By Aldona Grupas
I was eight years old when I stood on the stage of the Riga Opera and Ballet Theatre, reciting a poem by the Latvian poet Rainis in Latvian. That day, I received my very first award – a book of Rainis's poetry.
Could I ever have imagined that, many years later, art would take me all the way to the UK Parliament?
I was born in Riga, Latvia. When I was a little girl, my mother often took me for walks through the Old Town. She would point out beautiful buildings, sculptures decorating their walls, and tell me about architecture. We visited museums and art galleries together.
Perhaps that was where my love of art began.
Later, when I lived in Lithuania, I never missed an opportunity to visit an art gallery. Riga, Klaipėda, Vilnius, St Petersburg – wherever I went, I always looked for art.
For me, art has never been just about paintings. It is also music, dance, literature and theatre. Everything that enriches our lives, touches our hearts and makes us think.
However, my professional life took a very different direction.
I became a nurse.
For more than forty years, I worked in healthcare, including fifteen years in England. My everyday life was filled with patients, their pain, worries, joys and life stories.
But art never disappeared from my life. It was always there, somewhere beside me.
While living in England, I began writing books, presenting them to readers and organising meetings with writers, poets and artists. We met in different towns and cities across the UK and Lithuania, and later our conversations also moved online.
I participated in art and literary festivals and met so many interesting, creative people.
One day, while talking with conductor Margarita Mikhailova, an idea was born – why not establish an art club?
We were both full of creative energy and ideas. We did not hesitate for long.
That was how Albion Art Club came into being – a place where artists, writers, poets and people from different nationalities could come together through their love of art.
And then one particular meeting opened another door.
I met an artist named Rasa Ušackienė. One day, while visiting her home, I noticed the paintings hanging on her walls and listened to her life story.
I cannot explain what kind of magic happened at that moment, but suddenly I wanted to show the world the work of women who had discovered their artistic talent after the age of fifty.
I also knew younger female artists from Latvia and Ukraine. I began thinking about how to bring them together and introduce their work to a wider audience.
Two countries have always been especially close to my heart – Latvia, where I was born, and Lithuania, the land of my parents and my roots.
