The first visitors are welcomed at the Aspazija House by the interactive exhibition “Sunny Corner” / Article / LSM.lv

This year marks the 110th anniversary of the publication of Aspazija’s collection of poems “Sunny Corner”. Immediately after its publication, critics called it the poet’s strongest and best-developed collection of poetry. This round anniversary became a reason for children’s book illustrators Gundega Muzikante and Ilze Dambe to create an interactive environment for children in Aspazija’s house in Jūrmala, where they can get to know the characters of Aspazija’s poetry. On September 8, the first visitors got acquainted with the world of the poet’s childhood dreams at Aspazija’s house in Jūrmala.

The preface to Aspazija’s poetry collection “Sunny Corner”, published in 1910, states that the work is intended as part of a lyrical biography. In fact, it is not a direct biography of Aspazija, but some memorable scenes of childhood days that thrilled the poet during emigration.

Artists Gundega Muzikante and Ilze Dambe have created an interactive exhibition for children “Sunny Corner” as a garden where you can write a letter to a virtual Aspazija cat, listen to poems from the collection spoken by actress Guna Zariņa and turn to the stars.

“This is the time when poetry serves as a source of inspiration, not to illustrate it as usual, but to create spatial illustrations for Aspazija’s wonderful poems.

Every object that awakens a feeling or revives a memory in the exhibition space, ”explains the artist Gundega Muzikante.

The imagery of Aspazija’s children’s poems is difficult to portray. Although the collection of poems “Sunny Corner” has been published several times, it has never been illustrated.

“How can you illustrate a room where there is a sky over the ground? How can you illustrate a fairy tale sitting on the doorstep. Or God’s laughter, which cannot be illustrated. We can feel it in a different way, through an experience that is revealed differently than a drawn work, ”emphasizes Muzikante.

The exhibition “Sunny Corner” in Aspazija’s house in Jurmala will be on view until March next year.

–