Latvian artist exhibiting his work at Hopkins District Library

by Zinta Aistars for ADVANCE NEWS
October 22, 2012
Published in Penasee Globe

Natalie Bazan, library director, talking to artist Viestarts Aistars

It may be small, but the Hopkins District Library reaches far and pulls in close. The library often exhibits the work of local artists, and now on exhibit are five works by Latvian artist Viestarts Aistars, of Kalamazoo.

"I'm very pleased to show my work in Hopkins," said Aistars. "This is a beautiful area, and the countryside reminds me of parts of Latvia."

Aistars was born in 1927 in Dobele, Latvia, a small Eastern European country on the Baltic Sea. He immigrated to the United States in the aftermath of World War II, when Latvia was occupied by the Soviet army and the Aistars family was listed for deportation to concentration camps in Siberia, where many Latvians died.

Chicago was Aistars’ first home in the United States, and he enrolled in ...

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To learn more about the artist, Viestarts Aistars, see his work on his blog and on his Facebook page.