The Minister for Culture discusses the development of the future Contemporary Art Museum with the FLMCA Council

May 26, 2015

“I am pleased that the vision of the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art is assuming an increasingly clear form. The work done by the experts is to be commended. I am convinced that collaboration between outstanding professionals in their field will facilitate the goal-oriented development of the museum. I hope that in the very near future the general public will have the chance to appraise the concept for the future museum,” commented Minister for Culture Dace Melbārde.

“We will present the concept and vision for the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art to the general public in September 2015, as well as provide the opportunity for all interested parties to make their views known,” said Romans Surnačovs, Foundation’s of the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art Chairman of the Board. After the approval of the concept by the FLMCA Council, it is planned that the process of selecting a curator for the architectural design competition and the drafting of the competition regulations will begin, which are due to be completed by the end of 2015. The architectural design competition will take place in two stages and is due to be completed by 1 May 2016. Parallel to the selection of a curator, the members of the LMCA experts’ commission will continue to draft a detailed concept for the LMCA.

The Latvian Ministry of Culture will be represented by the architect Jānis Dripe, the Director of the Latvian Museum of Art, Māra Lāce, and the painter and founder of Dd Studio Jānis Mitrēvics. The Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation’s representatives are the art historian and Curator of the Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation’s programme Art in the Public Space, Helēna Demakova and the Director of the Tête-à-tête festival Elīna Vikmane. The experts who will work on behalf of the ABLV Charitable Foundation are the Chairman of the Board of the ABLV Charitable Foundation Zanda Zilgalve and the art historian and the Foundation’s of the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art consultant, Kaspars Vanags.

On the 30th of October 2014, The Latvian Ministry of Culture and the Foundation of the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art, founded by the ABLV Charitable Foundation and the Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation - signed a memorandum of understanding about the building of the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art. The impetus for the signing of the memorandum of understanding comes from the successful and long term collaboration between The Ministry of Culture, the ABLV Charitable Foundation and the Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation as prominent patrons in the field of contemporary art in Latvia, and ABLV Bank as the main supporter of the development of the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art’s collection, based on the co-operation agreement signed on the 23rd of September 2005.

Foundation of the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art, undertakes to ensure: the construction of the museum, its operation as a museum, its management and development (including the development, maintenance and growth of the collection), by applying their own, as well as other public and private financial resources that they intend to attract, in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, by the 18th of November, 2021. The Museum will be open and accessible to the general public. The founders of the Foundation intend to secure the necessary funding of 30 million euros for the project.

The Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art will be located in the territory of the New Hanza City (NHC). NHC is a development of the former Riga Cargo Rail Terminal in the area bordered by Hanza, Pulkveža Brieža, Skanstes and Sporta streets. NHC covers an area of 24.5 hectares that will house a number of office buildings, including the headquarters of the ABLV Bank, a hotel, a conference centre, upmarket housing, a pre-school educational centre, as well as a large green parkland area offering leisure and recreation facilities in the centre of the development.

Development of the Project
Foundation of the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art will provide for: the preparation of the building site in readiness for construction, the design and building construction competitions by public tender, management of the construction of the museum building, the construction of the necessary infrastructure, the outfitting of the museum, the housing and hanging of the collection, and ensuring the accessibility of the museum to the general public after completion of the construction and the opening of the museum. The Foundation will appoint a number of expert committees to oversee the concept of the museum as well as the procedures necessary for the building construction process. After the hand-over of the completed building and its opening to the public, the Foundation will also care for its operation, management and development, including the up-keep of the collection and its development pursuant to the needs of the museum. The operation of the museum after its hand-over will be organized in accordance with the LR Law on Museums as well as the operation guidelines for the workings of a private accredited museum, ensuring access to the museum for the community and inclusion of the museum’s collection in the National Museums’ shared catalogue.

Foundation of the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art
Foundation of the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art was founded in 2014 by the Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation and the ABLV Charitable Foundation with the goal of building the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art, ensuring the operation of the museum, its management and development, including the creation, maintenance and development of the museum’s collection and accessibility to the museum for the general public, utilising the founders’ financial resources in partnership with the government of Latvia and the Ministry of Culture. The intention is to realise the museum project, and for it to be operational and ready for visitors by the 18th of November 2021.

The Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation
In 2010, the philanthropists Boris and Inara Teterev founded a family charity foundation in order to support exceptional initiatives that are useful to the community and to promote the development of culture, art and education in Latvia and internationally. The results of charitable projects supported by the Foundation touch the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents in Latvia and the inhabitants of 10 countries outside Latvia in almost every continent. The Order of the Three Stars has been awarded to Boris and Ināra Teterev, in addition to which both philanthropists have been named Rigans of the Year and Goodwill Ambassadors for the European Year for Development 2015. In 2013, the Foundation created an annual festival called Tête-à-tête, and an art programme - Art in the Public Space.

ABLV Charitable Foundation
A corporate charity foundation with a goal of promoting the responsibility of business and society to its fellow citizens and the environment was founded in 2006 by Ernests Bernis and Oļegs Fiļs. Since its establishement, its focus has been on contemporary art, children and young people and the development of education and the city environment. In the eight years since its founding, the ABLV Charitable Foundation has attracted 4,3 million euros in gifts and donations, mainly from the ABLV Bank, its staff, clients and co-operation partners having invested more than 1 million euros in charities, including the active development of contemporary art over a long period.

The ABLV Bank collection for the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art
In 2005, on signing a co-operation agreement with the Ministry of Culture, the bank (known at the time as Aizkraukles banka) became the main supporter of the single most important project of the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art and envisaged that by 2021, it would dedicate 1 million lats to this goal. The agreement stipulated that the bank would develop the collection and ensure its maintenance and upkeep. In 2005, an International Committee of Experts of the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art for the selection of artworks for the collection was created. At present, the collection has 204 artworks by 31 artists, valued at 720 000 Euros.

Līva Jēgere
MRS grupa
+371 26151344
liva.jegere@mrsgrupa.lv