The first ever virtual exhibition using testimonies and artifacts of BH citizens who survived the genocide, was discovered as part of the 25th anniversary celebration.
Bosnians and Herzegovinians around the world submitted their stories, pictures and personal items to create a unique virtual exhibition called Remnants of Genocide . The exhibition was created and organized by British charities Remembering Srebrenica.
The exhibition is one of the highlights of the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial Week, 5. – 12. July 2020, which the charity had to radically change after more than 2,000 events were canceled due to the coronavirus.
Operations Manager of the organization Remembering Srebrenica Arnesa Buljušmić-Kustura, together with event manager Amra Mujkanović, is the curator of the exhibition ‘Remnants of Genocide’, which contains more than 45 stories, paintings, photographs and objects related to war, genocide and its consequences.
She said: “We wanted to tell the story of the Bosnia-Herzegovina genocide using the experiences of the survivors in a creative way, instead of forcing them to recount their traumas in a traumatic way.
“25 years ago, the worst atrocity on European soil since the Second World War took place and it happened in our lifetime, but there is a shocking lack of discussion about genocide.
“This exhibition is a first-hand account that shows the horror of genocide, but more importantly, the stories are personalized, showing that these victims are people with lives ahead of them, with hopes and dreams, and not just numbers and statistics of people killed.”
She added: “This is the first time a virtual exhibition has been made with genocide survivors, but it was a healing process through art.
“The hardest part is reading about really traumatic experiences and coming to terms with the horror that happened in our lifetime, however, offering survivors a platform to share has been very rewarding.”
She added: “We had applications from all over the world, including the United Kingdom, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United States, Austria, and even the United Arab Emirates, and there were so many that we couldn’t include them all.
“However, the beauty of this virtuality is that we can add more objects and stories over the years, it will be a permanent exhibition that will also serve as a learning resource for people around the world.”
Items in the exhibition include poetry, paintings, stories – including a teddy bear that helped give a traumatized child a small slice of normalcy during the war.
The exhibition also includes new paintings by internationally renowned and UNESCO RILA Associated Artists, Robert McNeil MBE and Iain Campbell, who have been working closely with Remembering Srebrenica for several years.
Munira Subašić, survivor and president of the association “Mothers of the Srebrenica and Žepa Enclaves”, explained the importance of the Srebrenica virtual exhibition to ensure that the genocide is never forgotten or repeated. She said: “The 25th anniversary is a painful reminder that we must do everything in our power to ensure that the genocide is not denied and that history does not repeat itself. This exhibition and collection of personal stories are imperative to remember what happened. “Personal memories and objects that remind us of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina should be our guiding light in raising awareness of war crimes and genocide. We owe it to ourselves to let our stories be heard. “
The wide range and variety of personal stories will help ensure that the tragedies in Srebrenica, Sarajevo, Mostar, Prijedor, Foča, Višegrad and elsewhere in Bosnia are never forgotten.
You can view the virtual exhibition at www.srebrenica.org.uk/srebrenicaexhibition.
