Municipality function – to take care of culture and to foster maintenance of traditional cultural values and development of people’s art – is carried out by Municipality Agencies in Kuldiga:

• Municipality Agency “Kuldiga Main Library”
• Municipality Agency „Kuldīga District Museum”
• Municipality Agency „Kuldīga Culture Center”

Professional educational establishements are also involved in the process and work of the culture:

• E.Vīgnera Kuldiga Music School;
• Art School under Kuldīga Art and Humanitarian School.

MUNICIPALITY AGENCY KULDIGA DISTRICT MUSEUM
Director Dace Bumbiere
Address Pils Street 5, Kuldiga, LV-3301
Email: kuldigasmuzejs@inbox.lv
Phones +371 63322364; +37163350179
Visitor hours from Tuesday to Sunday between 11:00 - 17:00

The museum has been founded in 1935 and has been located in the present place since 1940. The collection was started in 1936 from private collections and from materials of museum of Kuldiga State Secondary School. The first exhibit was a painting of Fridrih Schper “A View on Rumba”, 1851. There are more than 85,000 exhibits in the museum now. There are collections of archeology, ethnography, numismatics, sfragistics e.c. Documents already from the 17th century are in the collection of written materials. Photos and negatives give a large scope of events in the life of Kuldiga District since the 19th century. Paintings, graphics, sculptures and applied art articles are in the Department of Arts. There is a unique collection of playing cards in the branch of the museum “Card Room”. The museum organizes thematic exhibitions of its collections, art exhibitions, and different events.

CARD ROOM
This is the only museum of its kind in the Baltic countries. The collection contains 172 decks of cards from 32 countries and everybody can meet collectionaire Janis Metra and find out the history of playing cards.

THE DISTRICT FROM ACIENT TIMES TILL THE END OF THE 18TH CENTURY
The regular exhibition has the model of the Castle of Livonian Order, articles from the times of Kurzeme – Zemgale Duchy and guilds, an outfit of knight’s tournament, a cannon gun of Duke’s ship and a cup from a King of Cour’s village that has been used by the Swedish king Karl the XII.

 LIVIJA REZEVSKA SCULPTURE MUSEUM
 Mucenieku Street 19, Kuldiga
 Visiting hours
 Wednesdays and Thursdays 11:00 - 15:00
 Fridays and Saturdays 11:00 - 17:00

Working hours
Information center
Library Loan
Reading Room for Magazines and Literature
Public Internet
EU Information Center
Workdays – 10.00 – 19.00
Saturdays – 10.00 – 16.00
Sundays – closed 

Center for Children
Workdays – 10.00 – 18.00
Saturdays – 10.00 – 16.00
Sundays – closed 
On the 30th of each month the library is closed for Cleaning Day!
Working hours in summertime (01.06. – 31.08.)
Workdays – 10.00 – 18.00
Saturdays – closed
Sundays – closed 

The library is carrying out functions of the main library of the region, coordinates work and gives methodological help to 27 public libraries of rural and city municipalities and their employees.

Kuldiga Main Library gives its impact to education, further education, leisure time, and functions as a place of communication for Kuldiga district to be a nice and comfortable place for living, because one of the basic needs for attractive and cozy living is accessibility of information. Therefore the library has its own place in the infrastructure of the town. Its importance is characterized by:
Participation in keeping and creating the local resources (gathering and systemizing the local historic materials, creating data basis for the local history, supplying it for the internet, digitalizing the local press);
 
High level of attendance shows the demand of the library services;
The library guarantees accessibility of information and is a help to official education, self-education;
The library serves as a local center of communication. There are thematic exhibitions there, and people can meet each other at educational events organized by the library.
 
Information on books, newspapers and magazines and other services at the library is in the website http://biblio.kuldiga.lv.
Special importance is paid to implementation of new technologies in the library, creation of information network of libraries, employee education, service improvement, creation of the library as a modern public center of the latest information, education, culture, social communication and the local history.

