Dzimuši brīvībai fox sculpture by Aleksandrs and Oļegs Marinohs, Lastādija, Riga, Latvia
Dzimuši brīvībai
Aleksandrs and Oļegs Marinohs with Dzīvnieku brīvība · “Dzimuši brīvībai” (Born for Freedom), sculpture, 2020 · Vilhelma Purvīša iela 17 (formerly Turgeņeva iela 17), Lastādija, Riga, Latvia
Photo as published on Street Art Utopia; photographer not named. A cropped copy of the same picture is in Design You Trust’s post of 25 January 2021, also without a credit
In December 2020 a giant fox appeared on an old brick building in Lastādija, a creative quarter in Riga. Sculpture student Aleksandrs Marinohs made it with his father Oļegs and the animal rights group Dzīvnieku brīvība, whose members and volunteers wove its coat from metal wire and hemp cord. Called “Dzimuši brīvībai” (Born for Freedom), it speaks for animals kept in cages on fur and factory farms. Street Art Cities last marked it as seen in July 2026.
5 things to know
- A student and his fatherDiena and TVNET reported that the fox is the work of Aleksandrs Marinohs, a third-year student in the sculpture bachelor programme of the Art Academy of Latvia, made together with his father Oļegs. TVNET names Professor Aigars Bikše as his teacher. In 2023 the Lastādija quarter, where he is a resident, called it his diploma work. Diena · TVNET · Neighborhood
- A coat woven by volunteersThe fox is made of steel, sailors’ hemp rope and glass. For several months more than 100 members and volunteers of Dzīvnieku brīvība wove its coat from thousands of pieces of metal wire and hemp cord, Diena reported. Diena · Dzīvnieku brīvība · Street Art Cities
- Made against fur farmingThe group says it is the first sculpture in Latvia for animals locked up on industrial farms. When it was made, fur farming was banned in more than 15 European countries but still allowed in Latvia, where Diena counted 10 fur farms with about 580,000 mink, foxes and chinchillas, citing the Agricultural Data Centre. Dzīvnieku brīvība · Diena
- Black at first, then redderAnna, the coordinator of the Lastādija quarter, told Neighborhood in 2023 that the fox “used to be rather black, but then, under the influence of the sun, it turned red”, and that the quarter is now known as “the place with the fox”. Neighborhood
- Meant to stay until 2027TVNET reported in December 2020 that the fox “will be on view until 2027”, and Street Art Cities repeats the date. The street has changed its name since then: in February 2024 Riga City Council renamed Turgeņeva iela as Vilhelma Purvīša iela. TVNET · Street Art Cities · Likumi.lv
Check-in guide
- 📍
- In the courtyard of number 17 in the Lastādija creative quarter, Riga. The 2020 reports give the address as Turgeņeva iela 17 (TVNET, Diena); since 24 February 2024 the street has been called Vilhelma Purvīša iela (Riga City Council decision).
- 🧭
- The Maps button opens the coordinates on the Street Art Cities marker (56.9423162, 24.1202358). OpenStreetMap puts the building at Vilhelma Purvīša iela 17 a few metres away.
- 🦊
- The fox climbs over the corner of a low whitewashed brick building, as the photo above shows. Expect a redder coat than in this early photo (Neighborhood).
- ❔
- Street Art Cities last marked it as seen on 12 July 2026. It was planned to stay until 2027, so check before a long trip.
Sightings
- 202022 Dec
TVNET: fox appears
- 202023 Dec
Diena report
- 202125 Jan
Design You Trust
- 20212 Feb
Jauns.lv round-up
- 202120 Jul
Dzīvnieku brīvība review
- 202129 Oct
In SAU “Black Fox”
- 202318 Aug
SAC: marker added
- 202325 Oct
Neighborhood: turned red
- 202612 Jul
SAC: last seen
- 20268 Oct
In SAU “These Foxes”
Every stamp links to the dated source. All stamps are amber: they are reports, listings and reposts, not photos with a known date taken at the site. The two Street Art Cities stamps are the same marker: it was added on 18 August 2023 and last marked as seen on 12 July 2026. The photo above has no published date; the bare trees and the still-black coat fit the winter of 2020–21, and a cropped copy was online by 25 January 2021. The SAU stamps show the same picture again and say nothing about whether the fox is still there.
On the record
Tapis pirmais dzīvnieku aizstāvībai veltītais mākslas objekts Rīgā – milzu lapsa
“Skulptūra Dzimuši brīvībai vēsta, ka neviens dzīvnieks nav pelnījis dzīvot sprostā. Mūsdienu sabiedrībā nav vietas kažokādu industrijai un skulptūra aicina uz drīzām pārmaiņām”
“The sculpture Born for Freedom says that no animal deserves to live in a cage. There is no place for the fur industry in today’s society, and the sculpture calls for change soon.” Katrīna Krīgere, chair of the board of Dzīvnieku brīvība, quoted under the headline “The first art object in Riga dedicated to animal protection has been made – a giant fox”. The article gives the materials as steel, sailors’ hemp rope and glass.
