The tagline for the powerful new Faces of Hunger exhibition at Zagreb's Ethnographic Museum is 'The well-fed do not understand the hungry', and brings into focus what life is like during times of hunger. It investigates different periods in Croatian and European history when food was scarce, how famine often follows wars or changes in the climate, how it deeply effects the whole of society for generations and, most importantly, how these problems are not behind us.
The show collects testimonies and artefacts from the early 20th century in Zagreb when hunger touched many of its citizens. Including containers of US Army food aid, and sobering photographs of public parks only a few minutes' walk from the museum which had been converted into vegetable gardens to feed hungry people. Additionally, the exhibition explores eating disorders often caused by social pressures, and how they can hit young people especially hard.
The Ethnographic Museum is one of Zagreb's best kept secrets – while you're there, check out the other exhibitions and objects in their collection, including a showcase of traditional Croatian village life, and a genuine suit of Japanese samurai armour.
Tickets are €5 at the entrance. For more information, see the museum website.
Where: Trg Antuna, Ivana i Vladimira Mažuranića. When: Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 10am-1pm. Faces of Hunger runs until May 2.