The Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be open until midnight during the Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF), when Sarajevo becomes a dynamic point on the regional cultural map, following the rhythm of the city and the needs of the audience.
This year, the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrates 80 years of existence and activity, under the leitmotif “Living Museum – Living Museum”.
“This important anniversary is an opportunity to emphasize the importance of the Historical Museum of BiH as an institution that not only preserves and documents the past, but also actively interprets it and puts it in dialogue with today’s society. We remind you that from 1945 to the present, the museum has undergone numerous transformations – from an institution that inherits the national liberation struggle, to a modern museum with a focus on memory, identity, art and social responsibility. In the context of the turbulent history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, this museum has become a space of resistance to oblivion, but also a place of meeting, education and critical thinking, open to different communities and generations. For this reason, the leitmotif “Living Museum – Museum Lives” is also a call to revive and improve the museum,” the museum states.
Among the current exhibitions that the Historical Museum of BiH offers to visitors during the SFF, the permanent exhibition “Besieged Sarajevo” stands out, which brings the experience of everyday life under siege through personal objects, photographs and records. The exhibition “15 Years” presents a visually powerful look at the post-war architecture of Sarajevo through the lens of Scottish photographer Jim Marshall. The exhibition “We, Refugees” deals with the theme of displacement and migration, and “Ay Carmela” examines anti-fascism and the fight against forgetting through an art-historical approach. The photographic series “Antidotes” by Birgit Ludwig also attracts special attention, mapping the spaces of memory and silent traces of loss in Sarajevo, Srebrenica, Višegrad and other places marked by war.
One of the most visited exhibitions at the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the exhibition “Wer ist Walter? Topography of Anti-Fascist Resistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, located in the Museum’s garden. This exhibition maps the key points and foundations of the anti-fascist movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina during World War II – the exhibition explores how anti-fascism was built from below, through collective efforts, guerrilla movements, natural landscapes that became the stage of struggle, and the transformation of local resistance into a broader social and political framework. Through visual materials, stories and a carefully designed outdoor space, the exhibition offers a new, critical topography of resistance.
In the year it celebrates its 80th anniversary, the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina continues its practice of bringing its content closer to a wider audience with extended opening hours during the Sarajevo Film Festival. The extended opening hours until midnight allow the museum to be experienced differently – in the rhythm of the festival, according to the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
