In August, a new urban object, Monument to the Taste of Lemon, commissioned and created by children, was unveiled in front of Andrejs Pumpurs Riga Primary School No. 11. It was inspired by The Book of Riga, an urban guide published last year that reveals the city from a child’s point of view. The environmental object is just part of a programme implemented by the New Theatre Institute of Latvia, which aims to involve children in shaping the urban environment.
While the public is debating which monuments in Riga should be demolished, primary school students who worked on The Book of Riga, a new guide to the city, have come up with ideas for new sculptures in Riga. The New Theatre Institute of Latvia (NTIL), in collaboration with artist Gundega Evelone and architect Renāte Pablaka, has brought one of the children’s ideas to life — an urban object called Monument to the Taste of Lemon, located in front of the Andrejs Pumpurs Riga Primary School No. 11. The idea for the monument was conceived by Anna Delzova (5th grade) and is intended as a lemonade stand, a space for small exhibitions and events, as well as a symbolic podium from where to address the residents of the neighbourhood with messages that are important to children.
The design of the environmental object was created by artist Gundega Evelone, following the children’s suggestions. «I have turned Anna’s sketch into a three-meter-high structure made of bright yellow boards forming a lemon. It is reminiscent of the treehouse so beloved by children — a symbolic territory of self-determination in childhood, where adults can enter only if they know the password. At the same time, this lemon is not smooth and round, but spiky and unyielding, like the sour and strong lemon juice, which is not to everyone’s taste,» says Gundega.
Monument to the Taste of Lemon is a continuation of the children’s city guide The Book of Riga, which NTIL published last year in collaboration with British artists Andy Field and Becky Darlington, as well as 170 pupils aged 8 to 11. It includes true and speculative facts about Riga, suggestions for visiting the city, walking routes invented and tested by the children, previously unnoticed sites, lots of personal impressions, and fantasies, all expressing the belief that «our vision counts too». Over several months, the children worked on the book, completing various creative tasks, drawing maps, sketching new buildings and infrastructure, filling in questionnaires, and providing information about their neighbourhood based on their own experiences, which would reveal it in a new way to other residents and visitors of Riga.
The Riga Books project received praise from the participating schools, teachers, and children, as well as from the general public. According to Santa Remere, NTIL’s creative director, they have received several suggestions on how to continue the project in new creative ways, as well as to introduce it to architecture students, share the responses and statistics. The environmental object Monument to the Taste of Lemon is only part of the planned project, which aims to draw the attention to involving children in shaping the urban environment. Various activities are planned: public readings of the Book of Riga, city mapping, an open mic for children, a conversation with urban planners, and other events initiated by the children themselves.
The urban object Monument to the Taste of Lemon — a project for the involvement of younger groups in urban planning and culture-making processes is implemented with the support of the Riga City Council.
Viedokļi