A thematic exhibition in which we explore the influence of women in our community through two intertwined perspectives: the invisible, everyday one and the one that has been declared exceptional. The question that guides visitors through the exhibition route is how much we recognize these subtle influences when they are woven into the routine of everyday life, social norms and expectations – how much attention do we pay to what is present but invisible?
At the same time, we question how exceptionality is built from the seemingly ordinary, and how much we can recognize exceptional in what is everyday and imperceptible.
The exhibition reveals the delicate links that shape our world, inviting visitors to reflect on the interweaving of these threads – what we value ourselves, and what is determined as exceptional through a social prism.
Through multimedia displays and interactive elements, visitors will pass through the space of everyday life where the visible and the invisible, the ordinary and the extraordinary intertwine, and discover new dimensions of women’s presence and influence in our society.
This exhibition in a public space invites visitors to walk its route together with the authors, as a kind of symbolic journey through the invisible threads that connect our lives. It is inherently invisible, just like many of the contributions we explore – and we invite people to interact and discover these hidden things, learning how the everyday can be just as transformative as what we find extraordinary.
COLLECTED PERSONAL STATEMENTS OF CITIZENS ABOUT THE INFLUENCE OF WOMEN:
When I came back to consciousness, I felt gentle hands supporting me. In front of me stood a woman, in her late forties, with a slight smile on her face. She didn’t hesitate for a moment – she helped me get off the bus, walking by my side, step by step. Even though she didn’t know me, there wasn’t shadown of doubt in her eyes, only deep concern.
ART REFLECTIONS ON THE SUBJECT:
Author: Ira Andrea Potnar
Author: Lorena Mijatović
Author: Agata Divković
EDU CORNER:
Caregivers often remain in the shadows, their unpaid care and efforts are not always seen, which makes them a symbol of gender disproportion in society.
According to the report of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), women in Croatia spend almost 20 hours more per week on unpaid work compared to men. These activities include caring for extended and immediate family, children, neighbors and household chores, which points to persistent traditional gender norms that shape women’s daily lives and make their work often invisible in the wider social context.
HONORING A PROFESSION AND A WOMAN WHO IS CONSIDERED EXCEPTIONAL IN THE FIELD:
One of the professions in which women make up the majority is nursing. This traditional female profession, which relies on caregiving, is often perceived through the prism of gender stereotypes. More than 90% of nurses in Croatia are women, which raises the question of why caring for others and health care is perceived as an exclusively female task.
The first nurse who defended her doctoral thesis in the Republic of Croatia was Assoc. Ph.D. Nada Prlić, professor, 2009. With the topic: Quality of life and resocialization of patients after a stroke in Osijek Baranja County (2009)
TASK FOR VISITORS:
Stop for a moment and think about the women in your life who have taken care of you. What were their ambitions and talents? Write to us!
Would you like to discover what’s hidden in the other stations? Click here.
The exhibition was organized with the support of KGZ Vladimir Nazor and MO Šestinski dol-Vrhovec, MO Jelenovac, MO Bartol Kašić and MO Ban Keglević as part of the project “Social health?” which is co-financed by the Office for Associations of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the European Union as part of the CERV program – “Citizens, Equality, Rights, Values”, and is implemented by the association Ocean of Knowledge and as part of the project “The story of HER”, which is financed from the European Solidarity Corps program, and it is carried out by the volunteers of Ocean of Knowledge.