Ko mums vēlas pavēstīt milzīgā lapsa?
“Darbs atrodas Turgeņeva ielas 17 pagalmā, Rīgā, un būs apskatāms līdz 2027. gadam.”
“The work is in the courtyard of Turgeņeva iela 17, Riga, and will be on view until 2027.” The headline asks “What does the giant fox want to tell us?”. The article names the teacher, Professor Aigars Bikše, and embeds the Art Academy of Latvia’s Facebook post of 22 December 2020.
“Monstrs”, garā mediķe, milzu lapsa… Jaunie mākslas objekti Rīgā, ko ir vērts apskatīt
“Decembrī Rīgā, Lastādijas radošajā kvartālā, tapa unikāls dzīvnieku aizstāvībai veltīts mākslas objekts – milzu lapsa.”
“In December, in Riga’s Lastādija creative quarter, a unique art object dedicated to animal protection was made: a giant fox.” From a round-up of new art objects in Riga, with a photo by Mārtiņš Ziders.
Ko mēs kopā paveicām 2020?
“Tā ir 5 metrus augsta lapsa, kuras kažoku no metāla drātīm un kaņepju auklām kopdarbā savija vairāk nekā 100 brīvprātīgo aktīvistu.”
“It is a 5-metre-tall fox whose coat more than 100 volunteer activists wove together from metal wire and hemp cord.” From the group’s review of its year 2020, which calls the fox the first sculpture in Latvia dedicated to animals locked up on industrial farms.
Lastadija: artistic quarter for free spirits
“Interestingly, it used to be rather black, but then, under the influence of the sun, it turned red and became even more fox-like.”
In English in the original. Anna, the quarter’s coordinator, also says the fox is “the diploma work of one of our residents Aleksandrs Marinoha in collaboration with his father Oleg Marinoha” and calls it “the first monument in the Baltics for animal rights”.
The facts
- Artists
- Aleksandrs Marinohs and his father Oļegs Marinohs (Diena, TVNET, Design You Trust, Neighborhood); both are called sculptors in Jauns.lv and Latvia Travel. The surname is also spelled Marinoha (the Art Academy’s post quoted by TVNET, 22 December, and Neighborhood) and Marinokhs (Latvia Travel) Checked
- Student or not
- Diena and TVNET (23 December 2020) say Aleksandrs was a third-year sculpture student and Oļegs is his father; Street Art Cities says the fox was made by “two LMA students of the Department of Sculpture”, and the Art Academy’s first post, as quoted by TVNET on 22 December, called it a joint work of third-year students. We lean towards Diena and TVNET, which name Oļegs as the father, as do Design You Trust and Neighborhood (Diena, TVNET, TVNET, 22 December, Street Art Cities, Design You Trust, Neighborhood) Conflicting
- Title
- “Dzimuši brīvībai” (Diena, TVNET, Jauns.lv, Dzīvnieku brīvība); in English “Born to be free” on Street Art Cities and “Born For Freedom” on Spotted by Locals Checked
- Made
- December 2020: TVNET reported on 22 December 2020 that the fox had appeared, and Jauns.lv dates it to December (TVNET, 22 December, Diena, Jauns.lv) Checked
- Partner
- The animal rights group Dzīvnieku brīvība, which supported the work (Diena, TVNET, Jauns.lv, Latvia Travel, Street Art Cities, Dzīvnieku brīvība) Checked
- Academy
- Art Academy of Latvia (LMA), Department of Sculpture; teacher Professor Aigars Bikše, according to TVNET (TVNET, Diena, Street Art Cities) Reported
- Diploma work
- Called Aleksandrs’ diploma work by the Lastādija quarter’s coordinator in 2023; the 2020 reports describe him as a third-year bachelor student and do not mention a diploma (Neighborhood, Diena) Unconfirmed
- Materials
- Steel, sailors’ hemp rope and glass (Diena, TVNET, Street Art Cities) Checked
- The coat
- Woven by more than 100 members and volunteers of Dzīvnieku brīvība from metal wire and hemp cord (Diena, Dzīvnieku brīvība, Street Art Cities) Checked
- Height
- 5 metres, according to Dzīvnieku brīvība; we found no independent measurement (Dzīvnieku brīvība) Reported
- A first
- The first sculpture in Latvia for animals on industrial farms, according to Dzīvnieku brīvība; Diena’s headline calls it the first art object in Riga dedicated to animal protection, and the Lastādija coordinator “the first monument in the Baltics for animal rights” (Dzīvnieku brīvība, Diena, Neighborhood) Reported
- Place
- Lastādija creative quarter, Riga, Latvia (Diena, Jauns.lv, Latvia Travel, Neighborhood) Checked
- Address
- Turgeņeva iela 17 in the 2020 reports and on Street Art Cities (Diena, TVNET, Street Art Cities); the street was renamed Vilhelma Purvīša iela by a Riga City Council decision of 21 February 2024, in force from 24 February 2024 (Riga City Council decision), and Latvian Wikipedia gives Vilhelma Purvīša (formerly Turgeņeva) iela 17 Checked
- Colour
- Black at first, later turned redder in the sun, according to the Lastādija coordinator (Neighborhood) Reported
- Planned until
- 2027 (TVNET, Design You Trust, Street Art Cities) Reported
- Status
- Seen July 2026: Street Art Cities lists it as active, last marked as seen on 12 July 2026. We found no dated photo taken at the site and no report of removal (Street Art Cities) Reported
Related
- On Street Art Utopia: These Foxes (8 Photos) (8 October 2026), where the photo above appeared as work no. 3, and the earlier Black Fox – In Riga, Latvia (4 photos) (29 October 2021).
