Analts, whose ‘honey coin’ created in 2018 is a new step in the development of coin design technologies and has received high international ratings. The unusual display format presents the coins in the collection as exquisite pearls of miniature art, emphasizing their timeless spiritual value. The exhibition is completed by “Inspiration Cabinet” and “Process Stands” dedicated to each theme, which help to understand the long journey of creating coins from research, creative research and selection of ideas to their realization. Along with artist sketches and plaster models of coins, associative historical objects, documents and artifacts from various Latvian memory institutions are also exhibited.
An expanded dimension is given to the exhibition by the audiovisual installation “Our Future” specially created by Artūrs Analts in the Dome Hall of LNMM and by the ambitious environmental object “Our Sun” on the facade of the museum, which includes 369 children’s drawings of the people , selected in a specially organized competition and which reflect the world view of the future generation of our country and the basic values: family, friends, love, homeland, nature, ecosystem of the planet, peace. The gold disc shape is associated with a coin and the sun, a symbol of hope, life, eternal movement, inspiration and spirituality.
In the interactive space of the exhibition, everyone will be able to pick up a pencil, feel the tactile relief of the coins, take their drawing as a souvenir, learn about the stories of the experts and take a closer look at the drawings selected in the competition for the environmental object. “Our Sun”.
–
