Exhibition "Collective Memory Is Everything I Do Not Remember: Shared Moments"

The exhibition presents works by seven Latvian women artists. They represent the so-called millennial generation, whose coming-of-age experience was shaped by the restoration of Latvia's independence and the period of change that followed.

In the artists' practices, the connection between collective memory and identity, and an individual perception of the past, is explored. Drawing on their own experiences and those of their families, they turn to the realities of the 20th century, reveal personal stories, address socio-economic issues, and examine public space. At Zuzeum's Greenhouse and Sculpture Garden, alongside new works, projects not previously exhibited in Latvia are on view, spanning a wide range of media, from photography and analog film to object installations.

The exhibition concludes the doctoral research of Czech curator Diana Kotmelová Kněžínková, "Collective Memory Is Everything I Do Not Remember". The research maps the practices of Latvian millennial women artists whose works, visual language, and communication strategies are influenced by the phenomenon of collective memory or stem from it. At the same time, it examines situations in which collective and individual memory intertwine, influence one another, and shape each other. The exhibition at Zuzeum is the second part of a broader project. The first, "Memories That Are Not Our Own", took place in spring 2026 at the Prague cultural space H40, with the participation of the same seven artists. The research results will be compiled in a bilingual monograph in Czech and English, supplemented by perspectives from other Eastern European visual art theorists and artists.