The Museum of Personal Stories in Osijek is a showcase space for the personal stories of national and other minorities and marginalised groups. It emerged out of the need to reflect the prevailing views and prejudices about minorities in the societies in which we live and work. Through the “I” form, whereby minorities are rarely allowed to express themselves in public space, through photography, objects and documentary video, the Museum of Personal Stories presents narratives in a very different way.
By communicating personally at the Museum of Personal Stories, members of a minority group break out of the imposed framework of folklore or social issues and become the protagonists of the narrative. We use stories to empower them, and from their daily life we create an artistic exhibit which, apart from being recorded, becomes a lasting testimony, a universal object of communication in public and personal space. By discussing universal issues, we enable minority members to break out of generalisation and stereotyping, and we perceive personal narratives as a bridge of empathy. Personal stories are not only empowering for those who share them, but also for those who listen to them. They give us the opportunity to better understand the world around us and open us to people and experiences that we have not yet had the opportunity to feel and experience.