Kuldiga Town Council is doing activities in order to start reconstruction of the Old Synagogue into the Kuldiga Main Library in 2009. Financial resources will be organized from European Regional Development Foundation (ERDF). Kuldiga Town Council wants to see the correlation of three cultural layers: to keep the spirit of a historic building, without denial of the soviet heritage as well as add a modern content to the building. There will be a remembrance place instead of the old altar place that will be created in cooperation with the Latvian Jewish Parish and Community Council.

MUNICIPALITY AGENCY KULDIGA CULTURE CENTER
Director Inta Burnevica
Address Raiņa Street 21, Kuldiga, LV-3301
Email: inta@kulturascentrs.lv
Phones: +371 63324391; +371 63322201
Ticket sales on the first floor of KCC working days 9.00  – 18.00.   

Kuldiga Municipal Agency Kuldiga Culture Center is working since 01.02.2003. Already for five years the work of the agency has been improved, specified functions carried out: 
- to organize events for recreation, culture, healthy life-style in Kuldiga,
 - to give public services in the fields of culture, cinema, advertising and other public relation areas,
 - to preserve, improve people’s art and cultural values and development of creative processes and other functions within its competency.
 Kuldiga Culture Center owns several premises: Culture House on 21 Raiņa Street, Open Air Stage, and a souvenir kiosk on 3 Liepajas Street. The Concert Hall has 470 seats, there is a Cinema on the ground floor with 56 seats. The Small Hall next to the Big Hall has been restored since June 2006. It gives possibilities to organize rather big events.
 
The local culture groups of Kuldiga Culture Center in 2008:
Choirs
 o Chamber Choir “Rāte” 
 o mixed choir “Ventava”
 o youth mixed choir „Meloss”
 
 Dancing groups
 o Dancing Group “Venta”
 o Dancing group „Venta“ and school
 o Children’s dance group “Stariņš” (5 groups)
 o Dancing group for middle aged people “Bandava”
 o Dancing group “Kuldīgas seniori”
 
 Theater groups
 o amateur theatre
 o youth theatre group „Focus“ and school, and children theatre group

Applied art groups
 o Applied Art Group “Ķocis”
 o Applied Art Group “Varavīksne”

Fine Arts Groups
 o „Kuldīgas palete“ 

 Folklore groups
 o folklore group “Nārbuļi”
 
Musical studio „Rondo”

Show group “Mammas”

There is a possibility to attend wickerwork courses and weaver’s workshop for charge.
 
There are more than 750 inhabitants of Kuldiga and local municipalities involved in activities in culture groups. 
 The local culture groups have an important role in activities of Culture Center, they give possibilities to develop different talents, to take active participation in the cultural life. The local culture groups take part in more than 300 events per year – concerts, contests, thematic events, theatre performances, tradition nights, people’s art celebrations, Kuldiga town festivals, celebrations in countryside, fairs, competitions, festivals, etc. In Kuldiga, Latvia, abroad.
Kuldiga Culture Center organizes events both free of charge, for charge, movie watching.

E.VĪGNERA KULDIGAS MUSIC SCHOOL
Head Master Maruta Rozīte
Address Smilšu Street 6, Kuldiga, LV-3301
Email: muzikask@kuldiga.lv
maruta.rozite@kuldiga.lv
Phones Head Master 63322114
Office +371 63320256
Person on duty +371 28933026

E.Vīgnera Kuldiga Music School has an important role in the life of Kuldiga culture life as it educates future musicians.
The school has been formed in 1945; today it has piano section, the strings section, the brass section, accordion class, choir class, and section for theoretical knowledge.
The school has been named after Ernests Vīgners since 1989.  The tradition is to have Vīgner Days in January and concerts of graduates that have made a very nice cycle of concerts throughout years.
The Karlis Davidovs International Cello Competition has been organized in the school since 2000 with the support of Kuldiga Town Council, Kuldiga District Council, Latvian Academy of Music. This contest was started in 2000 in order to commemorate a world- famous Russian cellist, teacher and composer, a founder of Russian cello school Karlis Davidovs, born in 1838 in Kuldiga. The 6th Karlis Davidovs International Cello Competition will take place in spring of 2010. 

