LHEI researchers to take part in interdisciplinary culture and science event at Māras dīķis in Riga
On 21 August, researchers from the Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology (LHEI) will take part in Māras ezera balss. Dzīlēs (“The Voice of Lake Māra. In the Depths”), an interdisciplinary culture and science event bringing together contemporary art, environmental research and local communities at Māras Pond (Māras dīķis) in Riga, Latvia. LHEI will be represented by researchers Solvita Strāķe, Ieva Bārda and Ieva Putna-Nīmane.
The event, organised by the Pārdaugava Creative Centre, will take place from 17:00 to midnight on and around Māras Pond, a small urban water body located in Pārdaugava on the left bank of the River Daugava in Riga.
Through music, performance, contemporary dance, scientific activities and community participation, the programme will explore water as an important element of the city’s natural environment, cultural landscape and collective memory. Māras Pond will serve not only as the setting for the event, but also as its central subject – a living urban ecosystem whose ecological condition, history and future can be explored from different perspectives.
From 17:00 to 20:00, LHEI researchers will contribute to the environmental education programme “Who Lives in Māras Pond?”. Visitors of different ages will have an opportunity to learn more about the pond’s ecosystem, explore processes taking place in urban waters, discuss water quality and discover why small water bodies are important for the ecological functioning of cities.
At 18:00, the science and arts discussion “From Pond to Lake” will bring together LHEI researchers, urban planners, local residents, historians and Ieva Niedre, Head of the Pārdaugava Creative Centre. The discussion will address the past, present and possible future of Māras Pond and the nearby Mārupīte stream, with a focus on water quality, recreation, sustainable management of urban waters and the wider role of nature in Riga’s urban environment.
The evening programme will continue with contemporary dance and music. At 19:30, students of Contemporary Dance Art at the Latvian Academy of Culture will present “Trīsējums baltajā troksnī” (“Tremor in White Noise”). At 20:00, the INITIUM Foundation will present the concert performance Ko zina ūdens? (“What Does Water Know?”), featuring opera singer Katrīna Paula Felsberga, pianist Justine Eckhaut from France and performance artist Beāte Poikāne. The programme will also include a new composition by Latvian composer Annija Anna Zariņa, created especially for the event.
The musical programme will continue with the Jēkabs Nīmanis Quartet at 21:20, followed by the alternative music band Tante gaida at 22:20. From 23:00 to midnight, experimental artist Spāre Vītola will close the evening with an ambient and experimental music programme.
Māras ezera balss. Dzīlēs invites visitors to consider urban water not merely as a backdrop to city life, but as a living ecosystem, a shared public space and a meeting point for nature, science, culture and people.
The event is free of charge.
