Collection of Contemporary Art
The task of the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art will be to develop skills to see, get to know, feel and understand the multiplicity of contemporary art, its dialectics, the regularities of processes, and the uniqueness of the artist's personality. It is intended to create an internationally renowned institution of contemporary art that will display high-quality artwork, preserved, exposed, and interpreted according to the most scrupulous criteria, with the broadest accessibility and in an attentive dialogue with different groups of the society.
Creation of the Collection
The core of the collection, stored by the Latvian National Museum of Art consists of 249 inventory units, and the secondary collection holds 69 units, yet the numbers do not represent the number of artworks in the collections (several units, such as the artwork “Bedtime Story” by Kristaps Ģelzis consists of nine large-format paintings, etc).
The future collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art includes 68 artists from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, France, Norway and Russia: Anda Ārgale, Māris Ārgalis, Arturs Bērziņš, May Elin Eikås Bjerk, Ilmārs Blumbergs, Juris Boiko, Ēriks Božis, Māra Brašmane, Valdis Celms, Evelīna Deičmane, Juris Dimiters, Braco Dimitrijevičs, Dace Džeriņa, Zenta Dzividzinska, Andris Eglītis, Miķelis Fišers, Gints Gabrāns, Barbara Gaile, Jānis Garančs, Kristpas Ģelzis, Andrejs Grants, Atis Ieviņš, Iļja Kabakovs, Gvido Kajons, Andrejs Kalnačs, Ernests Kļaviņš, Ģirts Korps, Maija Kurševa, Kristīne Kursiša, Leonards Laganovskis, Leonhards Lapins, Hardijs Lediņš, Sarmīte Māliņa, Līga Marcinkēviča, Miks Mitrēvics, Mindaugas Navakas, Kaido Ole, Monika Pormale, Laila Pakalniņa, Anta Pence, Dita Pence, Ojārs Pētersons, Kristīna Plūksna, Kaspars Podnieks, Miervaldis Polis, Juris Artūrs Putrāms, Mārtiņš Ratniks, Artūrs Riņķis, Ieva Rubeze, Inta Ruka, Krišs Salmanis, Egons Spuris, Māris Subačs , Genādijs Suhanovs, Antanas Sutkus , Arvīds Šaltenis, Rasa Šmite, Raitis Šmits, Oļegs Tillbergs, Andres Tolts, Bruno Vasiļevskis, Linda Vēbere, Jānis Viņķelis, Vilnis Vītoliņš, Vilnis Zābers, Aija Zariņa, Armands Zelčs, Visvaldis Ziediņš.
The Principles and Resources of the Collection development
1. According to the statutes, an international expert committee is instituted. The experts were chosen according to a high standard of professional criteria: publications, conference appearances, international acclaim, professional education, and experience. The voluntary work of the expert committee is carried out by Leonid Bazhanow (Russia), Sirje Helme (Estonia), Maaretta Jaukkuri (Finland), Norber Weber (Germany), Ieva Astahovska, Helēna Demakova, Raitis Šmits, Leonards Laganovskis, (Latvia), as well as Māra Lāce, who represents the Ministry of Culture and the Latvian National Museum of Art that currently holds the second, state-owned part of the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art. From the September 2005, AB.LV finances the work of the International Expert Committee. The task of the LMM (Museum of Contemporary Art) International expert committee as a consultative foundation is to:
a)Organize the procurement of artwork for the development of the LMM collection until the establishment of the Museum of Contemporary Art;
b)Realize a common policy of the LLMM (Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art) collection.
2. The decisions on the inclusion of artwork in the collection of the future LMM are made only by the International Expert Committee, according to the collection policy of the future LMM.
3. The creation, documentation, and research of the future LMM collection are ensured by:
a)J/s ABLV Bank financial support (this part of the collection is the property of j/s ABLV Bank, j/s ABLV Bank maintains, preserves, and restores it, and ensures its accessibility from the Bank’s resources; the bank has also financed the work of the International Expert Committee and the creation of the database);
b)The financial resources for procurements of the Ministry of Culture;
c)The finances of the project LV0034 “Documentation and preservation of Soviet period non-conformist heritage” supported by the European Economic Area and Norwegian Financial Instrument – 315 664 Lats. 141 artworks have been procured from the financial resources granted by Norway; 26 of the procured artworks have been restored, and 106 artworks have undergone preventive preservation measures. Two scientific publications related to the research have been published – “Soviet Period Non-conformist Art Heritage in the Collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art” and the book “The Self. Personalities on the Road to Contemporary Art – the 1960s-1980s in Soviet Latvia” in Latvian and English.
d)A significant part of the LMM collection is procured via donations from the artists, their families, or public organizations and institutions.