Croatian Intangible Cultural Heritage on UNESCO Lists
Opening: 6 December 2023 | 18:00
Exhibition Duration: 6-20 December 2023
Hours: 9:30-17:00 Tuesday-Sunday
Living tradition, knowledge, skills, creativity, beauty, diversity, continuity, handing down from generation to generation, pride, a feeling of identity, respect, inclusiveness, the permeation and inseparability of tangible and intangible culture, understanding, community, dialogue, communication with others, with nature and the universe and, above all, love – for without love and enthusiasm all the messages and meanings embodied deep within the complex phenomena of intangible cultural heritage would be superficial and less comprehensive. By recognizing and emphasizing our intangible cultural heritage, we encourage positive feelings in a particular sphere towards family life, the community, our culture and nation. By understanding and highlighting the creativity of our own community, we understand better the creativity of others and the richness of diversity, which is the prerequisite for intellectual respect and dialogue. With this internationally acknowledged selection of its intangible cultural heritage, Croatia has affirmed itself as a small country with creative people, culture and natural wealth. This description of various cultural traditions, with support of the Ministry of Culture and Media, shows the desire of local communities to continue to emphasize their ancient heritage, which is always living and fresh, and affirm publicly their cultural and national identity. The variety of spheres and ways in which individual elements appear is a witness to the deep interweaving of traditions in contemporary community life, whether small or large, urban or rural. In a world of globalized standards, these treasures of traditional culture emphasize the need to continue valuing and respecting our heritage, as bequeathed to us by our parents, and which we will pass on to our children. To admit that each of us is special and unique is to acknowledge the creativity and creative potential of individuals and communities. With UNESCO’s acknowledgement of this exhibition we have begun, gently, to open the treasure chest of our intangible cultural heritage, so that the world and other cultures may see and enjoy it, for it is with them that we will contribute to a richer, fuller life for the children of tomorrow.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage by the General Assembly of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Ethnographic Museum is proud to present its longest-running and most visited contemporary travelling exhibition "Croatian Intangible Cultural Heritage on UNESCO Lists ". The exhibition was created in 2011 by the Ethnographic Museum in Zagreb at the initiative of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia and was realized thanks to the results of the long-term work of a whole range of experts who have been researching and safeguarding traditional knowledge and skills in cooperation with local communities and holders. It has achieved great success by visiting a total of 46 locations in 15 countries on 4 continents (Croatia, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, France, Lithuania, Poland, Malta, Bulgaria, Australia, Canada, China and Turkmenistan) and attracted more than half a million of visitors. In 2023, it was redesigned and continued to travel after a three-year hiatus caused by the global pandemic. Its last stop in the current year is on the beautiful island of Cyprus, where it will be hosted by Museum CVAR in Nicosia from 6th to 20th December.
To date, the Republic of Croatia has successfully inscribed 21 cultural phenomena on UNESCO's lists as part of independent (total 16) or multinational (total 5) nominations. The selection of intangible heritage for inclusion on UNESCO's lists is based on special forms and criteria, and the inclusion
process includes expert evaluation and preparation of documentation at the Ministry of Culture and Media in cooperation with holders of intangible heritage, external experts, the Croatian Commission for UNESCO and the Commission for intangible cultural heritage. The phenomena are represented on all three lists:
- Lacemaking in Croatia
- Two-part singing and playing in the Istrian scale
- Festivity of Saint Blaise, the patron of Dubrovnik
- Spring procession of Ljelje/Kraljice (queens) from Gorjani
- Procession Za Križen (‘following the cross’) on the island of Hvar
- Traditional manufacturing of children’s wooden toys in Hrvatsko Zagorje
- Annual carnival bell ringers’ pageant from the Kastav area
- Gingerbread craft from Northern Croatia
- Sinjska Alka, a knights’ tournament in Sinj
- Bećarac singing and playing from Eastern Croatia
- Nijemo kolo, silent circle dance of the Dalmatian hinterland
- Klapa multipart singing of Dalmatia, southern Croatia
- Mediterranean diet
- Međimurska popevka, a folksong from Međimurje
- Art of dry stone walling, knowledge and techniques
- Falconry, a living human heritage
- Festivity of Saint Tryphon and the Kolo (chain dance) of Saint Tryphon, traditions of Croats from Boka Kotorska (Bay of Kotor) who live in the Republic of Croatia
- Lipizzan horse breeding traditions
- Ojkanje singing
- Community project of safeguarding the living culture of Rovinj/Rovigno: the Batana Ecomuseum
- Tocatì, a shared programme for the safeguarding of traditional games and sports
The exhibition affirmatively presents all 21 phenomena through photographs (from documentary field recordings, through material recorded by the heirs themselves, to professional recordings in studio conditions), accompanying texts and a QR code with which the visitor can access the
nomination film on the official UNESCO YouTube channel, while a sound backdrop woven from ten traditional songs performed by the LADO Ensemble is reproduced in the space.
