On Friday, October 21, 2021, the Sinj Tourist Board, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, the Museum of Cetina Krajina – Sinj, and the City of Sinj, organized two educational workshops for children and adults about traditional hand wheel pottery from Potravlje.
Željko Zrnčić
After last year’s break, and due to increased interest, for the sixth time, several workshops were organized. As in previous years, the workshop for children was held in cooperation with the kindergarten “Bili Cvitak” and Mrs. Ana Glavinović, who assisted Ivan Knezović in making objects from clay. At the end of the workshop, the proud little participants took their handicrafts with them to decorate the premises of the kindergarten. This year, the students of the 4th grade of the Technical and Industrial School of Ruđer Bošković, who participated in the school project Research of Cultural Heritage under the mentorship of Professor Branimir Romac, also joined the workshops.
Željko Zrnčić
Ivan Knezović, who regularly leads these educational workshops, is also among the last to engage in this traditional craft. Traditional hand pottery from Potravlje has had the status of an intangible cultural property since 2013. Accordingly, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia nominated it for the protection of UNESCO.
Željko Zrnčić
It is imperative to preserve this segment of traditional culture and continue living by passing it on to younger generations. With this goal in mind, the Sinj Tourist Board, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, holds workshops on Traditional hand pottery from Potravlje. Due to the large number of participants who wanted to try to make valuable objects and successfully implement all epidemiological measures, the workshops were held from 16:00 to 20:30.
Željko Zrnčić
In the introductory part, Danijela Petričević Banović, curator of the Museum of the Cetina Region in Sinj, gave an interesting and instructive lecture on traditional pottery. This was followed by a presentation and guidance of Ivan Knezović through the stages of preparation and processing of clay to the final pottery. Anyone who expressed a desire and interest could participate in making pottery under his expert guidance. Workshop participants received unique souvenirs personally made by the leader, Ivan Knezović, and the youngest participants received small gifts and gingerbread as souvenirs.
In addition to these workshops, in the musical part of the evening, members of the Association for the Preservation of Heritage of the Cetina Region and KUD Dicmo performed traditional melodies of ojkavica: male and female rera, which is also on the list of intangible heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia.
Željko Zrnčić
You can see the production process and scenes from the workshop below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v=K2Uv-7dhsZc
This workshop is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia. The Sinj Tourist Board genuinely thanked everyone who helped them in the realization of this project.
