The Latvian National Museum of Art received an award in the nomination 'Voldemāra Lapas Special Award'
On November 5th, the Latvian National Library hosted a forum titled 'Cultural Heritage Accessibility – Myths and Reality,' organized by the association 'Apeirons' in collaboration with the National Cultural Heritage Board, Riga City Council, and the European Accessibility Resource Center 'Accessible EU'.
This event marked a significant step in raising awareness about accessibility issues for people with disabilities, providing a platform to discuss the challenges and solutions related to improving the accessibility of cultural heritage buildings.
As part of the project, various architectural objects were surveyed. Trained volunteers assessed state-protected architectural sites, compiling data on accessible and partially accessible objects, which was then included in the digital guide mapeirons.eu. In total, 180 architectural objects were surveyed, revealing that 24 are accessible, 44 are partially accessible, and 108 are inaccessible.
The event concluded with an award ceremony, where Latvian National Museum of Art received the 'Voldemāra Lapas Special Award' for ensuring comfortable and meaningful environmental accessibility. Other cultural heritage objects were also recognized for their innovative accessibility solutions, serving as inspiration for promoting cultural heritage accessibility.
Awardees in other categories included:
- The award "Legends without barriers" won Daugavpils Fortress.
- The award "Invitation" won 17th-19th century interior museum "Madame Hoyer's Guest House".
- The award "Daring" won Valmiera museum’s exhibition “de Woldemer”.
- The award “Bridge of the age” won castle of the Livonian Order of Dobele.
- The award "Despite Everything" won complex of houses “Three Brothers”.
- The award “Hat off” won coffee house „Ie-pauzē”.