Author of the exhibition // Matija Dronjić
Concept // Iris Biškupić Bašić
Visual identity and design // Ana Katurić
Collaborators // National Folk Dance Ensemble of Croatia – LADO., Tanja Augustinović, Mirjana Baban, Lidija Bajuk, Vidoslav Bagur, Pavo Begovac, Ina Bobnjarić Kostelac, Mario Buletić, Melanija Belaj, Joško Belamarić, Marina Blagaić Bergman, Marina Božić, Tomislav Brguljan, Mario Buletić, Marina Burić, Silvija Butković, Dejan Buvač, Rut Carek, Naila Ceribašić, Joško Ćaleta, State Stables Đakovo, Filip Đinđić, Nerina Eckhel, Ekomuseum Batana, Ethnographic Museum of Istria – Museo etnografico dell'Istria, Mihael Ferić, City of Lepoglava, City of Vrlika, City of Zagreb, Boris Filipović Grčić, Mirela Habek, Tatjana Horvatić, Croatian Fraternity Bokeljska Mornarica 809, Croatian Falconry Association, Croatian Pljočka Association, Croatian Tourist Board, Hvar Diocese, Institute For Ethnology And Folklore Research, Istrian Pljočka Association, Vesna Ivanović, Mateja Janečić Miketić, Vedran Janić, Ivan Jurin, Ileana Jurin Bakotić, Alan Kanski, Klara Kašinar, Željko Kveštak, Janja Kovač, Miran Križanić, Mladen Kuhar, Karolina Lukač, Marija Marjan, Dario Marušić, Emilio Menđušić, Marija Mesarić, Marija Mihaljević, Karlovac Museums, Museum of Đakovo Region, Koprivnica Municipality Museum, Museum of Slavonia Osijek, Museums of Croatian Zagorje, Međimurje Region Museum, Museum of Sinjska Alka, Lidija Nikočević, Tamara Nikolić Đerić, Renata Nizek, Maja Nodari, Municipality of Marija Bistrica, Municipality of Viškovo, Kristina Opačić Vrućina, Viktor Šegrt, Tomislav Štrok, Krunoslav Šokac, Žarko Španiček, Filip Šrajer, Posavska Hrvatska Weekly, Istria Tourist Board, Kvarner Tourist Board, Sinj Tourist Board, Jelsa Municipality Tourist Board, Pag Tourist Board, Marija Bistrica Municipality Tourist Board, Association Matapur, Association Dragodid, Nikola Uzun, Snježan Varović, Viškovo Municipality, Zorica Vitez, Stjepan Večković, Monika Vrgoč, Zagreb Tourist Board, Association of Croatian Cultural and Artistic Associations of Međimurje County, Tvrtko Zebec
The exhibition project "Croatian Intangible Cultural Heritage on UNESCO Lists" was made possible thanks to funding from the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia and the City of Zagreb, and is carried out in cooperation with National Folk Dance Ensemble of Croatia – LADO.
