Postcards from the border: Exhibition empowering communities on both sides

Every year on August 23, at the Latvian-Estonian border point Unguriņi-Lilli, events dedicated to the Baltic Way (Baltic chain) – a peaceful political demonstration in 1989 showing the world the courage, unity, and resilience of the Baltic nations, marking one of the brightest examples of cooperation between neighbouring countries in world history.

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Baltic Way, the exhibition “Postcards from the border” was opened as part of the larger programme with the participation of both – President of Latvia Edgars Rinkevics and President of Estonia Alar Karis. The exhibition reflects conversations and photo portraits of 28 residents from Ungurini (LV), Lode (LV), Arakste (LV), Penuja (EE) and Lilli (EE), the youngest being only 10 and the oldest reaching 90. The quotes of Latvian and Estonian residents on what is it like to live on the border, what the idea of neighbours mean to them, and, of course, their memories about the time of the Baltic Way captured during the three field expeditions are included in this exhibition.

The initiative to the exhibition stems from the Culture and Resilience Action Plan of Rūjiena – BSR Culture Pearl 2024 under the theme of “Meet Your Neighbour”. As Anna Paula Gruzdiņa, author of the interviews and literary editor of the exhibition, reveals: “one of the goals we are trying to achieve with the Cultural Pearl title is to strengthen the concept of neighbours and not only on the scale of the city of Rūjiena, but also in the context of the residents of the Latvian-Estonian border.”

The creators of the exhibition were born after the Baltic Way and admit that now the memories of their parents are supplemented by the stories of the border residents, which makes one think about how important the sense of togetherness is today.

“Sometimes the feeling that we are a community lacks, and actually with this exhibition I live with each of those stories. They are about them, about how they live and what they do. We understand how important fellow human beings are, how important it is to be together,” says Karina Vītiņa.

“Having a shoulder to lean on is clearly needed today! And the stories captured in the exhibition are inspiring!” emphasizes Anna Paula Gruzdiņa.

The author of the photographs of the exhibition is Uldis Rusmanis and members of the New Media Group of the Rūjiena House of Culture, Elizabete Zariņa, Samanta Lūsīte and Patricija Ketija Kukaine. Exhibition scenographer and graphic designer – Karīna Vītiņa. Interview author and literary editor – Anna Paula Gruzdiņa.

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