Pedvale Open Air Museum — Attraction in Abavas pagasts

My experience at the Biedriba Pedvale artist residency was extremely negative and disappointing. Before arriving, I had multiple phone conversations to clarify if it would be possible to work on stone sculpture. I was assured that it would be allowed. However, upon arrival, I was told that it wasn’t permitted, showing a clear lack of commitment and transparency from the start.

The location is incredibly isolated, and there is no basic support for artists. The residency doesn't even provide bicycles for us to travel to the nearest village to buy food, making daily life even more difficult. The distance and isolation create significant challenges.

The environment at the residency was toxic and demotivating. Instead of fostering a space for dialogue and creative collaboration, as one would expect from an artist residency, the staff displayed aggressive and disrespectful behavior. I was personally insulted with comments like, "you’re the worst resident we’ve ever had." There was no room for discussion or exchange of ideas, and any attempt at dialogue was quickly interrupted or ignored.

Furthermore, it seemed that the residency was more interested in taking photos of the artists to promote the space on social media than in supporting our creative work. The owner, Ojārs Arvīds, and the manager, Laura Miglone, showed complete disinterest in the residents, behaving rudely and authoritatively.

Overall, I do not recommend this residency to any artist. There was a lack of respect, support, and even the minimum conditions for a healthy creative environment. My experience was extremely frustrating and...

Interesting place. We paid 2.50euro per person in winter. Usually it’s 3.50euro. There aren’t many types of art, not very creative since it will be nice to have different minds to create so many art. It s a nice walk though and there are still some good art that makes use of scraps. The river was quite good to see. It took us a little over an hour to see everything, not really 2hours. Staff were...

Pedvale is a magical place. The park itself is a work of art with many works, both natural and man made, contained within it. Keep an open mind, wear good shoes, and enjoy the many special views and vistas the park has to offer. You may befriend a snail or a stork, hear the poplar trees whispering, and come away slightly changed…for...