To celebrate World Art Nouveau Day, the Museum “Riga Art Nouveau Centre” invites visitors to experience Riga’s Art Nouveau heritage through animation, architecture, storytelling, and guided exploration of Alberta Street.
The programme centres around the new puppet animation film “Sphinx Alberta’s Smile” produced by Animācijas Brigāde in 2026. Inspired by the book of the same name by Māra Cielēna and Anita Paegle, the film transforms the decorative world of Riga’s Art Nouveau architecture into a living and magical cinematic universe.
Programme Schedule
12:00, 14:00, 16:00
Screening of the puppet animation film “Sphinx Alberta’s Smile” in the Multimedia Hall of the Museum “Riga Art Nouveau Centre”.
The guided tour along Alberta Street will draw attention both to the characters encountered in the film and to other expressive Art Nouveau figures decorating the façades and interiors of the buildings on Alberta Street.
The total duration of each programme, including the film screening (16 minutes) and guided tour, is approximately 75 -90 minutes.
Venue:
Museum “Riga Art Nouveau Centre”, Alberta street 12, Riga, Latvia.
Admission: Participation in the event is available with a valid museum admission ticket. The puppet animation film’s “Sphinx Alberta’s Smile” story unfolds on Alberta Street, one of the finest examples of Art Nouveau architecture in Europe, where sculptural decorations, mosaics, mythical creatures, birds, dragons, frogs, masks, and sphinxes suddenly come alive. When the mysterious stone sphinx Alberta loses her smile, the inhabitants of the street unite to help restore it.
The visual inspiration for the film comes directly from the façades of Alberta Street, especially the legendary sphinx sculptures decorating the building at Alberta iela 2a, designed in 1906 by architect Mikhail Eisenstein. These expressive and enigmatic sculptures are among the most recognizable symbols of Riga Art Nouveau architecture. The sphinx — a mythical creature combining human and animal forms — traditionally symbolizes mystery, wisdom, protection, and hidden knowledge. The sculptural richness of Alberta Street, with its masks, ornamental details, geometric motifs, and mythological imagery, forms the poetic visual language of the film.
The brave dragon Anthony and the clever frog Felicity embark on a daring balloon journey across seas and distant lands, eventually reaching Egypt and the Great Sphinx in search of the secret behind Alberta’s lost smile. Through friendship, courage, imagination, and cooperation, the story reveals the magical connection between architecture, fantasy, and the living spirit of the city.
Following each screening, visitors are invited to participate in a guided walking tour along Alberta Street, discovering the façades, sculptural decorations, mythological creatures, masks, sphinxes, mosaics, and ornamental details that inspired the characters and visual language of the film.
Creative Team of the film “Sphinx Alberta’s Smile”
Director — Dace Rīdūze
Artist — Anita Paegle
Composer — Kārlis Auzāns
Producers — Emīlija Lenkeviča, Dace Rīdūze, Kerdi Oengo-Kuusik
Financial support:
State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia (VKKF),
National Film Centre of Latvia (NKC),
Estonian Film Institute (EFI)
