On March 21, a grand international exhibition of author's dolls, Doll'Arte, opens in Riga.
More than 70 artists from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Georgia, Germany, Israel, the Czech Republic, France, and Italy will bring their magical works to Bellevue ParkHotel Riga for three days. 600 square meters of pure joy: dolls that look incredibly like people, dolls that seem to have come straight from the pages of ancient fairy tales and ultra-modern manga, hippie dolls, gentleman dolls, baby dolls, old lady dolls, beauty dolls, soft teddy bears, big-eyed snails, bulldogs in elegant top hats, proud ducks in silk coats – all of them are waiting for you along with their creators from March 21 to 23!
Free admission for preschool children. Free for pensioners on Sunday. And even the regular tickets are inexpensive; the organizers have only one financial calculation here – to cover the hall rental. Because the organizers are not businesspeople; they are artists themselves, doing everything by hand, acting in strict accordance with their own views on life. Doll'Arte is primarily about Doll, that is, the doll, and about Arte – art. It would be nice, of course, if a conditional dollar was ultimately present. But in the case of the exhibition, this is not the main goal.
The date for the opening of Doll'Arte is not random. Exactly a quarter of a century ago, at the next congress of the Union Internationale de la Marionnette, Jivad Zolfagariho from Iran proposed to celebrate International Puppet Theatre Day worldwide. The decision was not made immediately, but three years later, the beautiful tradition began. Since then, on March 21, puppeteers and puppet masters celebrate their professional holiday.
There will be a celebration in Riga as well. No competitions among the masters or discussions about who is the best: everything is organized for the wonderful meeting of the visitor and the doll that will win their heart.
Something similar will happen at Doll'Arte. This is a unique opportunity not only to view hundreds of works but also to see how they come to life.
And the process is not simple. An author's doll is a special thing; in its best examples, it is more than just a designer item in the house and certainly not a toy. Whether an inexperienced viewer will be able to appreciate all its merits, from the artist's creative idea to the craftsmanship of its making, is still a question. But that is precisely why the Doll'Arte exhibition was conceived. Of course, first and foremost, it is a representative international exhibition summarizing the searches of authors from many countries. At the same time, it is a way to visually demonstrate the complexity of their craft. Or art.
All artists will literally be working at the Doll’Arte exhibition. So that visitors can see what energy and effort the artist puts into their work, ask questions, and receive answers. However, some of the viewers will simply be lucky. The authors of the dolls presented at Doll'Arte are very diverse, but they share at least one common trait: they love animals. Therefore, they enthusiastically welcomed the idea of donating one of their works as a prize in a no-lose lottery to help an animal shelter.
Among those who donate 25 euros or more to the Ulubele shelter during the exhibition, wonderful works will be raffled off, the value of which is truly priceless.
The organizers invite you to get acquainted with the creativity of the participants of Doll'Arte and follow the news of the project on the website www.dollarte.com
and on social media:
