Thus the project, which has already gathered €30m from its founders the Boriss and Inara Teterev and ABLV Charitable foundations, has been given the green light to proceed. The Contemporary Arts Museum will be located on the block between Hanza, Pulkvedis Briedis and Skanste streets, and is projected for completion by November 2021.
The Culture Ministry will serve as a joint curator for the project, providing coordination of its content, rather than committing any state budget resources towards its costs. Such public-private partnerships have already been launched with success at the Occupation Museum and the Zanis Lipke Memorial House, Melbarde said at the signing ceremony.
She hailed the patrons of the fund and expressed hope that the museum will become a landmark structure for the 21st century that will “break stereotypes about what a museum is supposed to be, with creative education programs and experiments.” Melbarde also urged the museum to make itself attractive to children and youth.
Inara Tetereva said the construction works would be a logical step after almost ten years of planning. “Our students at the Arts Academy need a place to put their works. We also need our own contemporary arts museum.”
Boriss Teterevs on his part vowed that his family’s foundation would not shirk from the long, hard work ahead. He said that the partnership with ABLV Charitable foundation was sure to succeed thanks to good previous cooperation between them.
Another foundation board member Ernests Bernis invited the public to help in raising money for the Contemporary Arts Museum. “Art works need walls to hang on, where people can come view them,” he said. “A project of this scale can never have enough money.”
The ABLV Charitable foundation has already accumulated more than 200 works for the contemporary arts collection and plans to expand it further as the project takes shape.
