As part of The Cultural Policy Guidelines 2014-2020 “Creative Latvia” there is the Visual Arts Strategy. The Strategy covers traditional visual art sectors, crafts (applied arts) and photography, but also the venues of visual art (art galleries and commercial galleries). It is also stressed that the interdisciplinarity of contemporary visual art is growing, therefore the Strategy includes installations, electronic art (video, sound, multimedia), performing art elements, and art history and theory.
Visual art exhibitions are curated and exposed in different venues: the Latvian National Museum of Art; the exhibition hall of the Latvian National Library and the Art Academy of Latvia; and private galleries (both commercial and non-for profit). Outside the capital city Riga, there are few venues (usually as part of a museum) for visual art exhibitions (Cēsis, Jūrmala, Madona). Exhibitions are provided also by the Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre. There are limited possibilities for exhibiting contemporary visual art. The non-governmental sector plays the most significant role here; these organisations also implement international cooperation projects, educational activities and research of contemporary art practices (Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art; Kim? Contemporary Art Center; Culture and Arts Project NOASS; RIXC Centre for New Media Culture; Centre for Art Management and Information).
Visual art heritage is exposed in museums (there are about 30 art museums) and in the Joint Catalogue of the National Holdings of Museums.
Apart from public subsidies (state and municipal), the State Culture Capital Foundation provides short term grants for artistic projects, including mobility of the artists. In the visual art sector there are also several private sponsors. The closure of the ABLV bank in 2018 was a shattering event for the contemporary visual art scene in Latvia.
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