The (In)visible Borders Exhibition

The exhibition is mainly themed around borders, which is exactly why each of these associations has tried to pinpoint some of the problems that their members encounter. However, it is also worth noting the collaboration between the cultural institution, the civil society and the unit of regional self-government, i.e. Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.

This is an exhibition without a curator, conceived by the members of the Civic Museum Council, whose aim is to raise the citizens’ awareness about the problems their members encounter in everyday life and work. The said problems pertain to the status of pensioners and the reasons for their non-involvement in the everyday life of our community, the social integration of people with blindness and visual impairments and the devastating impact of waste on our planet. The exhibition also raises the question of our ability to recognise, as a society, the untapped potential and needs of gifted children, and also speaks about the harsh working conditions and the societal perception of workers in creative industries.

The exhibition talks about children and adults who pass “under the radar”, forming an invisible and thus a discriminated part of the community. Besides highlighting problems, the member organizations also propose solutions. The many activities that they implement in their day-to-day operations show a path to the creation of better conditions, opportunities and rights for the individuals and social groups to whom they are dedicated.

According to the words of Sonja Šišić, Head of the Department of Culture, Sport and Technical Culture of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, the Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral is the first Croatian museum to have initiated a process of directly involving the public in its work.

And the fact that this is a great opportunity for Civil Initiatives to enter a cultural institution and speak out about the problems they encounter, as well as about their activities and programmes, is agreed upon by everyone involved in the programme.

The exhibition will feature specially-adapted audio guides for people with blindness and a graphical catalogue adapted for visually impaired persons. The exhibition will remain open until 15 February 2020.

It forms a part of the project entitled Museum of the Future – The Civic Museum Council as a Model for Participatory Management.

The project is being implemented by the Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral, co-financed by the EU through the European Social Fund, and in collaboration with five partners – the Žmergo Association, the Kombinat Creative Collective, the Centre for the Promotion of Talent, the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Association of the Blind, and the Rijeka Pensioners’ Association.