EXHIBITIONS
& COMMUNITY

MINERS’ MEMORIES

Exhibition / Community Initiative

Labin Municipal Gallery, Croatia, 2008

With participation of former miners and members of their families: Mladen Bajramović, Sergio Baskjera, Ibrahim Čizmić, Špiro Dmitrović, Sergio Faraguna, Senad Hujdurović, Hasnija Karlović and the ERA Student Theater Workshop, Ahmed and Elmasa Kavgić, Karla Kravanja, Denis Licul, Branka Lovrin, Vaso Majinović, Marijan Milevoj, Mara Mrđanović, Marijan Nikić, Željko Radeljević, Beco Redžić, Dušan Saviž, Leona Štemberger, Josip Štemberga, Kristina Tenčić. Modelling workshop: David Smithson.

The exhibition Miner’s memories was conceived in collaboration with former miners and members of their families; it dealt with the local history of coal mining as well as with the present conditions of former mining community, whose last coal mines closed down at the end of the 1990s. The exhibition was an attempt to empower the community to engage with their heritage as well as to tackle some actual social issues.

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At the time the project was initiated, almost all historical mining sites had fallen into neglect and were left to ruin, as if the community was ashamed of its own past. Yet Labin district played an important role in the history of the workers’ movement. The very first organized antifascist revolt took place here. The uprising of Labin miners against the Italian fascist movement which took over local authorities broke out in 1921, when the Labin Republic (or Miners’ Republic as it was known) was established. It lasted for 40 days, after which it was quashed by military force. Later, during the period of Yugoslav socialism, Labin mine workers once again became a strong driving force of society and a symbol of workers’ resistance, foreshadowing the collapse of the Communist regime with their massive strike of 1987. With the project Miners’ Memories we wanted to address the issue of the neglect of industrial and cultural heritage related to the local history of coal mining. In the project’s media archive we collected documents, photographs, and testimonies of former miners. We produced four video documentaries that record the testimonies of the key events of the mining community: the closure of the coal mine, the strike of 1987, and the current living conditions of retired mine workers, along with the dramatic text “Once upon a time” written by a mine worker in the 1960s. Through the exhibition we were able to open up a discussion on the social and infrastructural problems in the community of the former miners, as well as to raise the awareness of local people about the preservation of inherited heritage and social values. The aim of the project was to create a platform through which former miners could take part in shaping the local discourse related to the topic of mining. The question posed was, is this partially industrial and partially socialist heritage to be secured and pay respect to, and how. The project developed through workshops where community members interested in joint work were able to creatively prepare their contributions for the exhibition but also propose, among other things, ideas for monuments and markings at a number of sites of historical significance. In the region of Labin there are several cultural non-for-profit organizations which research into and work with local industrial heritage, so this very project should be placed within that context. However, in the time Miners’ Memoriestook place, there were no initiatives that would actively involve former mine workers, which later was the case. The material collected within this project was later transformed in a didactic installation piece “Short History of Mining”.

CREDITS
Project team: Sabina Salamon, curator, Kristina Tenčić, curatorial assistant, Mladen Bajramović, curatorial assistant, David Smithson, modelling workshop, exhibition set up.
Publication: Rudarska sjećanja, edited by Sabina Salamon and Kristina Leko, Labin Municipal Gallery, 2010.
Cooperation Partners: Elementary School Labin, ERA Student Theater Workshop.
Supported by: The Municipality of Labin, Cultural Office to the City of Zagreb, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia.
Photos: exhibition views: Kristina Leko, archive photos: Mario Fonović, and private archives.

GENRE&FORMATS
Project: participatory-documentary and communication art project; research; community project; project with specific social groups; multimedia exhibition (expanded documentary cinema). Artwork/s and artifacts: workshops and public discussions; multimedia installation environment including video documentaries, photographs, texts, drawings, sculpture, objects, memorabilia, furniture.