Man and Time: The First 100

The new permanent exhibition Man and Time was created to mark the 100th anniversary of the Slovenian Ethnographic Museum. The exhibition is divided into two parts. The first part, subtitled The First 100, is open from 22 June, while the second part, subtitled From Monday to Eternity, will open at the beginning of the year 2024.

In its 100 years of operation, the Museum has collected some 40,000 objects of Slovenian and non-European cultural heritage, testifying to the culture and ways of life from the 17th century to the present day, with the majority of the objects dating from the 19th and 20th centuries.
 
The exhibition presents objects that bear witness to clothing culture, such as the reconstruction of a costume from Valvasor's The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola; they speak of exceptionality, as seen in carved doors from the Poljane Valley; of usability, as testified in the items from an inn from the beginning of the 20th century; of creating in time, such as the Sunflower by the costume designer Alan Hranitelj; of memories, such as an emigrant's suitcase; and of the belonging we feel when we look at a firefighter's uniform. Part of the exhibition reflects Slovenians' encounters with cultures from around the world, including the Laughing Buddha from China and a pair of moccasins, typical footwear of North American peoples.
The SEM has been here for 100 years. And with it, 100 stories of the objects in its treasury.

The authors of the concept and curators of the exhibition: Sonja Kogej Rus, Adela Pukl, MA, and Barbara Sosič.

The second part of the permanent exhibition will examine the human perception of time, exploring different times – working, free, and festive – as well as how time influences the way we live at different stages of our lives, and in different social and cultural contexts.