Art in the Embassies Program

December 14, 2011

Vija Celmins. DIVIDED NIGHT SKY, 2010, 1 plate 1 color mezzotint printed on Magnani Pescia Satinato bright white paper Edition 30 with 10 artist proofs

Established in 1963, the U.S. Department of State’s office of ART in Embassies (AIE) plays a vital role in our nation’s public diplomacy through a culturally expansive mission, creating temporary exhibitions and permanent collections, artist and cultural exchange programming, and publications. The Museum of Modern Art first envisioned this global visual arts program a decade earlier. In the early 1960s, President John F. Kennedy formalized it, naming the program's first director. Now with over 200 venues, AIE curates temporary and permanent exhibitions for the representational spaces of all U.S. chanceries, annexes, consulates, and embassy residences worldwide, commissioning and selecting contemporary art from the U.S. and the host countries. These exhibitions provide international audiences with a sense of the quality, scope, and diversity of both countries’ art and culture, establishing AIE’s presence in more countries than any other U.S. foundation or arts organization.

AIE’s exhibitions allow foreign citizens, many of whom might never travel to the United States, to personally experience the depth and breadth of our artistic heritage and values, making what has been called a: ''footprint that can be left where people have no opportunity to see American art.''

Riga collection includes many famous names in the international art world, some of which, have roots in Latvia: Vija Celmins, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Philippe Halsman and others.

The whole U.S. Embassy in Riga collection can be viewed at: http://art.state.gov/