Professor Balthazar, an animated genius who has touched the hearts of millions of children, has a special connection with Rijeka. It was the appearance and atmosphere of this city that served as the inspiration for Balthazar Town, where the good professor lives and comes up with his inventions. This is what makes Rijeka the perfect location for the first large-scale exhibition dedicated to Balthazar, where the professor will feel right at home.

The exhibition will open to the public on Saturday, 24 October, and will adhere to all measures implemented by the National Civil Protection Headquarters, which is why it will take place from 10 am to 5 pm.

Due to the limited number of people of that are allowed in the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art at the same time, 250 free tickets for the exhibition opening will be made available and can be collected from Friday, 16 October, at the City of Rijeka Info Centre (RI-Info, 18 b Korzo Street).

The exhibition will be held outdoors in the form of a large magical playground designed to encourage active visitor participation. The artefacts have been sourced from numerous archives in Croatia and abroad – for example Scandinavian countries, where the cartoon was quite popular. Examples of episodes of Professor Balthazar being shown to prisoners as a rehabilitation tool have also been documented. In terms of the layout, the exhibition has been envisioned as a city with all the accompanying features, such as streets, buildings, traffic lights and squares, with artefacts that reference certain episodes of the animated series. Numerous installations at the exhibition facilitate interaction, and completing easy or slightly more complex tasks, such as riddles, or setting Balthazar’s inventions and machines into motion, takes visitors further through the exhibition.

This allows friends of the professor, big and small, to take a peek under his hat and discover his many secrets, which were hitherto familiar only to the residents of Balthazar Town.

Professor Balthazar was a Croatian animated series produced by Zagreb Film from 1967 to 1978. It consisted of 59 episodes that were 5-10 minutes long, and it remains the most successful project of the Zagreb School of Animated Film to this day. The character of Professor Balthazar, a friendly scientist who uses his imagination and positive energy to solve the problems of his fellow townspeople, was conceived by Zlatko Grgić (HR) and was voiced by Pavao Štalter (HR). The series became very popular and was also a big hit abroad.

Željko Luketić (HR) is the curator of the exhibition, while the Brigada Studio from Zagreb designed the exhibits and created the visual identity of the exhibition.

Tickets for the opening are available for five time slots between 10 am and 5 pm on Saturday, the opening day of the exhibition. All visitors are required to wear protective face masks when entering and browsing the exhibition area. The exhibition area will also be disinfected after each of the five scheduled tours in order to ensure the safety of the next group of visitors.

OPENING HOURS
Tuesday – Friday: 12 pm – 7 pm
Saturday – Sunday: 10 am – 5 pm

Recommended time of arrival for organised groups of school children: 9 am – 12 pm
Free guided tours for the public: every Wednesday at 5:30 pm, sign-up in advance via e-mail required
Group visit and guided tour information and bookings: balthazargrad@mmsu.hr