Sarajevo works on the White Room project

[Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina]

Report by Ms. Azra Genjac, the City of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The City of Sarajevo, in cooperation with its partners, is currently working on the White Room project. The idea for this project came from parents gathered in the Association of Murdered Children in Besieged Sarajevo in 1992-1995, during which around 1,600 children were killed. This memorial room will be located near the Monument to the Murdered Children of Besieged Sarajevo, forming a whole, and it is a unique example of museum practice in the world.

The memorial White Room will be decorated as a children’s room filled with objects, toys and other exhibits donated by the parents of the murdered children. It will have its permanent exhibition, but also a historical part about the siege of Sarajevo.


Photos: Courtesy of the City of Sarajevo

Many difficult stories are contained in the objects that are collected and which will find their place in the White Room. Children’s drawings are a special story, created in the war and talk about how much art helped them cope with everyday trauma.

This room, designed to show a sudden cessation of childhood, will convey strong message that indicates what the parents have gone through by losing their loved ones during the siege of Sarajevo. This room will serve as a reminder of what happened and be a warning to everyone that no child should be killed again.