On September 25, the exhibition “AFTER-SCHOOL” by Madara Rutkēviča will open in the museum’s Small Exhibition Hall.
In 1998, my family moved to Lēdmane in the Ogre district, and my sister and I continued our studies in the third grade at Lēdmane Primary School. The unfamiliar place and new school environment created in me a sense of insecurity and not belonging that remained throughout the following school years, until I graduated in 2004.
In recent years, public discussions about the closure of small rural schools have become increasingly frequent in Latvia. These school closures prompted me to return to my former school, with both the school building itself and my memories becoming central subjects of the photographs, but above all, my feelings about it. Through this visual work, I explore the emotional impact that this period of my school life has had on me. Although I was never kept back at school after classes, in dramaturgical terms, some unfinished inner action, or perhaps an unfulfilled need, compelled me to return there — almost 23 years after I had left.
Madara Rutkēviča (1988) is a writer and dramaturg. She studied Television, Film and Theatre Dramaturgy at the Latvian Academy of Culture. Since 2016, she has worked at Theatre of Valmiera. As a dramaturg and actress, she has also worked at the New Riga Theatre, Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre, Dirty Deal Teatro, and other institutions. She has turned to photography, or visual storytelling, as an additional means of expression. She completed ISSP’s two-year Developing Photographic Language programme (2024–2026), and participated in the graduates’ group photography exhibition 1.5 HA with her work Ask Me Something Easier.
Exhibition artist and spatial concept: Madara Rutkēviča
Curator: Elīna Cērpa