The BIArt gallery, located within the walls of our Baltic International Academy and named after it, celebrated its 25th anniversary. It was established in 2001 on the initiative of BIA Senate Chairman Stanislav Buka and art historian Svetlana Hayenko and has earned the respect and recognition of artists and art professionals not only in Latvia but also far beyond its borders. In essence, it is a charitable project, as the academy covers all expenses for organising and holding exhibitions at the gallery.
Over the past quarter century, it has hosted over 500 diverse exhibitions, featuring works by hundreds of artists from many countries. To mark its 25th anniversary, the gallery organised its traditional spring exhibition of fine art by professional artists. It features around seventy works by many well-known artists, such as Edgar Mickelson, Vladimir Pavlov, Valery Makovoy, Maria Abduyeva, Babken Stepanyan, Valentin Danilenko, Maria Matveyeva, Nikolai Krivoshein and Irina Trumpele.
As a tribute to their memory, the exhibition delights the eye with works by Artur Nikitin, Iosif Elgurt, Philipp Shalaev, Ivan Pustoshkin, who, sadly, are no longer with us and who wrote many memorable pages in the history of the BIArt gallery.
When opening the anniversary exhibition, Chairman of the Senate Stanislav Buka expressed many kind words of gratitude about Svetlana Hayenko, who laid the foundations of the gallery. He expressed gratitude to her successor, Valentin Danilenko, a member of the Latvian Union of Artists, as well as told kind words about Valery Nikiforov, Doctor of Philosophy, the second founder of the BIA, who made a significant contribution to the good work of BIArt gallery.
In his speech, S. Buka highly praised the role of artists in shaping the artistic image of Latvia and wished them continued active participation in the gallery’s initiatives and using the opportunities offered by the international ERASMUS+ programme.
In response, artists Vladimir Pavlov and Snezhana Volynets thanked the academy and the gallery for the attention to their creative work and for organising exhibitions that help strengthen creative ties with lovers of fine art.
Guntis Janson, a representative of the charitable artists’ society “Art and Heart”, thanked the gallery and the academy for their active participation in charity events, during which 1,837 paintings were donated to 30 Latvian care homes.
At the exhibition, Alyona Savyuk, Vladimir Pavlov and Ieva Zaltane were awarded Silver Badges of Honour of the BIA. Works by Aivars Juranchs, Olga Florinska, Galina Golubchikova and Maria Kozhevnikova received Audience Choice Awards.
The exhibition is located in the BIA building at 1/4 Valerijas Seiles Street and will run until May 23. Admission is free during the working hours of the academy.
In the photos: Stanislav Buka and Valentin Danilenko are opening the anniversary exhibition. The first visitors. Snezhana Volynets, on behalf of the artists, thanks the academy and BIArt Gallery for the attention to their creative work and for organising the exhibitions.
Photos by Georgy Kozlov.
