Collective Memory is Everything I Don’t Remember: Moments We Share
02.10.2026–17.01.2027
The exhibition is open to visitors free of charge during the museum’s opening hours.
How does collective memory shape our personal recollections? How does it intertwine with our identity? And why is it important to ask what we choose to remember – both individually and as a society? The exhibition presents work by seven Latvian women artists. They belong to the generation commonly referred to as millennials, whose formative years were shaped by the restoration of Latvia’s independence and the period of change that followed. Their practices explore the relationship between collective memory, identity, and individual perceptions of the past. Drawing on their own and their families’ experiences, the artists engage with the realities of the twentieth century, share personal stories, address socioeconomic issues, and examine public space. In Zuzeum’s Greenhouse and Sculpture Garden, newly created works are shown alongside projects never before exhibited in Latvia, spanning a wide range of media – from photography and analogue film to object-based installations.
Participating artists: Ieva Balode, Vika Eksta, Ieva Kraule-Kūna, Liene Pavlovska, Diāna Tamane, Krista Vindberga, Elīna Vītola
Curator: Diana Kotmel Kněžínková
The exhibition is presented under the auspices of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Riga.
The exhibition marks the conclusion of Czech curator Diana Kotmel Kněžínková’s doctoral research project, Collective Memory Is Everything I Don’t Remember. The research maps the practices of Latvian women artists of the millennial generation, whose work, visual language, and communication strategies are shaped by, or emerge from, the phenomenon of collective memory. It also considers situations in which collective and individual memory intertwine, influence, and co-constitute each other. The exhibition at Zuzeum forms the second part of a larger project. The first – Memories That Are Not Our Own – brought together the same seven artists at H40 in Prague in spring 2026. The findings will be collected in a bilingual Czech–English monograph featuring perspectives from other East European visual art theorists and artists. The publication will be available from the Zuzeum bookshop.
In the meantime, you can follow the project on collectivememoryis.com or its social media @collective_memory_is.
Diana Kotmel Kněžínková is a Czech curator and researcher specializing in memory and communication studies. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Visual Communication at the Faculty of Art and Design, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic, where she also earned a master’s degree in Curatorial Studies. From 2019 to 2024, she was a member of the curatorial platform 3Kurátorky, which fostered dialogue between emerging generations of artists and the wider public through exhibitions, public programmes, and podcasts. Alongside her curatorial practice, she works as a cultural entrepreneur, adapting cultural heritage sites and public spaces in Prague for cultural and gastronomic use.
Artwork: Liene Pavlovska. Smoldering Flashes, 2026
This exhibition was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.
