04.06.2025.
Elīza Māra
What is it like to create your own exhibition?
Last week I opened my first solo exhibition (hurray!), and in the process of creating it I ran into several walls – some harder, some softer. I thought I should document this experience and analyze it a bit, so that it remains in memory, and also from a practical point of view – so that things become clearer about what to do and what not to do in future exhibitions.
This is not a “how-to”, how it should be done correctly, how to do and how not to do – you can learn all of this in the lecture course “Exhibition as a tool for interpreting and communicating cultural heritage” by the Latvian Academy of Culture, which I also took as a master’s student. Funny or not, at the end of this course I had to propose an exhibition concept, and my fellow students encouraged me to have my own solo exhibition. When you study, learn theory, hear the lecturer’s experience working in the largest Latvian museums, and go criticize other exhibitions – both in terms of content and how they are implemented, then everything is cool – everything is black or white, more or less. We talked about availability, accessibility, easy language, climate in the room, gentle lighting and other important factors, but this story about my exhibition is a story from life – how to apply this knowledge in practice, taking into account other possible requirements and limitations.
I’ll sketch a scene. I’m an artist – I interpret life in a microdistrict in my embroidery, and at the end of last year the Pļavnieki Library approached me with an invitation to exhibit my work. I automatically said “yes”, because conceptually it’s a top ten hit – I embroider microdistricts, and I’ll have an exhibition in the microdistrict. Although exhibitions in libraries don’t rank high in terms of prestige, they are still community centers – a starting point or even a very good stopping point. And here I felt the first grumble inside me – it won’t be a boring exhibition for me, but it will be something wow, I’ll do it my way.
I thought of googling what the library looks like and where it is, and I got goosebumps – the library is located between two apartment buildings in a connecting building. You can imagine a housing estate with apartment buildings connected by air tunnels – they tend to be made of glass blocks or ordinary bricks – but this place is super special from an architectural point of view – large round windows, strange angles, I’ve never seen anything like it. So – the exhibition will not just be about exhibited works, but it will be a whole experience. The entrance to the library is from the staircase of an ordinary apartment building, which does not at all indicate the existence of a library, until you can find small signs with thematic sections by the door. The interior smells of the Soviet era with office furniture from the early 2000s, but still this very specific combination (some might say – cacophony) is a super complementary element to my works. Neither the faded paint, nor the peeling wallpaper, nor the crooked, leaky floor interfere – it truly complements.
In my case, the exhibition begins with the works that will be exhibited. Since the medium I work in is demanding in terms of both skills and time, I had ten works that I stitched together over the course of four years. Some works needed to be re-edited from the previous exhibition, and I also needed to dust them off and give them an overall makeover. It was important to me that this exhibition was not simply “I came, hung them, left”, but that it had the task of communicating my creative work and also promoting my recognition – also developing a kind of personal brand. I knew that communication was important to me, because I still believe that my works are an interpretation of heritage, reality, but also communication – the communication of my thoughts, feelings, experiences.
I knew that I would hire a graphic designer to create clean and beautiful visuals for my publicity, as well as hire someone to help me write a press release to send to the media. I was lucky – both the designer and the communications person are my great colleagues from my daily work, and I didn’t have to look far. However, it should also be noted that having financial resources also gives me great freedom. I know that I could put together those visuals myself and write the release together with ChatGPT, but that’s not my specialty and it would take me a lot of time. Time that would turn into an evening instead of an hour, and which I would generally have to devote to editing, planning, and such real event production.
So – I have to assemble the works, explain the vision and needs to the graphic designer, prepare a draft of the press release, hand them over for proofreading, and then pack the works. That’s how everything started out, but as soon as I get started – one work leads to the next. There will be an exhibition, but what about the opening? Can we put on music? Drinks – how many and what kind? How many glasses? How will I hang the works anyway? But one of them needs a podium. Where will I get a podium? I can ask my dad to make it. I don’t have a desk – I have to borrow one from my mom. My husband will help me best with the drinks – he would organize everything. When will I post on social media? Will I get a car to bring the works to the exhibition site at all? And who will look after my son while I open the exhibition? And who will I invite to the exhibition? And how likely is it that they will come? The more questions, the fewer answers.
