Sarajevo Museums observe International Museum Day and the European Night of Museums

The Historical Museum has many exhibits, including the permanent displays: Open Depot, Photo Depot, 15 Years and Jim Marshall’s Shelter. There is also the exhibit by the Sombor City Museum, Memory Box, which looks at the life of a Jewish family and Between Fascism and Anti-fascism: In 11 Acts.

Nova Akropola and the Historical Museum of BiH have prepared an exhibit, Please Touch, for the blind and visually impaired at 12:00 p.m. and consists of smaller replicas of famous and lesser known pieces from archeological collections in BiH and around the world. There will also be 25 pieces representing BiH’s cultural-historical heritage. All of the items on display will include information in Braille and large print.

The Museum of Sarajevo annexes will mark the day by preparing various programs: Despić House offers an exhibit dedicated to Zorka Janjić and there will be an accordion concert at 7:30 p.m.; Museum Sarajevo 1878-1918 is preparing an exhibit about Dušan Marinković; Brusa Bezistan has the exhibit, How They Painted Themselves, featuring self-portraits of BiH artists; the Jewish Museum presents its exhibit, The Upright Among Men and aa concert of the Music Academy students at 07:00 p.m., and the interior of Svrzo House offers a fine example of residential architecture in BiH during the Ottoman period.

The National Gallery has its permanent exhibit, Intimacies of Space, as well as an exhibit of photographs, Sarajevo: An Incredible City, Incredible Writers, An Incredible Photographer, by Milomir Kovačević Strašni.

The Olympics Museum will be working that night from 9:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. and visitors are sure to collect plenty of memories during their tour of the facility, led by an expert guide. There will also be a film screening.

Gazi Husrev Bey Museum will be showing a documentary on Gazi Husrev Bey’s life, the establishment of his endowment and the overall influence he had on the development of society. Gazi Husrev Bey’s Library Museum will have items on display that look at Islamic art/calligraphy, education, religious life, ethnology and the library during the war.

The Museum of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide 1992-1995 has prepared an exhibit entitled, A War Criminals Personal ID, which contains personal items that belonged to war criminals from the last war in BiH, as well as information on their respective crimes and punishments. How Does One Touch Truth? looks at the Sušica prison camp and includes a model of the camp, personal items belonging to victims and testimonies of survivors. The sculpture, Sarajevo, is a work by Swedish artist Annica Stiernlöf and is dedicated to the children killed during the war. All of the exhibits and works will remain on display permanently after the special museum event.

On May 20 and 21 the War Childhood Museum will hold workshops for children: The Magical World of Hedgehog’s Little House, Mosaic of Peace (collage making), Making Peace Together (origami and Chinese paper cutting), What Can We Make From Gypsum Plaster? and Heroines of Peace (comic strips).

Gallery 11/07/95 is a memorial gallery with multimedia installations that aim to preserve the memory of the Srebrenica tragedy. In addition to its exhibits, the gallery also runs films: Srebrenica Memorial Film, Miss Sarajevo, The Siege of Sarajevo and 10 Minutes. In order to mark the day, the gallery’s working hours will be 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

As in previous years, The Old Orthodox Church Museum will be preparing a varied program, from exhibits to concerts, and the Museum of Literature and Performing Arts offers a bilingual audio guide to go along with its permanent exhibit on the history of literature the performing arts in BiH. It also offers a poetry reading by: Ferida Duraković, Marko Vešović, Goran Simić, Adisa Bašić and Šejla Šehabović.

The Ars Aevi Museum of Contemporary Art will present part of its modern art collection with music performance; the Sevdah Art House Museum is dedicated to sevdalinka, traditional urban lyric songs, and their famous interpreters.

Those who visit Bosniak Institute will be able to see the permanent exhibits of paintings, In the Focus of the Collection, Green Salon (artwork by Mersad Berber) and Watercolors (works by Ismet Rizvić). A concert of Svetlana Chlaidze and Yevgeny Xavierref will be held at 19:00h.

Vijećnica Museum offers the permanent exhibits, Sarajevo Vijećnica Revisited, which tells the story of Vijećnica’s nearly two-decade-long renovation, and Sarajevo 1914-2014, which discusses life in Sarajevo during that century.

The Sarajevo Brewery Museum and the Sarajevo War Tunnel (Tunnel of Hope) will observe International Museum Day with their own Doors Open Day, concerts, performances and exhibits Books in the war and War flags of BiH Army. There is also the Museum of Alija Izetbegović, a facility dedicated to the life and work of the first president of an independent BiH.

If you would like to find out more about our museums and their concepts, be sure to read the Guide to Sarajevo Museums and refer to the calendar of events to learn more about the permanent exhibits and new museum programs.