Riga Film Museum of the Latvian Academy of Culture celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2018
March 1, 2018 marks 30 years since Riga Film Museum was established. It is the only museum in Latvia dedicated exclusively to the history of cinema. The museum collects items of Latvia’s film heritage, conducts research, organizes exhibits and educational events for children of various age groups, manages various lectures, seminars, discussions and other events. The mission of the Riga Film Museum is to offer high quality cultural products, to create and promote an excellent and diverse audiovisual environment and educate the audience by ensuring accessibility to knowledge about film.
Since its establishment, Riga Film Museum has been an independent museum and also part of the National Film Center. Since the reforms of 2010 it is the structural unit of the Latvian Academy of Culture. The museum is located at 10 Peitavas Street in the Old Town of Riga, but its archive and collections are located at 1 Talsu Street in the premises of Eduards Smiļģis Theatre Museum.
The idea to establish a film museum originated during the ‘Film Days’ of 1986. The legend has it, that the idea arouse in the kitchen of Augusts Sukuts (the creator and former artistic director of the ‘Arsenals’ film festival) in a discussion with Juris Civjans, who currently lives and teaches in Chicago, and the film historian and researcher Inga Pērkone, currently a professor at the Latvian Academy of Culture. In 1988 the project received green light, and the Riga Film Museum was established. The initial intentions were to build a much larger museum on the site at 10/12 Peitavas Street, where the museum is currently located. The idea of a film museum spread to other parts of the former Soviet Union as well, most notably is affected the foundation of film museums in Moscow and Minsk.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Riga Film Museum moved several times. Between 1994 and 1998 the museum was located in the print shop “Cīņa” on Krāslavas Street, where artist Ieva Romanova was the curator of exhibitions. Later, from 1998 to 2006, the museum moved to the Riga Film Studio in Šmerlis, where Romanova continued her collaboration with the museum.
In 2006, as the result of reorganization, the museum became part of the National Film Center and returned to its original location in the Old Town. The first exhibit that year celebrated the 70th birthday of the famous Latvian filmmaker Jānis Streičs. It was followed by several other large exhibits including “The Forbidden Time of Rolands Kalniņš,” “The Phenomenon of Movement,” and “A Boy From Riga - Sergei Eisenstein.”
As a result of the economic crises in 2010 the museum became part of the Latvian Academy of Culture.
Today Riga Film Museum organizes exhibitions in its original location at 10 Peitavas Street, as well as at other venues. Since 2017, the museum’s permanent exhibition “Behind the Movie Screen” examines the history of movie making and the development of new technologies.The museum also offers smaller temporary exhibitions, such as the latest one - ‘Uldis Brauns and “235 000 000”’. Other activities offered by the museum include lectures, workshops, and guided tours. The series of lecture “You Are Not Allowed Not To Know This” in cooperation with the cinema “Splendid Palace” is currently in its 13th season.
More information on website: www.kinomuzejs.lv and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KinoMuzejs/
