On March 18, 2025, the latest workshop of the case study “The Other in Art and Life” took place at the Rothko Museum and was envisaged for young students from Daugavpils schools. The event was organized as part of the Horizon Europe program’s project “The Cultural Literacies’ Value in Europe” (CLiViE) to develop young people’s cultural awareness, creative self-expression, and critical thinking skills. The participants included students from the Daugavpils Design and Art High School Saules School (a competence centre for arts education), Daugavpils State Gymnasium, Daugavpils Science Secondary School, and Daugavpils Secondary School-Lyceum of Technology.

In the first part of the session, young participants were invited to create their own unique notebooks by using coloured paper, old art booklets, glue, scissors, and felt-tip pens. The students eagerly experimented with colours and materials, allowing themselves to reveal their emotions, experiences, and reflections through their artwork. The creative activity was led, guided, and assisted by Mairita Folkmane, the curator of educational programmes at the Rothko Museum.

In the second part of the session, led by Zane Melāne, Head of the Collections Department at the Rothko Museum, the young participants took part in the workshop “How to Collect Objects and Emotions in a Museum.” In an interactive format, the session leader introduced the students to the unseen aspects of museum work, including the intricacies of exhibition curation and collection management. Zane Melāne encouraged the students to reflect on how museums collect not only objects but also emotions, emphasizing that every museum visit leaves visitors with experiences that resonate within them long after they leave. The students captured their emotions and reflections from the session in the personalized notebooks they had created earlier. To conclude the session, the participants visited the Rothko Museum’s open-access contemporary ceramics collection storage, which has been freely accessible since September 2023 in the casemates of the 7^th bastion of the Daugavpils Fortress.

To evaluate the effectiveness of art-based education and determine its benefits and economic impact, the Horizon Europe project “The Cultural Literacies’ Value in Europe” includes implementing four case studies. Within these projects, researchers from Daugavpils University will collaborate with both formal and non-formal educational institutions and consult with the project’s official partners from European universities and cultural institutions. The cooperation with the cultural industry adds significant value to the project, while the involvement of children and young people in its activities will enhance their cultural literacy, personal development, and positive participation in society. Additionally, the project will promote tolerance, equality, and inclusion within both the Latvian and European cultural space.

Project homepage: https://www.clivieproject.eu  

The project is supported by the European Union’s “Horizon Europe” Research and Innovation programme under the grant agreement No. 101132285.

Further information:
Associate Professor and Senior Researcher at Daugavpils University Alīna Romanovska
alina.romanovska@du.lv

Photos:
Margarita Abarasa
Alīna Romanovska