Loom: Anna Apinis

 

This loom, made in a refugee camp in Germany after the Second World War, has belonged to four different Latvian weavers. It has been used for 50 years to weave fabrics for folk costumes for Latvian exile communities. The loom reveals a story about the desire of Latvians to maintain their cultural continuity, whatever the circumstances, even when the maintenance of culture would seem to be the last thing that a person should be thinking about.

A masterpiece from the ruins of war

The loom was built to the directions of professional weaver Elga Kivicka in 1946 in the Fischbach Latvian Displaced Persons camp.Read more >

Weaver Elga Kivicka

Elga Kivicka was an experienced and well-known weaver in pre-war Latvia.  Kivicka set up and headed the weaving workshop at the Rīga Valsts Mākslas amatniecības skola [Rīga State Artisan Craft School]. Read more >

Weaving was my love: Anna Apinis

The third owner of the loom, Anna Apinis, whose work has won various awards both in the Latvian-Australian and Australian communities, was also a gifted weaver. Read more >

First years in Australia

After escaping from Latvia in 1944, the Apinis family lived in the Memmingen refugee camp in Germany. Read more >

Anita Apine-Hermane today

Anita Apine-Hermane, born in Sydney, Australia, learnt Latvian designs and craftsmanship in early childhood from her mother. Read more >