Opening of photographic exhibition organised by Foreign Ministry

At the Melngalvju House on 29 February, at 3 pm, there will be the opening of the photographic exhibition The Arctic – Our Crystal World, which is being organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, in co-operation with the Danish Cultural Institute and the Embassy of Canada in Latvia. Latvian Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins will give the opening address.

The exhibition will show photographs taken by three outstanding and internationally recognised photographers of Latvian origin: Fred Bruemmer (Canada), Andris Slapins (Latvia) and Ivars Silis (Denmark). Both Bruemmer and Silis will participate in the exhibition opening, as well as photographer Gunars Janaitis, who processed the photos by Andris Slapins. Slapins' widow Natalia Dyushen and daughter Anna will also be in attendance.

The authors of the photos have lived and worked in the Arctic, and so have been able to present the life and the nature of the region both from a documentary as well as an artistic viewpoint. The photos not only have aesthetic value – they depict also the wide-ranging climate changes which have taken place over the last 40 years, leaving a profound effect on northern nations and their way of life.

Fred Bruemmer gives an insight into the richness of Arctic fauna, and tells the story of the collapse of the Inuit traditions in the 1960's. Ivars Silis mostly illustrates the northern people's dependence on natural resources. The works of Andris Slapins, who died in tragic circumstances in 1991, present a series of impressions of 1980's Siberia, depicted in a profoundly documental style.

The exhibition was put together as part of International Polar Year (1 March 2007 – 1 March 2008), underscoring the unique natural and cultural riches of the Arctic area, which today has become a graphic reflection of global climate change. Climate change influences both the natural environment of the Arctic, as well as the people living there. It opens up new opportunities for human economic activity, whilst presenting at the same time new political and ecological challenges. Latvia as a northern European country is not indifferent about climate change in the Arctic. The exhibition is Latvia's contribution to the deepening of interest and understanding among the whole international community about climate change, and its effect on nature and human beings.

The exhibition comes to Latvia from Denmark, because it was created on the initiative of the Embassy of Latvia in Denmark, in collaboration with photographer Ivars Silis (who is resident in Greenland), Fotocentrs Ltd and the photographer Gunars Janaitis. The exhibition has been financially supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, the bank DnB Nord, the BG Culture Fund of Denmark, the Embassy of Canada in Denmark and the Nordatlantens Brygge Culture House, Copenhagen.   

The  exhibition will be on view at the Melngalvju House until 20 March.

   

For the information of journalists 

 

Representatives of the media are invited to register their participation at the exhibition opening with the Press Centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by 12 noon 29 February, telephone number 7016272.

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