Exhibition program
How I've Been Feeling Lately
26.05.2023. - 31.08.2023.
As part of the program for the exhibition "How I've Been Feeling Lately", organized by the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art and held at the Pauls Stradiņš Museum of the History of Medicine, the museum will host classes providing a glimpse into art therapy, discussions with the exhibition artists and experts on the subject, performances, as well as guided tours with the curator and the artists.
The events of the public program aim to equip visitors with the skills needed to recognize complex emotional and psychological states and provide them with a safe and inclusive environment for sharing their experiences.
Closing tour of the exhibition on August 31
At 15.00 there will be a tour led by curator Laura Brokānes, where you will be able to meet artists Kristu Dzudzilo, Andu Lāci, Reini Hofmani, Annu Salmani un Reini Dzudzilo. Participation in the tour with an entrance ticket to the exhibition: for schoolchildren – 0.50 EUR, for students, pensioners – 1.00 EUR, for adults – 2.00 EUR;
Due to renovations, the tour is currently not accessible for people with mobility impairments.
Guided tours
July 6, 17:30 – tour with curator Laura Brokāne and artists Rasa Jansone, Reinis Hofmanis, Reinis Dzudzilo, Andris Kaļiņins, Krista Dzudzilo, Ieva Vīksne and Zane Tuča. Free admission.
June 8, 17:30 – tour with curator Laura Brokāne and artists Rasa Jansone, Līga Spunde, Reinis Hofmanis, Anna Salmane, Reinis Dzudzilo, Andris Kaļiņins, Krista Dzudzilo and Sanita Tauriņa. Free admission.
June 11, 15:00 – tour with curator Laura Brokāne and artists Rasa Jansone, Ernests Vilsons, Krista Dzudzilo and Zane Tuča. Price: school students - 0,50 EUR, university students and pensioners – 1,00 EUR, adults – 2,00 EUR.
Introduction to art therapy
Art therapists Diāna Serga and Lība Bērziņa will lead the Introduction to Art Therapy series of events. These are open to everyone but are targeted towards an adult audience. Art therapy activates the creative intelligence of the person, facilitating a profound experience with images, visualisation and creativity, opening a new dimension, giving visual expression to feelings. It offers a non-verbal way of capturing the different aspects of the senses that precede words. The sessions with Diāna Serga are open group sessions and each subsequent session must be booked separately, while Lība Bērziņa will be hosting a closed group for people who are willing to partake in all four sessions. In Lība Bērziņa’s group, participants will learn about emotional intelligence, or the different basic emotions, while Diāna Serga’s classes aim to help recognizing one’s emotions and improving one’s emotional well-being. Participants of both groups will reflect on their own well-being and the artworks on view. No prior knowledge of art is required.
Classes with Lība Bērziņa
Anger. Joy. Fear. These are some of the basic emotions that you will be able to explore in art therapy classes with Lība Bērziņa. During the four sessions, participants will learn about emotions and their spectrum, as well as learn to recognize emotions through contemporary art and art therapy methods. The classes will be held in a closed group (maximum number of participants: 12 people) and participants must be able to attend all four classes.
Class schedule:
July 13, 14:00 (GROUP FULL, REGISTRATION CLOSED)
July 27, 11:00 (GROUP FULL, REGISTRATION CLOSED)
August 3, 14:00 (GROUP FULL, REGISTRATION CLOSED)
August 10, 14:00 (GROUP FULL, REGISTRATION CLOSED)
Each session will take up to two hours. APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED.
Classes with Diāna Serga
To stop, to be still and to listen to yourself. Observe with interest and attention. And from this space of silence, let the symbols, images, movement, and sound reveal themselves. Conscious observation is a mind/body practice to create a receptive, friendly attitude towards a problem, situation or experience. A practice where the process of mindful observation involves listening to oneself, being empathic with oneself, hearing the messages that the inner self is sending. It is a process of honouring the wisdom within, being aware of the subtle knowing that speaks through the body. Taking the time to listen to the sensations creates something new or unknown, pointing the way towards a resolution that brings about a tangible and real change.
