With great pleasure we present to you this special photo series which will be exhibited at the Rīgas Jūgendstila Centrs. The plan is to exhibit from January 29th until March 7th, 2021, but we will carefully watch the development and applying rules. (more about the museum: http://www.jugendstils.riga.lv/eng/)
This fundraiser is a cultural event part of our “International Christmas Journey“, so raise funds for the charities we support and their projects in 2021. Families, friends, and members are invited to join events part of our series of cultural events for a limited number of attendees at a fee, like traditional cooking classes, yoga sessions, exceptional tour through Agenskalns, or bake sales.
About the photographs series
Emilie is a IWCR member and a passionated photographer. She wants to capture those moments for families you want to remember forever. During summer 2020, Professional dancer Lauma Berga and photographer Emilie Bots worked together in Riga to honour the beauty of the city.
For Emilie, as a documentary family photographer, this project has been an inspiring challenge and a dream came true. After months of work, this project developed even further. Together with IWCR, we want to exhibit the series and organise a fundraiser event.
Get a unique piece of art in our auction
Exclusively, we offer the opportunity to purchase a selection of these pictures as fine-art prints through our charity fundraiser in our Online Auction from Dec 6th until Dec 11th.
All proceeds of the sale will go directly into the annual fund for 2021 projects. We collect funds, which gets distributed to the charities we support, like MARTA Centre, the first women’s rights non-government organization in Latvia.
About the idea by Emilie Bots
In this special photo series professional dancer Lauma Berga and I worked together in Riga to honor this beautiful city.
Lauma’s incredible talent and spirit was the first thing with which she got my attention. Then I learned that we have a special connection because of our home countries and the country we live or have lived in: Latvia and Holland.
Born in Riga, Lauma started her dance studies at Riga Choreography School. Already as a student and aspiring dancer she participated in many international competitions, festivals, performances and summer schools. As a result of which she was invited to join and graduated from the Dutch National Ballet Academy in 2013.
Her years in Holland made her fall in love with this country and especially Amsterdam. After dancing with the Finnish National Ballet and the Hong Kong Ballet, Lauma is now back in Riga. Where she teaches other aspiring dancers, give adult classes, and performs as freelance dancer. And, luckily for me, participates in different projects.
Inspired by a photo series from several years ago of ballet dancers in the streets of Havana, I started to work on a plan to do this very personal project in the streets of Riga together with Lauma. Since the city is my new hometown it has concurred my heart forever and while shooting, Riga has shown again all of her beauty. Doing something so different from my other work as a documentary family photographer has been challenging but also a dream coming true.
This photo series shows our connection and our love for both countries. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as we did making it!
More about the project: https://www.emiliebotsphotography.com/through-the-eyes-of-a-dancer
About Emilie Bots
Photography is all about catching and sharing the beauty of life for Emilie. In multiple facets, as family photographer catching the lively loving, hilarious moments, and even ugly ones. And as art photographer sharing the beauty of scenery.
Curious about Emilies work and you want to know more – visit her website: https://www.emiliebotsphotography.com/family-photography
We met with Emilie for an interview. Read more about Emilie, and what inspired her most for her profession as a photographer.
Rīgas Jūgendstila centrs
We are very excited and thankful to Agrita and Dace at the museum supporting us with the exhibition, and hosting the exhibition in 2021.
The museum Riga Art Nouveau Centre is the only museum in the Baltic States dedicated to the Art Nouveau heritage. The building of the museum at Alberta iela 12 was built in 1903 as a private house of the famous Latvian architect Konstantīns Pēkšēns.
About MARTA centrs
One organisation, which will benefit from this fundraiser is the MARTA Center. It is the only women’s rights organization in Latvia, and was founded in May 2000. The MARTA Center provides professional social, legal, psychological services to adults who have been victims of violence and human trafficking. They provide assistance to women and their children who are in vulnerable life situations.
The MARTA Center develops and implements powerful youth programs to reduce violence among young people and provide training for education professionals.
Experts from the MARTA Center have initiated the CELIES Forum to engage men in negotiation and action to reduce violence and gender stereotypes. The focus of the MARTA Center is on competence, consistency, coherence, emotionally valuable experience and responsible decisions.
