A Historic Moment - The Agreement on the Construction of the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia's Building for the Future has been Signed

On 29 May 2018, in the presence of the Director of the Museum Gūnars Nāgels, the Minister of Culture Dace Melbārde and the Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development Kaspars Gerhards, the Chairman of the Board of State Real Estate Ronalds Neimanis and SIA Skonto Būve board member Juris Pētersons signed an agreement on the construction of the Building for the Future.

The signing of the contract took place in Riga Old Town, in the permanent building of the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, where the old exhibition has been completely dismantled. In his address, the construction company's representative, Juris Pētersons, said that there could already be a construction site around the building in June, and by next summer the annex to the museum could already have been built. The latest State Real Estate report on the progress of the project states that the construction works will be finished by September 2019.

The museum's reconstruction project designer is the famous architect Gunārs Birkerts, and the technical project for the reconstruction was developed by the architect's office "5. iela" and its architect Ija Rudzīte.

Minister Dace Melbārde expressed her hope that the builders will be able to carry out the project on time, as it has already been stuck in bureaucracy for too long.

Employees of the Museum, who, despite all the obstacles have shown unwaveringly support for the project, expresses cautious optimism after the formal signing of the contract. Once the building has been completed it will take approximately a year to create the new exhibition. The first sketch of the project was completed in 2008, but the exhibition plan has been substantially improved and supplemented in recent years. The permanent move back to the museum will occur no earlier than 2020.

In addition to the changes to the Museum of the Occupation, the art installation "History Tactile", designed by Kristaps Ģelzis, Ilze Miķelsone and Voldemars Johansons, will be created. Together the two projects will form a memorial complex dedicated to the the victims of the Soviet occupation.