From April 1 to April 3, 2016, the event ‘Meet your Master!’ will be held throughout Latvia for the eighth time. Masters of applied arts, storytellers, narrators and musicians will invite apprentices to visit them in more than 150 places. This year, a particularly large number of participants of the event have focused on making national costumes, which perhaps has been suggested by the project ‘National costume for everyone’ implemented by the Latvian National Centre for Culture.
‘Having looked through all the applications this year, it can be concluded that the most popular area still is weaving - weaving sashes, weaving fabric for skirts. There will be a possibility to acquire the skills of weaving in almost 80 venues. However, the embroidery of national costume shirts will be taught in Ciemupe, Smiltene and in Spāre (Talsi county). In Riga, in Bergs Bazaar, there will be a unique opportunity to look at several replicas of archaeological costumes and to acquire the skills of sewing together an archaeological shirt, where all seams are stitched by hand,’ says the expert of folk applied arts of the Latvian National Centre for Culture Linda Rubena.
‘During the event, in a number of sites in Latvia, it will be possible to learn cooking of traditional dishes - for example, to acquire the cuisine secrets of Kurzeme in Alsunga, Nīca and Ugāle, but the cuisine secrets of Latgale - in Dagda, Daugavpils, Kārsava, Viļāni and Medņeva. New mothers and parents with children will be able to learn lullabies both in Ādaži Culture Centre and in Riga Culture and Folk Art Centre ‘Ritums’. It is already the second year when the Archives of Latvian Folklore take part in this event offering among other interesting activities also the possibility to look for our own relatives in the records of folklore gatherers’, adds the folklore expert of the Latvian National Centre for Culture Gita Lancere.
Every spring, it has become an event to be looked forward to, and in recent years 18 thousand people representing different generations have visited ‘their masters’ in workshops, studios, museums, schools, culture centres and libraries. ‘Meet your Master!’ is the continuation of the Traditional Skills School that was launched in 2009 and is included in the framework of the joint European project ‘European artistic crafts days’. Similar events, during which bearers of traditional skills host apprentices, at the same time are also underway in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and other countries. In 2016, the project ‘European artistic crafts days’ will be held for the tenth time, and this year it is joined also by Estonia, Poland, Greece, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
The gist of the project is to inform wider public about safeguarding and inheritance of the intangible cultural heritage, as well as about masters, their knowledge and skills. Within the framework of the event, the organisers of ‘Meet your master!’ intend to promote co-operation among local communities, non-governmental organisations, state and local government institutions as well as private bodies in identification and popularisation of the manifestations of the intangible cultural heritage and its experts, as well as of the tradition of the Song and Dance Celebration.
‘Meet your master! 2016’ is organised by the Latvian National Centre for Culture in cooperation with the local governments of Latvian counties and towns. It is supported by the ‘great friend’ of the Song and Dance Celebration - Swedbank. Information in 1188.lv, Latvian Television, Latvian Radio, LSM.lv, TVnet.lv, the magazine Ir and the newspaper Latvijas Avīze.
Information about the masters and the activities www.satiecsavumeistaru.lv/karte/
Information about specific venues, times and masters can be obtained also in the Latvian National Centre for Culture: and + 371 67228985
Information about the European artistic crafts days www.journeesdesmetiersdart.fr
Information for media:
Inga Bika
Public Relations Specialist
Latvian National Centre for Culture
+ 371 67228985, + 371 26443166
www.lnkc.gov.lv