Exhibition opening, "Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Life and History in the Encounter of East and West" took place October 3 at University Gallery. The exhibition is organized by Croatian Heritage Foundation - Split Branch and Association for Preservation and Promotion of Traditional Culture in Bosnia and Herzegovina, "Stećak", in collaboration with University of Split and Split-Dalmatia County, under the patronage of Dragan Čović Ph.D., President of Croatian National Assembly and Chairman of Bosnia and Herzegovina Parliamentary Assembly.
Author of the exhibition is father Zvonko Martić (civil society organization), and exhibits from the Ethnographic Collection of the Monastery and Spiritual Centre "Carmel of St. Elijah" on Buško Lake, near Tomislavgrad.
The opening featured HKUD "Lindžo" from Neum and Women's Singing Group from Tomislavgrad.
The exhibition provides sort of overview of Croatian traditional culture in Bosnia and Herzegovina, characterized as both European and Oriental. Depicted in narratives of continuity, starting from the settlement myth inscribed in space, photographs and brief descriptions from collective memory, notable figures of Croatian and Bosnian kings and queens, as well as significant historical events and individuals important for the history and identification of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina are set apart.
The exhibition does not aim to present an idealized inter-ethnic and inter-religious relationship, nor it laments for some lost ideology that longed for unified identity, but rather seeks to demonstrate that life and history of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina are difficult to understand if viewed as isolated in relation to their neighbours and communities.
