Just on Time Exhibit Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Riga

The Just on Time exhibit at the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design was wonderful. I was impressed that the exhibit was signed in both English and Latvian, was easy to engage with and covered everything from the 1920's to the latest in eco-friendly designs created by Latvians today.  And it was an eclectic mix of artifacts, from true items of decorative art to airplane, car, toy and radio design. What really tied the exhibit together for me was the thread of the celebration of Latvian design, even under Soviet occupation.
While you were not to take photos of the exhibit, I took a few because it was closing and I wanted an opportunity to show how they used a relatively small area to pack a punch. I have also included photos of the supporting brochure.

Notice no barriers? This seems to be common in Latvia. In Canada I would have put up a barrier so people can't touch anything, but here there was no need. They do have docents in the gallery who patrol.Notice the classical motif in the linen and the strong use of colour in the watercolours of their production pottery.

This  exhibit was set up for the 100th anniversary of Latvia. Note the stylized 100 on the cover and the infinity symbol in the left hand corner for Latvia's 100th logo.

This layout  matched the front cover. Very clever! I would have loved if they had added a translation for English onto this design piece because I expect it was significant.

An explanation of the overall exhibit.

More explanation and I like the design colours. Latvians do not shy away from using colours North Americans might not consider for an exhibit.

Design as art was very well explained but the Design and prosperity section was weaker and the ties between the two were not as obvious. Really appreciated the use of video but the labelling in the video made it difficult to sometimes understand what the curatorial team was trying to achieve.

Really like this section thought would have loved a more thorough explanation of how plywood is produced especially the veneer section. Love, love, love the posters!

Here is the address of the museum. It cost me 5 Euros to see both this exhibit and the permanent collection. Totally worth it!

These pictures from the exhibit are from the 1920s section, in the early days of independence. Notice the use of geometric patterning and oak leaves. The oak  is very important to the Latvians. 

I was very naughty and took a few pictures of the permanent collection because it is so very impressive! Look at this rug! Beautiful colour and fabulous geometric design. Just one of the many reasons to visit the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design in Riga!

And yes they do have a gift shop. It was closed on the day I visited but I will be back if only to look at the pottery. I will definitely be coming back.

Ventspils Castle

Chris, Pumpkin and I visited Ventspils Castle in November. It was great and we will be back to visit again in the spring
Unlike a lot of Canadian historic sites that shut down in the winter, Latvian historic sites remain open. They charge admission, a few euros, but I think their philosophy is, "You're here, we're here, we're awesome even if it is not as good as it would normally be in the summer, so come on in." And they are right. We need an attitude adjustment in Canada. We're always so sorry that it's not perfect that we shut down. Instead we should be open not only for winter special events, but just open. Rant over.

The courtyard as you enter.

The castle. The tower is part of the original build.

Ventspils Castle was built by the Livonian Order in the mid to late thirteenth century. There was no activity in the grounds at the time of our visit, but the gardens were still lovely to walk through.

Pumpkin taking a walk through the grounds.

 Ventspils Castle does allow your dog to come into the castle/museum itself which was a first for me. The greeters to the museum were dressed in Latvian costume, spoke English, let us know that Pumpkin was okay to wander around in the building and that the Latvian 100th Anniversary display was an extra fee and also written entirely in Latvian. We decided not to see the Latvian 100th display. The inner courtyard is still intact and they have roofed the courtyard which allows them to heat the building.

The interior courtyard of the castle.

The interior courtyard of the castle. You can clearly see the later additions to the building.

There are several rooms with standard exhibits. Someone had some serious money to put into these exhibits. The cases are high quality and climate controlled. The labels are all in Latvian but they have some bronze age relics as well as medieval accoutrements on display. They do have plastic binder sheets with English descriptions available to support your understanding of some of the exhibits but they need to be updated as they don't match the cases very well and there is only one copy. They are also showing signs of wear. Some of the cases, particularly the ones that allowed for interactivity, have been damaged. (Isn't that always the way? If you are building it for the public to touch it needs to be made of titanium!)

One of the galleries with their very nice cases!

 The chapel and other great rooms were amazing. In every room there is an English label or explanation which was so helpful. You also sometimes forget that in the past for people to move from section to section of the castle you would have had to go outside in the ice and snow. And it gets cold here.

The great room fire place.

The chapel. The end of the Great Room leads to the chapel.

One of the seals marking the chapel wall which was uncovered during the archaeological excavations. 

My very favourite room in the entire castle was an awesome exhibit of how people modify their buildings over time. The room had been pulled apart in layers, so you went backwards in time until you reached the original medieval walls, but leaving many of the changes intact. A projector played on each wall in Latvian and English with arrows to all of the relevant additions and modifications to the construction. Additions of a 19th century stove beside a closed entrance from the 14th century were side by side. Don't like the 13th century medieval arch? Fill it in and change the window shape. Want to change the purpose of the room? Add a wall here and take a wall down there.  Awesome! The text was easy to understand and the arrows totally worked. The only thing I would change would be to add the history of the building as a primer before you entered the room so you would understand that the building had been everything from a fortification to a church to a prison.

Part of the room showing all the different stages of the castle in terms of use. The excavation found everything from medieval designs to the 20th century markings.

Since there are several floors it was wonderful to go through and explore. In some places some of their videos need adjustment so you can read the English but this was a minor distraction.

The warmest room in the castle.

Ventspils Castle was wonderful and well worth the visit!!!!