Afternoon of Jumpravsala gardeners' stories
Within the framework of the project "Urban Experiences: Narratives, Memory and Place Heritage", researchers of the Archives of Latvian Folklore collect stories of Pārdaugava residents. On a cool and sunny Saturday, September 18, Una Smilgaine and Ieva Tihovska met with Jumpravsala gardeners Rasma Griņa, Aija Zīle, Aigars Zemīte, Valērijs, Gunārs, and Gatis. The talks were about the arrangement and significance of the garden ("If you are very stressed about something, put your hands on the ground", "help the children, give each one a box of tomatoes"), about the history and future of Jumpravsala gardens, about the anxiety and addiction on the lease of gardeners, on flooding, thieves and concerts, on the incompatibility of pears and junipers, on beetles eating pigeons, the possibility of keeping a horse, the celebration of Midsummer and birthdays, assistance and organized help. We visited the Aija garden, where a two-meter-long lily grew this year, and the oldest garden houses in Jumpravsala, built in the 20th century 40s.
Two new exhibitions: for Rita Drīzule and Boris Infantjev – 100!
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of two folklorists – Rita Drizule and Boris Infantjev - the Archives of Latvian Folklore (ALF) has created a new digital exhibition space and published extensive exhibitions dedicated to these scientists. In the new exhibitions, you can read stories about the life and research of Drīzule and Infantjev, go on a picture walk, listen to excerpts from interviews and follow the links leading to further reading. More about exhibitions in Latvian here.
Exhibition Rita Drīzule – 100.
Exhibition Boris Infantjevs – 100.
The new ALF exhibition space is part of the project "Provision of Diverse Traditional Cultural Content in the Digital Environment", which has received funding from the SCCF's target program "KultūrELPA".
ALF researchers get to know Dzirciems, Iļģuciems, and Dzegužkalns
On September 10, within the project "Urban Experiences: Narratives, Memory and Place Heritage", the project participants and other researchers of the Archives of Latvian Folklore got to know Dzirciems, Iļģuciems, and Dzegužkalns. We also looked at old buildings that have survived in small streets from the end of the 19th century, carefully restored and almost lost houses, places related to the lives of important people, Nordeķi manor and park, former cinema "Ilga", Riga St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, which was once a warehouse and cinema, but now an ascetic church with a wonderful garden, as well as the highest mountain in Riga - Dzegužkalns. We ended the walk with the narrators Māra and Juris Vīksna, where we heard stories about the building built in 1911, as well as its inhabitants and life in the neighborhood.
The event gallery can be viewed here.
How can garamantas.lv help to revive heroes?
The team of the digital archive of the Archives of Latvian Folklore invites those interested to the first virtual meeting on September 24 at 11:00 on the ZOOM platform to share with the example of music collector Voldemārs Stelbergs how garamantas.lv can help bring to life important folklore contributions in the regions. In the second part of the seminar, we will practically try how to use garamantas.lv more conveniently.
More information in Latvian.
Audiovisual seminar on oral history
September 22, 2021 at At 15.00, the fourth audiovisual seminar "Method under the Christmas tree: oral history" organized by the LU LFMI Archives of Latvian Folklore will take place online. The seminar will be led by oral history researchers Ieva Garda-Rozenberga and Māra Zirnīte.
More information in Latvian.
A series of audiovisual seminars is organized in the Latvian Science Council project No. lzp-2020 / 2-0315 "New Approaches to the History of Latvian Folklore".
LU LFMI researchers participate in the 18th ISFNR Congress
Three LU LFMI researchers - Aigars Lielbārdis, Agita Misāne and Guntis Pakalns - participate in the 18th International Society for Folk Narrative Research (ISFNR) Congress "Encountering Emotions in Folk Narrative and Folklife", which is held in Zagreb, but takes place online from September 5 to 8. The congress is dedicated to emotions in folk tales and traditional culture.