The tradition of the school is to host concerts of composers, one of the best ones has been the first performance of Reformation Cantata by Ingmars Zemzars in 2004 (performed by Laura Bredike, a pupil of Grade 7 (teacher H.Auziņa), teacher Marta Ozoliņa – organ, Aira Rūrāne – mezzo-soprano).

The school has twinning partners in Europe. The school has hosted music learners and their teachers from Slagels, Denmark, Geetshacht, Germany and Kursenai, Lithuania as well as sent its representatives to perform to its partners.

Graduates - Aira Rūrāne (Kuzmicka), soloist of Latvian National Opera, Guntis Kumačevs, Bandmaster of Latvian Sea Force Orchestra, Andris Grigalis, Headmaster and teacher of Ventspils Music College, Baiba Lasmane (Vēze), Maija Apenīte (Štorha), violinists, Dina Puķīte (Vēze) and Baiba Jūrmale cello players of Liepaja Symphony Orchestra, Artis Rozītis performer of rock group „R.A.P.”, etc.

Children’s choir Cantus has performed very successfully under management of the Main Conductor Maruta Rozite. Children in the age between 9-18 are singing in this choir, pupils of the class of vocalists and instrumental music. The choir has won 8 international awards, has performed not only in Latvia but also in Europe, the USA and China. „Cantus” celebrated its 40th anniversary in spring 2008 with a beautiful concert in St Catharine Church.
The most important music project of recent years has been carried out together with partners from Germany. „Cantus” went to China in 2007, performed in five cities including Shanghai and Peking for three weeks together with Youth Orchestra of Hamburg-Bergedorf Hansa and Luise Secondary Schools. The initiative for this international Europe – China youth musical project came from Hamburg as a result of creative activities of pupils of Luise Secondary School and Hamburg Music and Theatre High School inviting the choir „Cantus” from Kuldiga. It is a very valuable experience and impulse to future musical and creative development.

Success in China inspired the independent producer Francine Rohllff (Getshacht, Germany), Professor Wolfgang Hochstein (Hamburg, Germany), deputy Dace Reinkopa (Kuldiga Town Council) and Conductor Maruta Rozite (Kuldiga Music School) to organize CD recording and concerts in also Latvia. „Cantus” and the Group of Hasse of Hamburg Music and Theatre High School (Conductor Prof. Wolfgang Hochstein) performed music of the famous 18th century composer Johann Adolf Hasse.

KULDĪGA ART SCHOOL
Deputy Headmaster Ina Ozola
Address Pētera Street 5, Kuldiga, LV-3301
Phone +371 63323463
Email: ina.ozola@inbox.lv

Kuldiga Art School participates in culture life of Kuldiga as well.
Kuldiga Art School is the first step on the way of raising creative personalities. Children from the age of three can learn the basis of visual art. From the age of ten they can take a professional educational programme Visual and Plastic Art, thus getting ready for their future profession by learning such programmes as wood-carving, textile design, computer design, jewelry design, molding, drawing, painting, composition and language of art. Pupils of secondary schools may learn professionally educational programme Photo Design.
Kuldiga Art School is one hundred art schools in Latvia that is included in multi-step art educational system in the country, that is a unique model in Europe. The school and its pupils present themselves in different exhibitions each year: Art Days, Kuldiga Town Festival, mobile exhibitions around town schools and libraries. For more than 10 years pupils and teachers take part in Sand Sculpture Festival in Pavilosta and has twinning partners in Celle (Germany), Kuršenai (Lithuania) and Vindeln (Sweden).

The school has nice traditions: events for training groups in autumn, Christmas, spring, welcome party for the first year, spring carnival, alternative fashion show Emily.
The Art School has been founded in 1978 and can be very proud of its first teachers – painters Peteris Sidars and Anna Metra, Headmaster Valdis Licitis.

There are 11 teachers and 150 children in the school now.