Exhibition guide: retro radios, political agitation and Freedom Monument history
Several history-themed exhibitions are currently open across Latvia, ranging from a political poster display at the National Library to retro radios in Saulkrasti and a monument exhibit in Iecava. Each highlights a different facet of Latvia's past.
Several Latvian towns are currently hosting exhibitions dedicated to different aspects of history and culture.
Political agitation and radio voices
The Latvian National Library in Riga is showing "The Language of Power – Agitation, Propaganda, Art" until October 31, created by journalist Ilze Dobele together with the library's Support Association. The exhibition groups posters into three themes – pre-election agitation, propaganda, and art posters – encouraging visitors to reflect on how political messaging has shaped society across different eras. Works come from several museums and private collections.
Meanwhile, the Saulkrasti municipal library is displaying, until the end of August, a collection of Latvian-made portable radios assembled by Jānis Liņķis, including the legendary 1956 "VEF Tūrists" model. The collector owns more than 60 devices. The exhibition highlights radio's role during emergencies when other communication channels fail, as happened during the 1991 Barricades. On August 28, the collector himself will talk to visitors about the history of radio technology.
The Freedom Monument in Iecava and ethnographic heritage
The Iecava Culture House is hosting, until November 25, an exhibition about the local Freedom Monument, unveiled in 1936 to commemorate soldiers who fell in Latvia's fight for independence. The monument was blown up during the Soviet occupation but not fully destroyed, and was restored in 1988; it is now a protected cultural monument.
The Ģederts Eliass Jelgava History and Art Museum, until September 20, presents a memorial exhibition on ethnographer Ilga Madre, who spent over 40 years studying Latvian folk costumes and mitten patterns.
The Viļaka library, until September 18, shows Evita Zaremba-Krīgere's collection of nearly 200 wallpaper samples from the 1950s-80s, while the Jēkabpils museum's Sēļu sēta open-air site, until November 1, presents an exhibition on traditional pottery in the Sēlija region, featuring 67 restored vessel fragments from a historic farmstead.
