Author:
Anete Karlsone Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia, Latvia

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Abstract

Latvian folk crafts are characterized by a predominance of women's handicrafts: weaving, knitting, embroidery, and so on, which are practiced both in groups and individually. This article focuses on the interaction between cultural heritage and creative trends in folk crafts in Latvia, examining the way in which artisans learn traditional crafts and the main areas of their activity. Given the context, the aim of this paper is to provide an overview on the development of Latvian handicrafts today based on empirical study which relied on information found on social networks about the latest activities of craftspeople. In addition to personal observations, publications dedicated to the development of folk art in Latvia during the Soviet period and today were also used as sources for the study. In recent years, the growing popularity of the Latvian national costume has stimulated the desire of many people to not only wear the costume but also learn how to make their own version. The Latvian national costume is a combination of various types of handicrafts, and some elements of folk costumes are also used in modern clothing. Nowadays, learning crafts in studios and hobby groups has become the main way to acquire handicraft skills. Training in these settings is based on ethnographic research and information available from modern sources. Works created in handicraft studios and hobby groups are regularly exhibited at local and national exhibitions. Craftspeople in modern-day Latvia merge the study of traditional, ethnographic material with creative self-expression in the production of objects for modern use. Creativity and inherited traditions are therefore combined to various extents depending on the type of objects and their use. Masters of traditional handicrafts participate in the annual public workshop series called Meet Your Master!, which has become a well-known event for popularizing folk crafts in Latvia.

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  • Karlsone, Anete 2002 Mājaustie apģērba audumi Latvijā 19. gs. pēdējā ceturksnī un 20. gadsimtā: Promocijas darbs [Home-woven Dress Fabrics in Latvia in the Last Quarter of the 19th and 20th Centuries: Doctoral Thesis]. Latvijas Universitāte. https://www.lu.lv/portals/repozitorijs/ (accessed May 15, 2021).

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  • Karlsone, Anete 2018 Preservation of Traditional Craft Skills in the Cultural Environment of Modern Latvia. In Anastasova, EkaterinaToncheva, Svetoslava (eds.), Balkan and Baltic States in United Europe: Histories, Religions and Cultures II, 312323. Sofia: Paradigma Publishing House.

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Senior Editors

Editor-in-Chief: Ágnes FÜLEMILE
Associate editors: Fruzsina CSEH;
Zsuzsanna CSELÉNYI

Review Editors: Csaba MÉSZÁROS; Katalin VARGHA

Editorial Board
  • Balázs BALOGH (Institute of Ethnology, Research Centre for the Humanities)
  • Elek BARTHA (University of Debrecen)
  • Balázs BORSOS (Institute of Ethnology, Research Centre for the Humanities)
  • Miklós CSERI (Hungarian Open Air Museum, the Skanzen of Szentendre)
  • Lajos KEMECSI (Museum of Ethnography)
  • László KÓSA (Eötvös University, Budapest)
  • lldikó LANDGRAF (Institute of Ethnology, Research Centre for the Humanities)
  • Tamás MOHAY (Eötvös University, Budapest)
  • László MÓD (University of Szeged)
  • Attila PALÁDI-KOVÁCS (Institute of Ethnology, Research Centre for the Humanities and Eötvös University, Budapest)
  • Gábor VARGYAS (Institute of Ethnology, Research Centre for the Humanities and University of Pécs)
  • Vilmos VOIGT (Eötvös University, Budapest)
Advisory Board
  • Marta BOTÍKOVÁ (Bratislava, Slovakia)
  • Daniel DRASCEK (Regensburg, Germany)
  • Dagnoslaw DEMSKI (Warsaw, Poland)
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  • Dmitriy A. FUNK (Moscow, Russia)
  • Chris HANN (Halle, Germany)
  • Krista HARPER (Amherst, MA USA)
  • Anya PETERSON ROYCE (Bloomington, IN USA)
  • Ferenc POZSONY (Cluj, Romania)
  • Helena RUOTSALA (Turku, Finland)
  • Mary N. TAYLOR (New York, NY USA)
  • András ZEMPLÉNI (Paris, France)

Further credits

Translators: Elayne ANTALFFY; Zsuzsanna CSELÉNYI; Michael KANDÓ
Layout Editor: Judit MAHMOUDI-KOMOR
Cover Design: Dénes KASZTA

Manuscripts and editorial correspondence:

Acta Ethnographica Hungarica
Institute of Ethnology
Research Centre for the Humanities
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
H-1453 Budapest, Pf. 33
E-mail: actaethnographicahungarica@gmail.com

Reviews:
Mészáros, Csaba or Vargha, Katalin review editors
Institute of Ethnology
Research Centre for the Humanities
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
H-1453 Budapest, Pf. 33
E-mail: meszaros.csaba@btk.mta.hu or vargha.katalin@btk.mta.hu

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2023  
Scopus  
CiteScore 0.6
CiteScore rank Q2 (Music)
SNIP 0.369
Scimago  
SJR index 0.164
SJR Q rank Q2

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Acta Ethnographica Hungarica
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