Viena diena Latvijā. Pēc 20 gadiem /One day in Latvia. 20 y.l.

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About Viena diena Latvijā. Pēc 20 gadiem /One day in Latvia. 20 y.l.

Latvia today
and 20 years ago

A unique photo-session ”One day in Latvia” was held in the territory of Latvia in 1987. This year, 20 years later, a similar session is about to take place. Latvian and foreigh photo-experts will participate in the session. And you can take part as well! All together we will create the today’s portrait of Latvia to compare it with the materials of the historical session that have never been published before.

One day in Latvia

Now that 20 years have passed, we may affirm that the photo-session „One day in Latvia“ (1987) is a unique event in creating and storing historical photo documents of Latvia. The re-establishment of independence of Latvia is a fact that makes this collection especially important now, when only memories, items, pictures, and for some – unfortunately also the mode of thinking - is left from the soviet times.

That time 70 of the best photographers from Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, from Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, Moscow, Finland and the Federal Republic of Germany were here on August 28, 1987. Just like a well-organized landing party, they covered the country we have always named Latvia. The process of photo documentation due to a focused thematic plan and perfectly organized method, continued for 24 hours. More than 30 000 photo-negatives were made with the purpose to organize an exhibition and publish a book. Due to the lack of finance and the approaching political changes it was not meant to happen. All the materials – negatives, diapositives, contact copies, notebooks and audio casettes – were put in the collection of Riga history and maritime museum. Now we may say – fortunately the planned book was not published then, as now taking a look at those pictures a shocking and comic impression overwhelms you, as well as from the viewpoint of nowadays, an inconceivable cognition of how we did live/exist in the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Some of the session photo-experts have left us forever, just as some of the persons photographed, and the historical pictures are were they still live. This spring it was decided to collect the unique photo documents of „One day in Latvia“ (1987) and publish them in a book, as well as include in an exhibition together with the materials of the photo-session „One day in Latvia. 20 years later“. It is planned to hold the photo-session „One day in Latvia. 20 years later“ exactly 20 years later – on August 31, 2007. This is to be the first opportunity to have such a comparison of the past and current time in the history of Latvia and supposedly of the world as well. The time with us...

The photo-expert Sergey Kivrin said at that time: „This is the first time I met such a good organization, although I have been to several olimpic games and elsewhere in the world... And here the greatest job fell upon 3 men – Janis, Ints and Gunars (organizers of the photo-session „One day in Latvia“, 1987, - Janis Krumins, Ints Kalnins and Gunars Janaitis).
Organizers of this year’s session „One day in Latvia. 20 years later“ are greatful to all the photographers, promoter assistents, people photographed in all Latvia, who did participate in the session „ One day in Latvia“ in 1987 and enabled its success.

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