ROSME
Cēsis Contemporary Art Centre
ARTEFACTS OF THE PRESENT
Curated by Žanete Skarule
15 July 2023- 20 August 2023

ROSME is a scenographic installation shaped by the history of the building that hosted the exhibition, the former Cēsis Educational Factory for the Visually Impaired (Cēsu neredzīgo biedrības mācību un ražošanas uzņēmums, 1952–1999).

After researching the factory’s archives, Ola Vasiljeva became attentive to the central role the institution once played in the lives of its workers. The factory was not only a place of labour but also a lively social environment that included an active theatre troupe. Vasiljeva introduces the mental space of theatre as the entry point to the installation. Across the floor, props and found and newly created objects gather fragments of the building’s past and stage an environment that reflects a sense of obsolescence.

The work was developed in close dialogue with Irēna Lāce, a former factory worker and current librarian at the Cēsis Library for the Visually Impaired (Neredzīgo bibliotēka). Through conversations and shared archival materials she generously contributed memories and knowledge that helped shape the project and its understanding of the factory’s social life.

The title Rosme(Latvian for vigour, drive or creative impulse) refers to the long-running Latvian magazine for people with visual impairments, published since 1957 by the Latvian Association of the Blind. The magazine has served for decades as an important platform for community life, publishing interviews, news, literary works and information relevant to people with visual disabilities. The editions of the magazine were introduced to the artist by Irēna Lāce, who shared archival issues containing articles and features documenting the cultural life that once flourished within the factory.

Following the exhibition, the neon sign Rosme from the installation was gifted to the Rosme Magazine editorial office in Riga, where it now remains installed in the building’s vestibule.

Installation Rosme, 2023, variable media
Photos by Ansis Starks and Anete Rudmieze