Each session led by Diana Serga will consist of two parts. The first part is spent in the exhibition hall looking at and observing the artworks, while the second part takes place in the creative space, where everyone is allowed to express their feelings through the art materials. The final part will be a discussion between the participants about their experiences. The sessions will be held in an open group (maximum 10 participants).
Class times:
July 7 from 11:00 to 13:00 (GROUP FULL, REGISTRATION CLOSED)
July 14 from 11:00 to 13:00 (GROUP FULL, REGISTRATION CLOSED)
July 21 from 11:00 to 13:00 (GROUP FULL, REGISTRATION CLOSED)
July 28 from 11:00 to 13:00 (GROUP FULL, REGISTRATION CLOSED)
Each session lasts up to 2 hours. Advance booking required. Application: by writing to diana.serga@gmail.com or calling 28818268
Price per class: school students – EUR 0,50, university students, pensioners – EUR 1,00, adults – EUR 2,00.
Talks and discussions
The public program features five discussions on mental health disorders, neurodiversity, the importance of peer support, ways of helping, and the language to use when talking about these topics. The discussions will feature mental health experts, participating artists and other cultural representatives. The discussions will be recorded and published later on in podcast form.
June 29, 18:00: Neurodiversity in culture. Moderator: Linda Gabarajeva. Participants: psychiatrist Jānis Bušs, writer Ieva Melgalve, choreographer and researcher Laima Jaunzema, poet Elīna Vendija Rībena.
The panelists will discuss neurodiversity in the context of literature, because people who sensitively and masterfully work with language are able to help arrive at narratives that reflect the experience of neurodiversity, rather than what it looks like from the outside. It is also a matter of art and literature depicting, for example, people on the autism spectrum. Do they have a voice in Latvia? When writing about people with autism spectrum disorder, do writers and artists engage in dialogue with the people whose experiences they depict in their work? How to translate «аутист» in Latvian? What role does the "stranger" archetype play in literature and art, and don't we make real, living people into shadows of people, giving them always the same functions - to be spiritually pure, half-society angels whose unusual behavior and language remind us, to ordinary people, for their humanity? There are many questions that we have not yet thought about.
July 13, 17:00: Mental health and the climate. Moderator: Liene Brizga-Kalniņa. Participants: Ilze Ječe, head of non-formal education, psychology student, also works in the association "Green Freedom", where she manages projects related to the environment and climate, Edgars Haritonchenko, psychologist, Maija Demitera, media artist.
The climate crisis is a reality of our time, which gradually permeates all areas of human life. With whom you have to learn to live not only physically, but also mentally. However, its inevitability, the unpredictability of potential consequences, the bleak future scenarios and the individual's limited ability to change anything to mitigate it have created a new category of mental health disorders that could be called climate depression. The people who face it are often the ones who know the most about climate change, but become passive in the face of its insurmountability and no longer see the point of changing daily actions or any other climate and environmental activism. In this talk we will look at the questions, is climate depression real and how many people are experiencing it? Is this a phenomenon that can affect our efforts to mitigate climate change? And what to do with it? Can art be a way to find solace and answers?
August 3, 17:30: When to help the helper: support for relatives. Discussion moderated by Ieva Rosne. Participants: artists Sanita Tauriņa and Anda Lāce, psychotherapist, Dr. Ernests Pūliņš-Cinis, RSU Psychosomatics Clinic
Estimates show that in 2019, every eighth inhabitant of the planet encountered one of the mental health disorders. Since then - due to the pandemic, war, deterioration of the socio-economic situation - and other reasons, this number has continued to increase. Everyone who directly experiences mental health disorders has loved ones - friends, relatives and acquaintances - who are affected indirectly. But it is important. In the conversation, we will focus on the topic of the importance of peer support, types of help and language, how to talk about these topics, and we will look for answers to various questions. What happens to a person when someone close to him gets sick? What are the risks and challenges these people face? How to discharge emotions in a positive way and how to restore resources to be able to continue helping? How much do you care about others in order not to hurt yourself?
August 10, 17:00: Women and Madness in Culture. Anna Žabicka. Participants: artists Rasa Jansone and Anna Salmane, writer Inga Gaile.
