In September 2022, a collective monograph of the cultural and arts institute of the Latvian Academy of Culture (LKA) “cultural heritage Communities: practices, development and challenges” (sin.red. R.muctato, A.Laķe and B.Tjarve. The monographs continue research into the cultural heritage of THE LKA researchers, this time focusing on the Heritage Communities, analysing how society groups participate in the preservation of heritage for future generations.
The Director of the Latvian National Centre for Culture, Signe Pujāte, emphasizes that “there is a diverse and live intangible cultural heritage in Latvia, both knowledge and skills are transferred from generation to generation, therefore the issue raised in THE LKA researcher monograph on the players involved in the preservation of the heritage – the Communities – and their participation” is important.
“The Latvian Academy of Culture is a very suitable institution for such research. Taking into account the knowledge of its researchers in cultural theory, theatre, cinema and cultural heritage, it has good opportunities to explore issues specifically related to the traditional identity, values and heritage of Latvians. This monography is a very important contribution to the exploration of the area of heritage management and the main research issues are widely applied in international context,” says LKA co-operation partner and researcher Heriota-vata University Professor Möreida Nik Kreita.Mairead Nïc Craith).
The authors of the monographs have focused not only on the comprehensive analysis of the different definitions of the Community concept, by providing an accurate and scientifically substantiated understanding of the Community concept of heritage, but also analysed the views, knowledge and attitudes of the Latvian population towards cultural heritage, based on the survey of Latvian population in the representative data of the survey carried out in the framework of the study. Data show that more than half of Latvia's population has a certain understanding of cultural heritage and its forms, as well as the need to preserve and protect heritage at a declarative level, while the self-assessment of practical participation in the preservation of heritage is low. This shows that there is a certain gap between the perceptions and the practice. The most frequently mentioned elements and objects of the cultural heritage are Liga/Jānis and related traditions and rituals, songs and dance festivals, folk songs, freedom monument and Rundāle Castle.
The monographs analyze 12 elements that were submitted to the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List of Latvia for the period 2016-2018: the wedding rituals of the Orthodox population in the Peat parish, the Buddhist masking tradition in Zemgale Vecumnieki, the singing with half-votes, the Gauja plosters' proficiency, the Latgale Bubyne game tradition, the Livonian cultural space, the solar anniversary of the 8 celebrations, the Sigulda's canopy, the People's Dance Cup, the People's Dance Tradition, the River Culture, and the Northern Latgale heritage in Kurzeme.
The monographs also cover cultural practices which have the potential to be assessed as elements of cultural heritage, but which have so far not been seen as intangible cultural heritage in the Community's own vision or in the assessment of other parties – graphiti and street art; drag perfomancial culture, kendam game, veganism lifestyle, hockey fans culture and celebrations of 9 May.
Books from this week will be available in Jānis Rosis Books. The opening event of the monograph will take place on 3 November 2022 within THE FRAMEWORK OF THE International Scientific Conference on Cultural Cross XVI.
The scientific monography is in collaboration with the Latvian National Cultural Centre and UNESCO Latvian National Commission for the project “Participation of the Communities in the Management of Cultural Heritage: Practices, Development and Challenges” (No. lzp-2018/2-0280) and is financed by the Latvian Science Council.