Environmental object “Invisible” in Riga / Article / LSM.lv

Public art program “Together” – “Public Parade” public vote

From November 30 to December 13 on the public media portal LSM.lv Latvian residents invited to vote for your favorite “Object Parade” work. The works of art in the public space are created for people to love them, get joy and inspiration, as well as mark new places on the map and highlight what has not been seen before. The vote is an opportunity to cheer up the authors of the “Together” objects and express their appreciation for their work.

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The work of the artist Ance Vilnīte “Invisible” is a socially critical object about the importance of environmental accessibility and “invisible disability”. The description of the object explains that the accessibility of the environment for people with disabilities is mostly thought of only when it affects the person himself: “Then it is understood how many opportunities for the disabled are denied only because people have prioritized design and economy over humanity.

An inaccessible environment is created not only by a ladder without armrests, but also by a society living in ignorance and stereotypes.

A society that makes people with disabilities feel isolated and undesirable makes them invisible. It must be understood that people with disabilities are not just people in wheelchairs – for many, disability manifests itself without particularly visible signs. These can be diseases that progress, affect social functioning, work ability, and in other ways make every day a great challenge. But each of us has a chance to help.

This work is about how far we can go, as long as we have something to stick to (sometimes literally) and also about everything we have left down in a hurry to get higher sooner. ”

Solvita Krese, a member of the jury of the “Together” program competition, said about the project: “The project“ Invisible ”pays attention to the invisible part of the society – people with movement disorders, disabled people. Both due to public attitudes and the lack of adapted mobility aids, these people are forced to stay on the margins of society, creating an invisible area. Ance Vilnīte’s work not only highlights the unsuitability of the urban environment for ensuring the movement of these people, but also calls for the creation of a more inclusive and tolerant society. “Invisible” – performed in the artist’s typical brutally robust sculptural plastic – becomes not only a noticeable accent in the urban environment of Riga, but also a touching exclamation mark. In an atmosphere of general indifference, hopelessness and insecurity in modern society, they are able to inspire and recall compassion and mutual responsibility, resonating with the wave of solidarity that flourished during the Covid-19 pandemic. ”

The site will relocate after January 10, 2021.

Cooperation partner: Association of Disabled People and their Friends “Apeirons”.

CONTEXT:

The public art program “Together” is designed as a support mechanism for visual arts representatives to overcome the crisis caused by Covid-19, while improving the quality of the urban environment. In a publicly announced competition, 10 new urban objects in Riga, Cesis, Daugavpils, Liepaja, Madona and Valmiera were selected and then developed.

From August to December 2020, the program was implemented by the Latvian Center for Contemporary Art as a delegation of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia in the field of visual art. The allocated funding for the implementation of the whole program is 150,000 euros.

In the publicly announced competition, 41 project applications were submitted for jury evaluation. The projects were evaluated by a jury of seven people: Selga Laizāne (Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture for the Centenary of Latvia), Guntars Ruskuls (Head of the Strategic Management Department of the City Development Department of Riga City Council), Daina Auziņa (Head of the Latvian Visual Arts Department of the Latvian National Museum of Art) , Solvita Krese (director of the Latvian Center for Contemporary Art), Santa Hirsch (art critic), Krišs Salmanis (artist), Evelīna Ozola (architect, urban planner, director of the “Fold” platform).

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