Museum of Moravian Slovakia in Uherské Hradiště

A cheerful, playful and dynamic exposition where you can have a first-hand experience of Moravian Slovak traditions.

This year, the ethnographic exhibition on Moravian Slovakia was opened. The exposition is subdivided into several sections, which are mutually interlinked and intertwined. The visitors thus can make use of this new interactive exposition to learn about the life, popular traditions and customs of people in Moravian Slovakia.

Three-dimensional exhibits are complemented with multimedia elements such as animation of selected dioramas, short movies or interactive tests focused on the knowledge of ways of life in this part of the country. An electronic database offers the visitors about 1800 archive photographs from the Museum of Moravian Slovakia, video recordings of selected demonstrations of folk culture, and audio recordings documenting the characteristic music styles and communities in all Moravian Slovak subregions. The new architectural solution is fully interlinked with folklore culture. The angular furrowy sleeves of woman’s garbs were the inspiration for creating a lamella parametric structure. Here the visitors can become involved in the atmosphere of today’s Moravian Slovakia by the Welcome at Slovácko short movie. A brief slideshow with several slides describes the individual subregions including the typical music background provided by the most remarkable interprets in these subregions.

When, back in 2011, we became candidates for designing the Moravian Slovak Museum, we had an idea of a cheerful, colourful exposition full of music and movement, as those were our feelings from that region full of folk garbs and traditions. However, the tender was awarded to the architect Kutálka, who, at the first sight, seemed to have a different approach, a calmer, more traditional one, and also more controversial. As it tuned out during the implementation, our first impression was only partly correct. Indeed, the concept of the exposition is based on the contracts of dark background and colourful folk garments, traditions, customs, clothes and festive events, with an avant-garde architectural solution of the entrance area, but the feeling of cheerful and dynamic exposition is still delivered.

The exposition is subdivided into to main parts

The space containing two principal sections includes a futuristic entrance area with a colourfully  backlighted white parametric structure concealing the ceiling and the walls, into which large projection surfaces are inserted. This enables the visitors to obtain an idea about the individual regions of Moravian Slovakia, their people, garbs and traditions by means of projection with selectable topics. The main exposition hall is conceived as a long rectangular scene, in the middle of which two-side exhibition cases are dominating, while the peripheral walls are occupied with scenographic platforms (figures in garbs or with tools, as well as other exhibits, with a large-format background enlivened by projection and appropriate sound). The scenography is thematically arranged in order to contain not only the garbs in all the areas, but also frequently used crafts and typical celebrations from the spring to the winter, which can be encountered in Moravian Slovakia.

Interactivity plays an important role

Thanks to a generous space of the main hall, the visitors have an opportunity to make a stop at each of the platforms and read or listen about the details, touch the objects and replicas, even try them out, without standing in the way of anybody else. On the other hand, the glassed exhibition cases present examples of precious local skills, which must not be omitted. The colourful contents of exhibition cases, garbs and exhibits is further underlined by black floors, walls and ceilings, creating a contrast that multiplies the significance of their contents.

The implementation team delivered an excellent job

The result works positively on the visitors who, leaving the exposition by passing through the futuristic entrance area once more, usually perceive its impression as a calming one. As always, it is impossible to please everybody, but it is certain that the entire implementation team delivered one of our successful jobs.

Kateřina Soukupová, MPlus spol. s r.o.

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