"Insane" ostensibly refers to a person who is "beyond (culture-specific) reason." In Western culture, it also largely connotes a person who is the opposite of rational and thus untrustworthy, potentially dangerous, or – at best – helpless. One of the assumptions that follows from this is that the insane cannot be trusted because their perception of reality is too warped. A second assumption is that the insane may even be capable of truth or reality reflection, but it is only available to the "sane" and "rational" who act as interpreters and messengers, excluding first-person narratives. These stigmatizing oppositions between the insane and the sane, the observed and the observers, have also historically marked power relations between genders and families. Often, it is women who are described as being beyond reason - too emotional, irrational, closer to nature than to culture, and therefore also unreliable, observable and describable.
August 17, 17:00: Self-help and self-expression. Moderator: Marta Krivade. Participants: artist Līga Spunde, psychiatrist Liene Sīle, teacher of Christian contemplation Induls Paičs and Ildze Jakunova, doctoral student in cultural and social anthropology of the University of Helsinki.
What is self-help and how do people discover, maintain and use internal resources to help themselves in difficult times? And when you are no longer enough on your own and you need to seek help from a mental health specialist? Isn't there a line where the individual's spiritual crisis is mixed with a psychiatric and medical crisis? And can you become dependent on seeking help from specialists, without ever discovering your own resources? Singing, meditating, dancing, running, praying, cooking, being together, being alone, breathing consciously, wandering in nature or going on a road, hugging trees or animals, hugging ourselves, hugging a friend, listening to music, shouting, jumping, drawing, writing , watching, dressing up as someone else, talking to the living or the dead, turning to or looking for spiritual teachers, practicing religion or spiritual practices - these are just some of the ways in which a person tries to help himself in difficult times and creates a connection with himself, thus also creating resources to help yourself. Some forms of self-help are not widely discussed in society, but some are treated with suspicion.
The discussions will take place at the Conference Hall of the Medicine History Museum. Admission to the discussions is free.
Performances
Two performances will likewise take place as part of the public program, namely Heartbeats by Ukrainian artist Darya Kalashnikova and The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever by choreographer Kristīne Brīniņa.
Darya Kalashnikova’s performance Heartbeats
A collective sound healing experience
Total duration: 10 minutes
Venue: Medicine History Museum
Performance times:
June 29, 16:00 (GROUP FULL, REGISTRATION CLOSED)
July 13, 16:00 (GROUP FULL, REGISTRATION CLOSED)
August 3, 16:00 (GROUP FULL, REGISTRATION CLOSED)
August 10, 16:00 (GROUP FULL, REGISTRATION CLOSED)
August 17, 16:00 (GROUP FULL, REGISTRATION CLOSED)
From the moment my mother first leaves me alone to sleep until the moment I draw my last breath, I will worry about being abandoned. What do I feel when I cannot see anyone next to me? How can I feel their presence? How can I know that I am not alone? Do I need somebody to witness my experience?
Event details
The performance takes place in a room where it is possible to sit or lie down comfortably with a blanket. Participants are blindfolded at the beginning and taken to a room where they can sit or lie down comfortably and cover themselves with a blanket. During the performance, it is preferable to close one’s eyes. According to the participant’s wishes, it is also possible to wear a blindfold. Once the group has assembled, the performance begins. After the event, participants are invited to stay for a while and reflect on the experience in conversation with the artist.
The performance is limited to 10 people. Admission fee: school students – EUR 0,50, university students, seniors – EUR 1,00, adults – EUR 2,00. Advance booking required.
Apply at: https://forms.gle/ww3sUpyJgi1uDCWV8
The performance is held in English.
Kristīne Brīniņa’s performance The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever
July 30, 14:00 to 17:00
Venue to be confirmed
For almost a decade, the wonderful and inspiring event The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever has been taking place all over the world, bringing together all kinds of peopl to unite in dance as a celebration of freedom, love and unity. At the outset of the Punctum Literary Festival in 2022, everyone, regardless of age, gender, physical ability, culture or ethnicity, was invited to learn the moves from Kate Bush’s 1987 video for Wuthering Heights under the guidance of dance artist Kristīne Brīniņa. As part of the public program for the exhibition, we invite you to relive this healing dance experience. Dancing together is a reminder that we are not alone. We are there for each other, to imagine and create a shared tomorrow.
Participation: free of charge
Supported by:
State Culture Capital Foundation and Riga City Council
