Goals
The Latvia’s Cultural Canon is a collection of the most outstanding and significant works of art and cultural heritage. The Cultural Canon includes the treasures of Latvian culture in various fields that we are proud of and which should form the basis of the cultural experience and sense of belonging to Latvia for every resident of Latvia.
The goal of the Latvia’s Cultural Canon website is to ensure the availability, in one place, of information on the Latvia’s Cultural Canon in the repositories and archives of various Latvian institutions, as well as the knowledge about those elements accumulated within various projects and events in recent years. The website empowers anyone to be inspired, to begin and continue to find out about the very foundations of our culture. The site has links (to periodicals, external resources) enabling users to explore and search for the information they require, to look into a variety of information sources, as well as indicating – where free access is not possible – the availability of information in cultural institutions, including libraries and archives.
We want the website to serve as a gateway portal to the world of culture – we explain the significance of these treasures and through various formats – video, photography, text, books, maps, images, etc. – invite users to make an in-depth examination of each of the treasures individually.
The options for using the Cultural Canon are diverse and suitable for anyone. The Canon:
- Displays the main milestones of Latvian culture in various cultural spheres in a concentrated way;
- Facilitates public and individual discussion about cultural treasures, events, processes;
- Serves as a benchmark or reference-point for the discovery, creation, highlighting of new values;
- Contributes to the awareness of the originality and treasures of Latvian cultural heritage;
- Raises the prestige of culture;
- Unites Latvian society around common features;
- Provides new knowledge about Latvian art and culture;
- Brings to light forgotten elements;
- Is useful as a guideline for the representatives of other nations on the fundaments of Latvian culture and what we ourselves value and appreciate in our cultural experience;
- Contributes significantly to public education, especially in schools and among young people;
- Allows anyone to seek links with their immediate surroundings and environment and identify the associated cultural treasures.