Bleeding hearts at the Museum of Anatomy
The new Museum of Anatomy is increasingly involving art in its work, believing it to be a good way to make the museum's collection more interesting and accessible to viewers. The museum has already hosted an international exhibition of medical art, and on Saturday there will be an event "Adatomija", which is a collaboration project of the museum with artist Elīza Māra. She will lead a heart anatomy embroidery master class, to which those with and without prior knowledge in both anatomy and embroidery are invited.
Eliza Mara is a graduate of the Royal London School of Handicrafts and her work "Bleeding Heart" complements the exhibitions of the Anatomy Museum.
The Saturday event will start at 11:00 and is called "Adatomy" because, as the artist herself says, it will allow participants to get to know anatomy through the eye of a needle. Elīza Māra has an atypical education for Latvian artists - she graduated from the Royal Embroidery School in London. The artist explains: "This is a very specific education. I have a bachelor's degree in hand embroidery, which is a very niche profession. But it was something so mine! I couldn't imagine anything better, more perfect for myself."
Elīza Māra works as an artist, designer, and teaches embroidery master classes, but her main job is at the RSU Department of Infectious Diseases. Unfortunately the announced embroidery master class has already been fully booked, but a visit to this innovative and engaging museum would still be worthwhile this weekend, and subsequent similar events are likely.
Eliza Mara's embroidered heart
Photo: Publicity image
Spring Watching at Kalsnava Arboretum
April in Latvia is very much the month of birds. Our migratory feathered friends have returned and are settling in for the summer, so activity in the treetops, bird boxes and roosting sites is high. Kalsnava Arboretum is a particularly beautiful place for a bit of bird-watching and spring-watching in general. Located around 100 km from Rīga it makes a good day trip destination.
Throughout April visitors can walk around 10 information stations set up in the arboretum, where they can get to know both common and rare bird species by performing various tasks and can listen to fairy tales and birdsong using QR codes. To top it all off there is a 25-meter-tall viewing tower offering great views in all directions.
Sunday night concert for Ukraine
Sunday nights on Latvian Radio 3, the dedicated national classical music channel, always feature something special. That is particulary true this Sunday with the live broadcast at 19:00 of a charity concert in support of the victims of the war in Ukraine.
Titled "Night cannot last forever", the evening's musical program will be introduced by presenter and composer Edgars Raginskis and will feature Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov's "Silent Songs" and American composer David Lang's song cycle "Death Speaks". Performers will be Beate Zviedre (soprano), Armands Siliņš (baritone), Marta Spārniņa (violin), Kaspars Vizulis (guitar), Edgars Cīrulis and Rihards Plešanovs (piano).