The reading room is open from Monday to Friday from 10.00–17.00
The reading room is open from Monday to Friday from 10.00–17.00. Please inform of your visit in advance by writing to the e-mail address lfk@lulfmi.lv.
16 presentations on socialism heritage
Records of the "Socialist Folkloristics: A Disciplinary Heritage" international conference presentations are now available at the Archives of Latvian Folklore YouTube channel.
The themes covered in the conference were related to the Socialist heritage’s impact on the development of folkloristics and related disciplines in Central and Eastern Europe. Among those were the role of the Socialist regimes of knowledge in the organization of folklore archives, ethnographic collections and other institutional representations of folklife; the contribution of folkloristics and related disciplines to resistance and dissent in the former USSR and the Soviet bloc countries, as well as history of folkloristics and ethnography in the light of Soviet postcolonialism. Read more...
Digital Catalogue of Latvian Charms
CALL FOR PAPERS for a thematic issue of journal LETONICA
Are you working on the post-war disciplinary history of folkloristics or related discipline in the former Soviet Union or the Socialist Bloc countries? Please consider contributing a draft of original research article to the thematic issue of a double-blind peer–reviewed journal published by the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of University of Latvia.
Our special interest lies in, but is not limited to such themes as:
- Post-Socialism/Colonialism in the disciplines of folkloristics and ethnography;
- The impact of the Socialist heritage on the development of folkloristics in the post-Socialist countries;
- The role of the Socialist regimes of knowledge in organization of folklore archives, ethnographic collections and other institutional representations of folk life;
- The contribution of folkloristics and related disciplines to resistance and dissent in the former USSR and the Soviet bloc countries.
Deadline: April 2021. Review/acceptance: June 2021. Publication: October 2021.
Inquiries: socfolk@gmail.com
* Double-blind peer–reviewed journal of East European Humanities. Published since 1991, free, SCOPUS indexed, online, informal Open Access, DOI.
A Collection of Ethnographic Ensembles
The newly created collection No. 2235, "Recordings of Ethnographic Ensembles", comprise a repertoire of 24 Latvian ethnographic ensembles which continue to sing and play local traditional music from various villages of Kurzeme and Latgale. This is a special audio-visual collection, as it reveals musical soundscapes presented by current Latvian ethnographic ensembles. The recordings are now available in a digital environment along with thorough historical information about the ensembles and rich illustrative material in the form of photographs.
Read more...The conference "Socialist Folkloristics: A Disciplinary Heritage" programme is here!
The conference "Socialist Folkloristics: A Disciplinary Heritage" will start next week and will be held online. Please register here.
Online conference "Socialist Folkloristics: A Disciplinary Heritage"
We kindly invite you to "save the date". The Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia organises an international conference "Socialist Folkloristics: A Disciplinary Heritage" on 17–18 December, 2020.
The conference will be held in distance using ZOOM virtual meeting place. In order to receive further information and an invitation, please, fill in the Registration form.
Read more...A New Study on Charms
The publishing house of the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art (University of Latvia) recently published Aigars Lielbārdis' research on Latvian charms, “Collection 150. Charms”. The book includes a description of the development and content of the ALF Collection 150, as well as an analysis of the largest functional groups of charms and a chronological listing of the materials, the names of charm-book owners, folk performers, as well as collectors and contributors (presented chronologically by date of contribution).
The book has been prepared within the basic budgeted sub-programme 05.04.00 "The Krišjānis Barons Cabinet of Folksongs" of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia, as well as the post-doctoral project of the European Regional Development Fund "Digital catalogue of Latvian charms" (No. 1.1.1.2/ VIAA/1/16/217) and also published with the financial support of the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia.
Read more...ALF's reading room closed by June 9
Taking into account the state of emergency declared in Latvia, the reading room of the Archives of Latvia will be closed by June 9. If you need assistance please contact the Archives by e-mail lfk@lulfmi.lv or visit the Digital Archives of Latvian Folklore http://garamantas.lv.
