December 2016

THE THIRD OPEN CLASSROOM IN THE MUSEUM OF LITERATURE AND PERFORMING ARTS B&H




During the international campaign 16 Days of Activism against Gender based Violence implemented by TPO Foundation and in cooperation with the Museum of Literature the third open classroom for students of Railway School Centre in Sarajevo. The classroom was moderated by Šejla Šehabović, the Museum director and Zlatan Delić, curator and author of the exhibition ''Razija Handžić's Poetry and Museum''. During all three open classrooms TPO team together with the Museum employees tried to put an emphasis not only on the issue of systematic disintegration of B&H cultural institutions but also to the negative phenomenon of erasing certain names from B&H collective memory that contributed to our society permanently. Students could also visit the Museum permanent exhibition and find more about particularities o the abovementioned exhibitions. Students also asked how it was possible to forget a woman who was a founder of the Museum and one of a few writers in that period.

The moderators tried to explain how patriarchal system functions and marginalizes everything that is not a norm and since women tried to reach art and literary scene from time to time, their creative endeavour was erased and the impression of their non-existence was created. These conversations in the open classroom were the occasion to set up a permanent cooperation with Sarajevo secondary schools whose students were familiarized with the sad fact that the Museum of Literature and Performing Arts, for the first time in its 55 years of work, set up the exhibition about its founder, poetess Razija Handžić. According to that during its work TPO Foundation has been trying to support various educational activities to keep the memories on many B&H female names that left a significant trace in B&H society. This is only one activity in a string of TPO Foundation activities by which we want to draw attention of the official institutions and the public to the way our culture does (not) remember and does (not) honour its deserving women citizens.