Monthly Archives: May 2013

The forthcoming conference “Cultures, Crises, Consolidations in the Baltic World” (June 16-19, 2013 Tallinn University, Estonia) in Tallinn is grounded in the realm of the Baltic countries and people who have experienced periods of crises throughout their history: wars and revolutions, plagues and famine, economic and demographic decline.

For the first time ESTO and the West Coast Estonian Days (LEP) will take place at the same time. The four-day programme includes some of the usual events, as well as new ones that will offer Estonians and visitors from both the United Stated and abroad a great time. In addition to the main programme, many events will also take place prior to the opening day on June 27.

The much anticipated exhibition “Latvian Art in Exile” opened on May 9, 2013 in Rīga, Latvia at the Latvian National Museum of Art’s (LNMM) Arsenāls Exhibition Hall (Torņa ielā 1). Featuring works from the LNMM permanent collection, new gifts and acquisitions, as well as works on loan from private collections, the exhibit will run through July 28. A comprehensive catalog in Latvian and English is being published by Neputns.

The Baltic Heritage Network Summer School is intended for Estonians living abroad who are involved with the collection and preservation of the cultural heritage of the Estonian diaspora.

On June 27th 2013, a conference will be held at Stanford University Libraries (SUL), dedicated to Estonian archives, libraries, museums and research possibilities abroad.

 The school will operate in the seaside resort of Jūrmala (25 km from Riga), in the Hotel SIVA, 71 Dubultu prospekts, Jūrmala. www.hotelsiva.lv

Fate can surprise us. A casual encounter, an exchange of business cards, can suddenly become important. Such was the manner in which Kerly Ilves’ and Peeter Põldre’s careers intertwined as a result of meeting at the 2011 EstDocs opening at the Bell TIFF Lightbox in downtown Toronto. Their common ground was photography and this exhibit offered them an opportunity to collaborate.

The Immigration History Research Center and Baltic Heritage Network hosted an interdisciplinary symposium on May 15, 2013, at the University of Minnesota, with the goal of furthering efforts to research and archive the experiences of Estonians in America.

The Estonian Expatriate Literature Centre (EELC) at the Academic Library of Tallinn University has announced Sander Jürisson as new head of the department. Jürisson has a masters degree in modern history from the University of Tallinn, with a thesis on Estonian migration to Brazil. So far, Sander has been working in the same department as senior the bibliographer. Former head of EELC, Dr. Anne Valmas, will continue as a researcher.

Two Baltic women who came to Australia as refugees after World War II have been honoured in contributions to the Australian Women’s Register by Ann Tündern-Smith. They are Salme Koobakene (1919-1998), originally from Valgamaa in southern Estonia and Zenta Liepa (1927 – 1987) originally from Riga, Latvia.