October 21, 2019 – On Friday, October 18, 2019, the Sinj Tourist Board, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia and the City of Sinj, organized three educational workshops for children and adults on the topic of ”Traditional Handmade Pottery from Potravlje”. The workshops were successfully held at the Sikirica Gallery in Sinj.
Due to the increased interest, for the fifth consecutive year, several workshops are held instead of just one – and for the next year, several additional workshops for elementary school children from the Cetina region will also be organized.
As in previous years, the children’s workshop was held in cooperation with the kindergarten Bili Cvitak and Mrs. Ana Glavinović, who assisted Mr. Ivan Knezović in creating the clay items. At the end of the workshop, the proud students brought their handicrafts with them to decorate the nursery.
The Ivan Mažuranić elementary school students from Obrovac Sinjski – Han, accompanied by teacher Mrs. Grozdana Filipović – Grčić and Mrs. Ljubica Šakić, and students from the elementary school in Trilj, accompanied by teacher Mrs. Ivana Crljen, also participated in the workshops.
Ivan Knezovic, who regularly leads these educational workshops, is also among the last to practice this traditional craft. Traditional pottery from Potravlje has the status of an intangible cultural property since 2013 and has been nominated by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia for the protection of UNESCO. It is of the utmost importance to preserve this segment of Croatia’s traditional culture and allow it to continue by passing it on to younger generations. For this purpose, the Sinj Tourist Board, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, holds these workshops.
Everyone who expressed their desire and interest could participate in the workshops under the expert guidance of Mr. Knezović. Due to a large number of participants who wanted to try their hand at creating these items, the workshops were held from 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Workshop participants were given unique souvenirs made personally by Mr. Ivan Knezović, and the youngest attendees were given small gingerbread cookies. The musical part of the evening featured members of the Association for the Preservation of the Heritage of the Cetina Region and KUD Dicmo.
You can learn more about the pottery in the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v=gSVxHTm7feM
The Sinj Tourist Board sincerely thanks everyone who helped them in the realization of this project and the Sikirica Gallery for providing the space.