RSU Students participated in ARTVILNIUS Contemporary Art Fair

The International Contemporary Art Fair ARTVILNIUS 2019 was held in Vilnius from 30 May to 2 June. Students from the Art Academy of Latvia and Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) participated with a joint exhibition. Both educational institutions have organised joint interdisciplinary projects and events since a cooperation agreement was established in spring 2018.

Medicine and art are closely related in several ways. Medicine is the study of the human body, but is nowadays not only about the treatment of physical conditions. The significance of mental health is constantly growing with an essential role given to art. The cooperation between students of both institutions resulted in a project demonstrating the interaction of art and medicine with the visitors of the fair as participants. Visitors had the opportunity to not only explore the project, but also to become a part of the creative process by witnessing the way in which something as simple as the pulse can create a unique piece of art. Painters, sculptors, graphic designers, set designers, art historians, as well as various medical professionals were involved in creating the project.

The project coordinator at RSU was Jana Duhovska, Head of the professional Art Therapy Master’s study programme at the Faculty of Rehabilitation. RSU was represented by prospective art therapists Elīza Dubovika and Signe Vanadziņa, Prof. Pēteris Tretjakovs, Assoc. Prof. Leons Blumfelds, Head of the Department of Human Physiology and Biochemistry from the Faculty of Medicine, and lecturer Matīss Mežals.