Museum in the Pot, Barbershop Museum, Grgurevo: Požega Eco-Museum – Pros and Cons

Požega kao grad koji obiluje kulturnom baštinom i kreativnim ljudima zaslužuje da se barem razmotri ideja ekomuzeja kao načina suvremene muzeološke interpretacije koja počiva na zajedništvu s cijelom zajednicom. Činjenica je da su projekti koji prelaze okvire uobičajenog muzejskog djelovanja i razmišljanja u našim sredinama kratka daha. Razlog tome, sudeći po Muzeju u loncu (neuobičajenoj interpretaciji nematerijalne kulturne baštine putem okusa i mirisa zaboravljenih jela), ali i Muzejskoj brijačnici, čija se ideja zasniva na oživljavanju postojećeg muzejskog predmeta in situ (namještaja i opreme brijačnice s početka 20. stoljeća), jest problem muzeja da se uza svoju ustaljenu djelatnost i postojeće probleme teško nosi s organizacijskim i zakonskim ograničenjima i zahtjevima takvih muzejskih projekata. Po tome se čini logičnim postaviti sudbinu tih dvaju projekata u okvir djelovanja jedinstvenog ekomuzeja koji će pokrenuti zajednicu oko samoodrživog modela prezentacije duha i nekadašnjega načina života grada. Ako njima dodamo još i običaj Grgureva, koji se u novim uvjetima drastično i bez kontrole mijenja gubeći uporište u zajednici koja ga sve manje doživljava kao dio svojeg identiteta, o Ekomuzeju Požega vrijedilo bi ozbiljno razmisliti.Being a town rich in cultural heritage and creative people, Požega deserves at least considering the idea of opening an eco-museum as a way of modern museological interpretation, resting upon togetherness with the entire community. The fact however remains that unusual projects, which exceed the boundaries of ordinary museum operation and way of thinking, cannot take root in communities such as ours. Judging by the cases of the Museum in the Pot (an unusual interpretation of nonmaterial cultural heritage by the means of the taste and smell of the forgotten dishes) and the Barbershop Museum (the idea of which rests upon reliving an existing museum exhibit in situ – furniture and equipment of an early-20th-century barbershop), the principal difficulty lies in having to deal with additional organizational and legal limitations and demands parallel with the regular ongoing museum activities and existing problems. Hence, the problems arising from these two projects might potentially be solved by forming a unique eco-museum, which could gather the community around a selfsustaining model for presenting the spirit and the traditional way of life in the past. Additionally, due to the new conditions, even the Grgurevo custom has become drastically changed and poorly managed. It has thus lost its identity and strength in the community, which has ceased to regard it as a part of its identity. Consequently, Požega Eco-Museum should be seriously considered