I will slowly go through and describe how it happened in my exhibition. For the exhibition design, I chose to print the labels on foam plastic, so that they are still beautiful and solid. However, labels are such a complementary thing – they can raise the quality of the exhibition or, on the contrary, lower it and make everything messy. Since I had limited funds that I was willing to invest, I decided in favor – better less, but as high-quality solutions as possible. The podium was made by my dad (applause for dad!) – truly solid, designer, and fit into the library interior in such a way that you would not doubt it at all.
I got pretty busy with communication, because sometimes the hype on the internet can have such an impact on who hears about an event, who wants to know more and share. I sent out the release to various art and culture media. Latvian Radio responded to it, but unfortunately they couldn’t arrange a meeting there. Fold.lv also responded, announcing the exhibition. Arterritory.com included the exhibition opening in its weekly events review, and put a picture of my work as a publicity image link – that was cool, because there were many events in the article, but the cover photo was mine.
What is interesting – you can observe how such a communication chain is formed: one receives information, publishes it, someone else notices it and wants to share it. In my case, due to the publication on Fold.lv, a Deko journalist contacted me and wanted to include my exhibition there as well. Because – this is true proof why communication should not be delayed.
I was very lucky to open the exhibition because my husband is a sommelier – he used to run the Zuzeum cafe and “poured” wine at their exhibition openings. He knew how to calculate – how many glasses, how many bottles to get, how to pour beautifully and serve visitors.
The biggest hurdle I ran into was logistics. It was a bad decision to hang the works in the exhibition on the same day as the opening. Although the works are easy to hang, not many, and otherwise manageable, composition, arrangement, and leveling are the biggest time thieves – you simply can’t rush it. And an even worse decision was to drive the works and the podium to the workshop on the day of the exhibition. In a very small car.
I was lucky that everything barely fit in the car, so I packed it up the day before and packed it up for the trip in time. But, of course, I didn’t think of counting all the works when I left the workshop. I realized after 15 minutes on the road that I had forgotten one thing. Well, never mind – I turned around and drove after it. When I got to the library itself, I realized that I had to carry it all to the 4th floor. Carrying the artworks was easy – here, there, up, down – you just pile up the steps. But the real problem was carrying the podium. A good, substantial piece of wooden furniture, but also hellishly heavy. And I understand – I can’t ask the librarians for help. It’s really inconvenient for me. Most are seniors – I can’t make them do it. It would have to be a special person. But never mind – the situation forced me, and I carried it myself. I hope it never happens again.
Speaking of money and the harsh reality – this exhibition was created from an empty pocket budget from the library, and all the funds invested were my personal – literally from that month’s salary. Here is the situation with the library – I admit that it has to implement this exhibition function, but the budget is not really allocated for it. I invested: €60 for graphic design, €22 for labels, €150 for wine and glasses (my husband insisted on high-quality and tasty), €20 for ropes for hanging, €30 for fuel for the trip and €5 for myself – tights. Of course, you can also count the driving before that and all sorts of other trifles, but – putting up a simple exhibition and opening it solidly cost me around €300. And that’s without the podium costs.
And you know what’s the funniest thing? Or the saddest thing? Because I mostly produced (realized / managed the project) this exhibition, I was so focused that I posted on social media, but I forgot to sit down properly and invite people. And my mom really saved me – out of pride, she sent an invitation to everyone she remembered to come. There’s no better PR than a proud mom. 🙂 And in general – I had borrowed a stereo from my mom to put on atmospheric music, and I forgot it at home during the run.
What I mean by this is – my absolute independence is starting to unravel. The more I do, the more I understand – you can’t do everything alone. Or, if you can, it still comes at a cost – either your sleep, your well-being, your respect, or your love for what you do.
In my case – although being an artist is my calling and reality, from which I will never escape, even if I wanted to – it is also a privilege. It is a privilege that you can afford to invest in it, that there are fellow human beings who can connect, help and believe in you. That this is what it is meant to be. And that the desire to create, to tell stories and to do – does not pass. And, of course, because of the scent of flowers that wafts through the house after the exhibition, it is worth doing it all again.
P.S. My exhibition “Embroidered Realities of the Neighborhood” can be viewed at the Pļavnieki branch of the Riga Central Library at Salnas Street 8 until June 30th 🙂