Outdoor exhibition “Postcards from the Borderland” returns to Rūjiena
In 2024, when Rūjiena held the title of “Cultural Pearl of the Baltic Sea Region”, several new traditions were established. One of them was the initiative “Meet Your Neighbour”, which encouraged getting to know the people living both nearby and further afield. Within this initiative, the outdoor exhibition “Postcards from the Borderland” was created, aiming to introduce the residents of the Latvian–Estonian border area. Now the stories of these encounters have continued in a new chapter of the exhibition.
From 25 November 2025, the outdoor exhibition “Postcards from the Borderland” was on display in Rūjiena’s central square, near the monument dedicated to the liberators of Rūjiena and the fallen soldiers, “The Trumpeter of Tālava”. The exhibition presents photographic portraits and excerpts from conversations with people living in Ipiķi (LV), Vilpulka (LV) and Meisaküla (EESTI).
“Over the course of three field trips in late summer and autumn of 2025, we conducted 17 conversations, which are reflected in the excerpts and portraits included in the exhibition. However, the number of people we met was considerably larger,” says project manager Madara Seile. “We are grateful to everyone who dedicated their time and opened their doors to our team.”
Interview editor Anna Paula Gruzdiņa adds: “We went from house to house, but ended up much further – in a time when a full bus from Ipiķi travelled to the dances in Meisaküla; when a seventeen-year-old girl from Ipiķi became a metal milling operator in the Meisaküla factory; and when you could reach Riga by train through the Ipiķi forest.”
The exhibition reveals everyday life in the borderland – a place where “winter roads can be so icy that a car may slide into the ditch even while standing still,” where a cross-country ski trail and a hockey rink appear on the pond in winter, and where some learn to coexist with an Estonian ghost or even a bear. The stories are diverse, personal and vivid, offering a glimpse into life on both sides of the border. These encounters with borderland residents and the exhibition born from them not only reveal their daily stories but also strengthen self-confidence and the sense of belonging to the place. It is an opportunity to witness the resilience, humanity and mutual support within the community – something especially important in today’s world.
After the exhibition closed, excerpts from conversations with residents in the Ipiķi, Vilpulka, and Meisakila areas were published in a series of articles during the first three months of 2026 in Liesma, a regional newspaper serving the Valmiera area in Latvia.
The exhibition is financially supported by the Valmiera Municipality, the State Culture Capital Foundation’s programme “Development Programme of Latvian Historical Lands”, and the Vidzeme Planning Region. It has been created in collaboration with the Valmiera School of Design and Art.
Photo by Lāsma Lopatko.
