On sunny days in October, Riga residents will be able to enjoy music in the parks and celebrate Mikeldeinas at Dome Square. All of this is provided by the municipality.
From Barricades to Christmas
Baiba Šmite, head of the Riga City Council's Culture Department, oversees 20 people. They deal with intangible heritage, cultural projects, and the external environment. Officials are guided by the cultural policy of the capital, developed until 2028.
Cultural activity, Ms. Šmite explained, should be "diverse, authentic, and inclusive." First and foremost, this involves organizing city celebrations and decorating the city for them: "From the Days of the Barricades to Christmas." Since there is still no contemporary art museum in the country, the department offers contemporary artists an underground Art Space under the Town Hall Square. There is also "art nearby" – exhibitions that travel through the suburbs of Riga.
Libraries also assist as cultural centers, thereby promoting integration. After all, there is a large number of amateur artists in the capital, as well as creative groups of various nationalities. Ms. Šmite mentioned Polish, Belarusian, Jewish...
Waiting for the Renovation of "Rigas Modes"
To create Riga's "cultural calendar," Ms. Šmite pointed out that funding is drawn from the city budget, distributed through competitions. Currently, there are 8. High-quality murals do not simply appear in the capital. It was also necessary to pay for activities in the "Strops" space (in Kengarags behind the former "Kvadrats" factory), in Dzegužkalns.
Nine music and art schools in the capital educate 4,195 children across 29 programs; 177 groups in cultural centers have 5,938 participants.
Riga's pride is its namesake orchestra (recently, musicians received a 25% salary increase), the municipality owns the Small Guild (a highly valued venue, popular among foreign delegations!), the "Ziemelblazma" palace, the Pardaugava cultural association, and the Riga Central Library with 26 branches.
Your author is a frequent visitor to both the cozy branch in Čiekurkalns and the main building on Brīvības Street.
– We are waiting for the renovation of the second floor of the former "Rigas Modes" building so that we can establish a large, modern library, – noted Ms. Šmite.
Haven't Gotten to "Ave Sol"
In total, more than 29% of all cultural objects in Riga have municipal status, including exhibition halls, cinemas, etc. Private individuals also have the opportunity to apply for municipal funds – cultural officials supported 24 festival projects and 74 cultural and artistic events.
Overall, the funding volume for all programs – from libraries and cultural centers to artistic groups – reached 39.1 million euros in 2025. Of this, 1.6 million euros was spent on city decoration.
The Culture Department recognizes that organizing activities in large neighborhoods of Riga – Purvciems, Plavnieki – is a bottleneck for the city. They have not yet engaged in attracting funds from Europe, but are starting now. "We are connected to international infrastructure," admits Ms. Šmite. This means that the same Guild is expected to be renovated at foreign expense.
– The last unrenovated institution is the concert hall "Ave Sol," – stated the head.
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