The Cronaves Association, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, organized an exhibition called CROATIA, HOME OF THE SEA. The Association was founded to deal with the promotion and preservation of Croatian maritime heritage. There are three heads of forms of work. The first is the organization of the presentation of heritage at international festivals (Brest, Morbihan, Sete...). The second is the organization of the Days in Bay festival in Stari Grad on the island of Hvar, which is increasingly taking on a serious national and international form. The third form is the organization of photo exhibitions either as part of a manifestation or as an independent event. All exhibitions have in common the recognition of Croatia as a country with a long and valuable maritime tradition. The authors of the exhibition are members of the Cronaves association: Andrina Luić, Boško Lučev, Vislav Torre and Dubravka Pajk.

A few years ago, young people in Malinska decided to contribute to the protection and preservation of traditional values and heritage. Among other activities, they were particularly interested in traditional boat building and sailing. First of all, they built the interpretation center DUBOAK in the best location in the center of town by the sea. In surounding area of Malinska, there are very high-quality oak trees that have been a source of economic activity for centuries. They try to translate the magic of oak into an interesting story. The enthusiasm of the mentioned people and meaningful contribution to the tourism business were recognized by the local authorities and provided financial resources for the realization of the project. Several years of the corona crisis gave them time to build the necessary infrastructure, so now they are in the initial years of full activity. They take the saying "there is room for improvement" seriously and try to implement it as quickly as possible. Valuable collaborators in this and several other projects were found in the Cronaves association. So last year they participated in the Dani u Vala festival in Stari Grad on Hvar, and this spring in the sea festival in the Morbihan Bay in France. Several more joint events are planned.

Curator Bruna Kocijan spoke about the exhibition, and Boško Lučev spoke about the CRONAVES association and the exhibited photographs. The director of TZO Malinska-Dubašnica, Daniel Manzoni, informed the attendees about the 5th show and regatta of traditional boats "Homo na jidra", and the municipal mayor Robert Anton Kraljić declared the exhibition open. Also present were Željko Skomeršić (interpretation center Krk), Franko Kraljić (shipyard in Malinska), Nataša Badurina Cvelić (Board of interpretation center Malinska).

The photos from the opening are the work of the head of the interpretation center, Dino Buljat, who allowed them to be published, so I thank him. You can see more from the opening on the official website of the DUBoak center.

All photos from the exhibition CROATIA, HOME OF THE SEA