Midsummer

As a Resident Artist at Latvia's Pedvāle Open Air Art Museum, I spent the month of June 2024 creating new work that captured the essence of the Baltic Region's Midsummer traditions. For centuries the Baltic people have celebrated the longest days of the year with singing, dancing, gathering wildflowers to make wreaths, lighting bonfires, swinging and playing games, eating and drinking, swimming, seeking love, and venerating the land. My "Midsummer" project spans several photographic genres (fine art, portrait, street, event, landscape) and all three of the Baltic countries (Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania). I sought to discover ancient traditions honoring rebirth, rejuvenation, love, and fertility as well as new approaches to managing contemporary issues including climate change and geopolitical aggression. The project also aims to help preserve and share the ancient Baltic traditions of Midsummer after decades of Soviet bans and forced Russification, followed by trends of commercialization and globalization, significantly eroded them. The present threat of further Russian aggression against the Baltic countries underscores modern Midsummer celebrations.