Weather spoiled us, it was fresh, but it didn’t rain like it was in last year. I don’t know how it’s in France, in the place of origin Museum night, but in Latvia this activity happens to be in bird-cherry and chestnut tree bloom time. Breath of Spring is in the air and people are moving along the Rigas streets, especially along the Old-Riga, they’re looking after new impressions, new connection, new information.
This year we parked our car and gave up a hope for three planned free of charge transport routes, by public transport we went to event programme choosed Museum night 2011 participants. First stop – museum „Dauderi”here in Sarkandaugava, where we were kindly welcomed and we received our first Museum night sticker on the cuff. Basic exhibition with plenty Latvian national costume brooches and chaplets, ofcourse Karlis Ulmanis and Latvian free country time cultural words too, that time military and country duty badges.
Next stop nearly on the other side of the city in Dzirciema street – Rigas Stradina University museum, where nostalgiarised up about study times, exploring every kind of cribs and how they have progressed from super-thin handwrited cribs to tiny written printed exam help.
In University lobby perform mixed chorus „Riga”and RSU dance collective „Ackups”. Both collectives seriously prepears for Baltic country student song and dance festival „Gaudeamus – XVI”. In this koncert audience and supporters were enough.
Latvian National Art Museum, was pretty scrimpy with an offer exactly for Museum Night. There were not even traditional welcome and sticker. Everywhere were scriptions that museum will be opened in 18.May in interntional Museum day. For it, in first floor interesting was black and white photography exhibition by Andrejs Grants (photographies were taken from 1980.year till 2010.), where we noticed some photographies from our native city.
Then we went to near museum „Jewish in Latvia” (Skolas street 6), where the central attention attractedchance to look, study and dance with Jewish and Israel dance choreographer Sergejs Rozensceigs. It proved that the steps were very simple – gratest part was walking, bowing and, like Greek, dancing in cirle, which in the time of dance becomes bigger, smaller and goes in to one or in the other way. That was all in the second floor hall, but in third floor were museum rooms, where are collected pretty much materials about Jewish in Latvia. Ofcourse, pretty hard Jewish people chasing and liquidation period reflection in the 2.World war, and not only.
I was surprised about the quantity of materials, which were prepeared by association members and were offered to museum visitors. Arround was heard russian, latvian and jewish language. Sideshow, which wasn’t announced in Museum night programme, but was accessible to every visitor of this museum – your own date of birth indentifying by Jewish calendar and your own name and surname writing in ivrit.
To lecture about sinagogs we didn’t make to apply for and introduced Eurovision song competitors „Pienenu vins” we didn’t hear, but even then we had a good impression, that this museum realy has thought about visitors.
We went to Old-Riga, which we could cross just raging through big local and abroad tourist crowd. That wasn’t surprise, that Old-Riga nightlife goes with a bang – outdoor cafes (which, I think so, are becoming more and more each year), live music on every corner, beggars (for a regret, they are becoming more and more each year), flower traders, neon disco lights. Till we got to Latvian ocupation museum,where another time with eyes we looked through Latvian history pages. Singed some etnic song group (unfortunately in programme they weren’t introduced with a title), song was good akapella and many people attention was attracted not just to beautiful old national costumes for woman, but one man with very big, black sunglasses (who knows, what was the meaning of them?!).
In last programme watched RTU Leonardo Da Vinchi museum we didn’t make, because a student showed his head through door and said that there is a mistake in programme and museum needs to be closed in 23:00 not 1:00.
To sum up - impression about this years Museum night – there is a picture, but there is no flavour. I don’t deny that somebody else had different impression. But I don’t know, I always want to catch the feeling that I’ve been welcomed there, welcome and have been thought about it, offering something much more than the basic exhibition (real joy about that in some museums that was like that).
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