3rd European textile and Fibre Art Festival - Catalogue

Dear participants and guests of the Triennial,
I have the pleasure to state that Latvia is hosting
one more outstanding international event which
will attract global attention and help Riga
become a centre of culture within the Baltic Sea
region. No doubt that the organizers of the
European Textile and Fibre Art Triennial have
found their particular niche by declaring the link
between traditional and innovative aspects as the
conceptual basis of the event. These two opposites
together breed continuity and sustainability
in culture. They give a chance for the artists who
think and work in a more traditional manner to
celebrate together with those who work in a less
traditional way; it is an opportunity for art to
”pollinate” and to break into blossom in multitudinous
manifestations.
This Triennial has a promising motto ”Global
Intrigue” which has convened twice as many candidates
as three years ago. The intrigue has stimulated
the creative imagination of a number of
artists and attracted outstanding participants not
only from Europe, but also from such distant
countries as Japan, Korea, the USA and Peru.
I hope that the variegated and active atmosphere of
the Triennial will also be an opportunity to get a
better view of Latvian textile art, both traditional
and contemporary. One of the most vivid and
manifold manifestations of our tradition is the
folk dress whose ornament and colours are part
of the creative spirit of our forefathers and show
the way they perceived the Universe. Once in
every five years when during the Latvian Song
Festival tens of thousands of singers from all
Latvia join the choir each in their traditional
regional dress, the audience sees it as a huge, live
and magnificent tapestry, woven from singing
people. Let this be the intrigue inviting the guests
of the Triennial to visit Latvia again to see this
piece of art!
It is also good to note that Latvian contemporary
textile art has by far outgrown the boundaries set
by tradition and is freely experimenting with the
inexhaustible possibilities offered by contemporary
technologies and different fibre materials.
I wish the Triennial to develop, to expand and to
grow stronger, to secure its name and to gain
prestige not only in Europe but in the world at
large.
Let the Triennial give creative ideas and contacts to
the artists and many vivid impressions to the
audience by enabling people to see art of the
highest class!
Minister of Culture of the Republic of Latvia
Heléna Demakova
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