Gundega Muzikante

Attended Riga 50th Secondary School and is a graduate of the Pottery Department of Riga Applied Arts Secondary School and the Graphic Art Department of the Latvian Academy of Art. She has received a Master’s Degree in Art (2009). Muzikante has taught as an art teacher at the “Games School” of the Riga Latvian Society and at Baldone Art School. She has participated in exhibitions of graphic art since 1987, and since 1990 has been involved in book art and applied graphic art. She has illustrated and designed more than 20 children’s books, several textbooks, booklets, posters, calendars, company logos, etc. She has drawn illustrations for the children’s magazines Zīlīte and Ezis, and for the magazines Dārza Pasaule, Dārzā and Mūsmājas. She is production designer for the animated film “The Cuckoo and Her 12 Hubbies” (Dzeguze un viņas 12 vīri).

Her work has been exhibited in group exhibitions in Latvia, Germany, Finland, Sweden and elsewhere, and she has held two solo exhibitions. She has taken part in the 6th International Artist’s Book Triennial in Vilnius in 1997, the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava in 2005 and 1997, the 1st Tallinn Illustration Triennial in 2003, “The Golden Pen” in Belgrade, 2001, and the Biennial of European Illustration in Japan in 2001.

Muzikante has received awards in the Children’s Book Category of the Year’s Most Beautiful Book competitions: “Piglet Goes Visiting” (Kā Ruksītis ciemos gāja. R.: Zvaigzne ABC, 1995; third prize), “The Hedgehog”s Coat” (Eža kažociņš. R.: Zvaigzne ABC, 1997; second prize), “Easter and Martinmas” (Lieldienas un Mārtiņi. R.: Zvaigzne ABC, 1998; first prize), “The Goat as Bride” (Kaziņa par līgavu. R.: Aka Print, 2000; second prize). She also won the Indriķis Zeberiņš Prize in 1992 (R. Skujiņa. “Short-Tail”s Helpers” – Strupastīša talcinieki. R.: Artava, 1990). In 2002 she received the Book Publishing Prize as Illustrator of the Year. She was nominated in the book art competition Zelta ābele 2009 and the 2010 Jānis Baltvilks Prize for her illustrations to the book “The City from A to Z” by I. Samauska (Pilsēta no A līdz Z. R.: Annele, 2009).

For me, a children’s book is a space open to the imagination and creative experiments. (Gundega Muzikante)