Returning home is sometimes not only about returning to the place where you were born. It can also become an opportunity to rediscover yourself, your values and what truly brings joy in life. This is also the story of remigrant and artist Olga Šmagra, known as OlyArt — a story about leaving, living abroad, gaining experience that changed her outlook on life, and returning to Latvia, where her love for painting blossomed once again.
Olga was born in Latvia on 16 August 1994. Her love for drawing began already in childhood — at home, there were always countless sketches and notebooks filled with drawings. During her school years, she attended an art club for two years, which further strengthened her interest in creative work. In 2014, Olga graduated from the Arts Education Competence Centre “Daugavpils Design and Art Secondary School Saules skola”, obtaining the qualification of graphic designer. However, after that, her path in life took her outside Latvia.
In 2016, Olga moved to Ukraine. She spent several years there, built her life and gained significant personal experience. However, this period of her life was not easy. For around five or six years, Olga did not paint at all, going through a difficult stage in her life.
“I had many ambitions and believed that life elsewhere was better than here, at home. Life abroad and marriage gave me a great deal of experience, but it was also there that I experienced the most difficult period of my life. After that, I began to think about returning home,” says Olga.
In 2022, she returned to Latvia. At first, the return happened almost by chance — Olga had come to visit her parents, but this visit turned into staying in Latvia.
“In fact, I came to visit my parents, and it happened that I stayed here,” Olga reveals.
Returning to Latvia became a new beginning. Gradually, something that had brought her so much joy in childhood also returned to her life — art and painting. Today, Olga works with acrylics and describes herself as a landscape painter. Her works are bright, bold and full of energy. They bring together nature, colours, emotions and imagination.
In her artwork, the artist seeks to reflect not only what she sees, but also what she feels. She is especially fascinated by the quiet stories of nature and the connection with the animal world. Olga’s paintings feature characters that invite viewers to look at the world a little differently — to notice details, feel the mood and give in to imagination.
After a difficult period in her life, painting has become an important source of personal renewal and creative expression for Olga. Through her art, she also wants to share this with others, inspiring people not to be afraid of creativity and to rediscover what brings them joy.
“Now I am doing what gives me joy — I paint. I want to pass on to my viewers exactly what I feel — peace. That is what everyone needs now: for everyone to feel at home,” says Olga.
“Feel at Home”
This very feeling is also at the heart of Olga Šmagra’s solo exhibition “Feel at Home”. The exhibition invites viewers to enter a bright and energetic world of nature, feelings and imagination. In the exhibition, nature becomes a space where one can pause from the rush of everyday life, notice something beautiful around them and allow themselves to experience emotions.
The works in the exhibition encourage reflection on home not only as a specific place, but also as a feeling — safety, peace, belonging and the opportunity to be oneself. Olga herself sees her return to Latvia as an opportunity to rebuild her life and do what is important to her.
Her story reminds us that returning home can mean something different to each person. For one person, it may mean family and familiar surroundings; for another, the chance to start a new chapter in life; and for someone else, rediscovering something within themselves that had once been lost. In Olga’s case, it was painting.
Today, she is also developing and promoting her art online, reaching an ever-growing audience and sharing her creative experience.
Olga Šmagra’s, known as OlyArt, solo exhibition “Feel at Home” is on view until 30 September at Daugavpils Palace of Culture, Smilšu iela 92. More about the artist and her creative work: www.olyart.eu