- A visit to the Lastādija quarter, the fox’s home, and how it came to be. neighborhood.lv
- Dzīvnieku brīvība, the animal rights group behind the fox. dzivniekubriviba.lv
All sources (13)
This work
- TVNET: “Rīgā parādījusies milzīga lapsa”, 22 December 2020. The fox has appeared; authors Aleksandrs Marinoha and Olegs Marinoha; Art Academy of Latvia post; Turgeņeva ielā 17.
- Diena: “Tapis pirmais dzīvnieku aizstāvībai veltītais mākslas objekts Rīgā – milzu lapsa”, 23 December 2020. Third-year student Aleksandrs Marinohs with his father Oļegs; steel, sailors’ hemp rope and glass; Lastādija, Turgeņeva iela 17; more than 100 volunteers; title “Dzimuši brīvībai”; Katrīna Krīgere’s words; fur farming figures.
- TVNET: “Ko mums vēlas pavēstīt milzīgā lapsa?”, 23 December 2020. Same story as Diena; courtyard of Turgeņeva iela 17; on view until 2027; teacher Professor Aigars Bikše.
- Design You Trust: “An Unusual Art Object – a Giant Black Fox Appeared in Riga, Latvia”, 25 January 2021. Turgenev Street; metal frame and hemp ropes; the Marinoha family, student Alexander and father Oleg; until 2027; a cropped copy of the photo above.
- Jauns.lv: “‘Monstrs’, garā mediķe, milzu lapsa… Jaunie mākslas objekti Rīgā, ko ir vērts apskatīt”, 2 February 2021. Round-up of new art in Riga; the fox made in December in Lastādija; photo by Mārtiņš Ziders.
- Street Art Cities: “Born to be free by Aleksandrs Marinohs, Oļegs Marinohs”, marker added 18 August 2023 by arthouse.goes.hunting, pictures by Laura Ozola. Until 2027; two LMA students; more than 100 volunteers; steel, hemp ropes and glass; Turgeņeva iela 17; coordinates (used for the Maps button); status active, last seen 12 July 2026.
- Neighborhood: “Lastadija: artistic quarter for free spirits”, 25 October 2023. Interview with Anna, the quarter’s coordinator: diploma work of resident Aleksandrs Marinoha with his father; turned red in the sun.
- Latvia Travel (official tourism site): “Riga street art objects and sculptures”, undated. Giant fox in Lastādija by sculptors Aleksandrs and Oleg Marinokhs with Dzīvnieku brīvība.
- Spotted by Locals: “Born For Freedom”, by Zaiga Brača, last updated 7 October 2026. Turgeneva 17.
The partner
- Dzīvnieku brīvība: “Ko mēs kopā paveicām 2020?”, 20 July 2021. The group’s year review: first sculpture in Latvia for animals on industrial farms; 5 metres tall; more than 100 volunteers. Not counted as an independent source.
Records
- Likumi.lv: Riga City Council decision No. RD-24-3408-lē, 21 February 2024, in force 24 February 2024. Turgeņeva iela renamed Vilhelma Purvīša iela.
- Latvian Wikipedia: “Dzīvnieku brīvība”. The fox at Vilhelma Purvīša (formerly Turgeņeva) iela 17, Lastādija.
Our earlier post
- Street Art Utopia: “Black Fox – In Riga, Latvia (4 photos)”, 29 October 2021. Credits the work to “students of the Art Academy of Latvia and organization Dzivnieku Bedriba”. Our own post, not counted as an independent source.
Artwork File · Last checked 8 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files