Place therapy – mending post-traumatic spaces with the implementation of art – layering new identities of Uzvaras parks

The acceleration of change in a place is the events that directly and remotely impact society - the local trauma after isolation due to the pandemic and the indirect connection of war started in Ukraine. This pain is familial and personal to the Latvian nation. In the case of Uzvaras Parks, the disputable matter of the monument that decontextualized even the park’s name in the time of the Latvian occupation due to political regime interests is one of the traumas of the park. However, the park’s broken status was made over time - before the war in Ukraine that prompted the collision of communities within the park, its potential for a meaningful place for its locals has never been fulfilled. A great united concept is still to be found - opening the discussion, creating a ground for inclusion and inviting all parts of the community to create synergy between recent and past conflicts, unresolved troubled memories and existing valuable heritage. A process of healing and mending not only the park’s physical structure but also uniting society. Art is a balance restorer and mediator tool for unrestricted discussion. The need for a residence for contemporary art and the thirty-six hectare territory with fragmented identity could benefit from a symbiotic relationship – a subtle, gradual introduction to a new layer, the core function of the park – creating an energy flow through the park by acupuncturing the pressure points with art installations and the platform for interaction - museum of contemporary art.