The museum raised 50,000 kuna in a crowdfunding campaign.
The future “Image of War” Museum, which is expected to open its doors at 4 Andrije Hebranga Street in Zagreb in July, successfully completed on Tuesday its “Let’s put the war in the museum” crowdfunding campaign, whose goal was to establish the first museum in Zagreb devoted to war photography.
“In just 15 days, we raised more than 50,000 kuna to finance the first exhibition of the new museum, with photographs of war in Croatia presented from the perspective of war photographers, but also through the stories of ordinary people”, announced the museum, which is largely financed from private funds.
The focus of the first exhibition, curated by Sandra Vitaljić, will be on showing the catastrophe which wars bring to individuals and entire societies.
Danilo Gregović, the initiator of the “Image of War” Museum, says this is the first museum in Croatia which will be launched thanks to funds raised through a crowdfunding campaign. “The museum is backed by dozens of our fellow citizens, and their names will be inscribed on a museum wall. We are particularly pleased that the citizens have recognised the humanitarian mission of the museum since part of the revenue will be donated to war victims,” he said.
Through Facebook and Instagram, citizens can send their photographs and stories from the time of war in Croatia. “We want to show how the war affected us all – no matter where we were at the time. Our primary goal is to make our museum a place of dialogue,” explained Gregović.
The 160-square-metre museum will exhibit photographs of top Croatian and international photographers, as well as amateur photographs shot by ordinary people, while part of the revenue from each ticket sold will be donated to war victims. In addition to various exhibitions, the museum plans to actively engage citizens through workshops and debates.
The “Image of War” Museum is an independent initiative that will be realized in cooperation with the War Photography Museum in Dubrovnik and other similar museums in Croatia and around the world.
