Smiltene Library hosts Santa Sinka's photo exhibition on sport and balloon flights

A new photo exhibition, “Rising Above the Everyday”, is open at Smiltene Library, at 27 Dakteru Street in Smiltene, Latvia, until 8 November during the library's opening hours. It features 23 photographs by Smiltene resident Santa Sinka. She heads the Business and Tourism Department of the Smiltene municipality, and photography has long been a hobby that brings her a sense of happiness.

From childhood games to professional photography

Sinka says she began taking pictures as a child, when she and a cousin enthusiastically photographed each other at their grandparents' home in the countryside. She started photographing more professionally while working at the regional newspaper Ziemeļlatvija. Even then she was drawn to sporting events, which offer genuine emotion and moments that cannot be staged. With the exhibition, she wants to draw attention to determined people who push their limits, and to show how interesting life in Latvia can be beyond the usual routine.

What the photographs show

The exhibition includes both sporting scenes and moments from Sinka's hot air balloon flights. The sports photographs were taken at very different events. They include the trail running race Gauja Trail by UTMB, the first event in Latvia of the UTMB ultra-trail running world series, which brought together runners from more than 50 countries in Gauja National Park in summer 2026. There are also moments from triathlon competitions in Smiltene and Liepāja, the “Stirnu buks” trail running series, golf, and the Olympic torch relay in Smiltene.

One of Sinka's favourites is the annual 107-kilometre Riga–Valmiera run-and-walk. Participants set off at midnight from the Freedom Monument in Riga and aim to reach the door handle of St Simon's Church in Valmiera at the finish. The event has roots in the Awakening period of 1989 to 1993 and was revived in 2014. Charity now forms a significant part of it, helping children with special needs.

Two different worlds

Sinka sees sport and ballooning as two ways of stepping out of the everyday: in sport by covering kilometres and overcoming oneself, in a balloon by rising above the ground. Weddings and anniversaries are also celebrated in hot air balloons. She thanked Smiltene Library for the opportunity to share her work.