For the tenth year in a row, budding artists were invited to participate in a competition, creating works of art on the theme of the forest and competing for the “Latvijas valsts meži” Art Scholarship. This year, Elīna Jeršova, a painting student at the Art Academy of Latvia, received the 1,500 euro scholarship for the further development of her artistic talent for her work “Circulation”.
This year, all the competition entries were created during a specially organised plein air workshop held in early July at the Latvijas valsts meži Tērvete Nature Park. For five days, the artists lived in the nature park, creating artwork on plywood bases on the theme of “Oxygen”, illustrating their perspective, views, experience, and knowledge of the forest as a source of oxygen. A total of 22 aspiring artists took part in the plein air.
“I have always been a city girl. Therefore, the experience I gained during the art plein air while participating in the “Latvijas valsts meži” Art Scholarship competition was truly valuable. I had to adapt to the weather while being out in nature. However, I appreciated the supportive atmosphere that prevailed among the participants – every day we discussed our progress and shared new ideas. When I had found the view I wanted to paint, the weather suddenly started to change. As I paint with oil paints, the unexpected raindrops did not have a negative impact on my work – if anything, the rain actually helped. When water intervenes, an interesting effect is created – this can be seen in the pine tree depicted in my work. I managed to capture the interaction with natural processes. The work reflects the continuous movement of air and the cycle in nature. In the work, oxygen is perceived as a link between the atmosphere, the forest, and living organisms.”
Congratulating the laureates, LVM Communications Division Head Tomass Kotovičs and Art Academy of Latvia Vice-Rector Andris Vītoliņš expressed their satisfaction with the ten-year collaboration and this year’s plein air format, which provided the young artists with a valuable and inspiring in-person experience, allowing them to create works in direct contact with nature. LVM and LMA expressed their wish to continue the competition in 2027 as well, maintaining this creative format and the opportunity for students to gain new experiences in nature.
Just as in previous years, the audience choice award was presented this year as well. It was received by Laura Mazule, a student at the Art Academy of Latvia's Painting Department, for her work “Memories Retrospection”.
As the author points out, Tērvete is a special place for her, as she spent her childhood and teenage years in the Tērvete area. The competition artwork depicts the Tērvete landscape, which is one of the most vivid carriers of the author's memories and at the same time an invitation for every viewer to remember what holds the stories of their own lives.
The “Latvijas valsts meži” Art Scholarship competition is organised by AS “Latvijas valsts meži” in cooperation with the Art Academy of Latvia to promote students' understanding of the forest as Latvia's largest renewable resource, which is constantly growing. In their paintings, competition participants were asked to create associations regarding the interaction of art with sustainable environmental development, linking their creativity with the growing role of the forest in the Latvian economy.