Round table discussion ”Kinč in the exchange of skills of bearers and experiences of stakeholders” on the occasion of the Day of Kinč in Dubrava

On Saturday, October 28, 2023, the event Days of Kinč was held at the Cultural Center of the National University of Dubrava on the occasion of European Heritage Days and the second anniversary of the signing of the UNESCO Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Workshops on the art of making traditional ornaments - kinč were led by members of the Cultural and Artistic Association Magda and Luiza from Madžarevo, the Guardians of Cultural Heritage from Kladara, and the Association of Women of the Municipality of Sveti Ilija from Doljani. A commemorative exhibition was set up with the works of the aforementioned associations, including a Christmas kinč by an employee of the "Old Village" Museum Kumrovec and experts in kinč making Jasna Škreblin and Biserka Krajcar.

This was followed by a round table discussion attended by ethnologists: Professor Petra Kelemen from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Assoc. Prof. Mirela Hrovatin, representative of the Ministry of Culture and Media, and members of the associations as bearers of traditional knowledge of kinč making.

At the beginning of the meeting, the film Palček, ježek i purek was shown, which was filmed in Madžarevo near Novi Marof in 2022. In the film, members of the Cultural and Artistic Association Magda and Luiza demonstrated the making of three traditional crepe paper decorations called palček (flower), purek (stylized cone) and ježek (ball). In the film, ethnologist Tibor Martan presented the results of field research on kinč in the area of ​​the town of Novi Marof.

The curator of the "Old Village" Museum in Kumrovec, Tihana Kušenić, gave a presentation in which she presented the traditional kinch of the Croatian Zagorje region and the way in which this skill is preserved and presented in our unique in situ open-air museum.