SOCRAT Project Concluded with the International Exhibition “Shared Grounds” in Pula
14/07/2026
SOCRAT Project Concluded with the International Exhibition “Shared Grounds” in Pula
On 7 July 2026, the SOCRAT project (Networking Crafts and Contemporary Art for Sustainable Tourism, Interreg Italy–Croatia 2021–2027) celebrated its final cross-border event with the opening of the international exhibition “Shared Grounds” at the Archaeological Museum of Istria in Pula. Organised by the Region of Istria – Regione Istriana, the exhibition marked the culmination of three years of cross-border cooperation dedicated to connecting crafts, contemporary art, cultural and creative industries, and sustainable tourism.
The exhibition brought together the artistic outcomes of the thirteen SOCRAT Creative Living Labs implemented across Croatia and Italy. Visitors had the opportunity to explore works created during the three Creative Living Labs organised in Istria by Filippo Laterza, Michele Giangrande, Staša Doblanović Randall and Rino Banko, together with storytelling videos documenting all Creative Living Labs carried out in the partner regions of Istria, Kvarner, Zadar County, Veneto and Puglia.
The opening ceremony gathered numerous project partners, artists, cultural professionals and representatives of public institutions. Welcome addresses were delivered by Darko Komšo, Director of the Archaeological Museum of Istria, Vladimir Torbica, Head of the Administrative Department for Culture and Heritage of the Region of Istria, and Sandra Ilić, SOCRAT Project Coordinator. They highlighted the importance of cross-border cooperation, the successful collaboration between artists, craftspeople, cultural institutions and local communities, and the project's contribution to developing innovative cultural-tourism products rooted in local heritage.
As emphasised by Sandra Ilić, the exhibition represented the culmination of three years of joint work, during which project partners developed a common strategy, methodology, Action Plan and a series of guidelines supporting the cultural and tourism sectors. These theoretical approaches were successfully tested through thirteen ten-day Creative Living Labs, resulting in new artistic works, cultural products, tourism experiences and prototypes that demonstrate the potential of creativity and heritage as drivers of sustainable tourism.
The exhibition was curated by Stephanie Peršić, Head of the Labin City Gallery, whose concept Shared Grounds explored Istria as a meeting point of diverse cultural influences and demonstrated how local heritage can be reinterpreted through contemporary artistic practice. The exhibition presented the results of the three Istrian Creative Living Labs dedicated to performing arts, textile and fashion design, and ceramics and sculpture, illustrating the dialogue between heritage, craftsmanship and contemporary artistic expression.
The evening concluded at the Historical and Maritime Museum of Istria with the audiovisual performance “Ho-Ruk! Hop-Jan!”, created by Croatian authors Alen Sinkauz, Nenad Sinkauz, Andrea Matošević, Miodrag Gladović and Davor Sanvincenti, together with Italian artist-mentor Michele Sambino, as one of the artistic outcomes of the SOCRAT Creative Living Lab held in Pula in December 2025.
As the final cross-border event of the SOCRAT project, “Shared Grounds” successfully showcased the project's achievements while providing a platform to share knowledge, best practices and lessons learned with a wider audience. Through artworks, storytelling videos, photographs and documentation of the Creative Living Labs, the exhibition demonstrated the lasting impact of the project on artists, cultural institutions, local communities and the development of sustainable cultural tourism across the Italy–Croatia programme area.
The exhibition remained open to visitors at the Archaeological Museum of Istria until 24 July 2026 (from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), offering the public an opportunity to discover the creative outcomes and collaborative spirit that defined the SOCRAT project, which was announced by the President of the Region of Istria, Boris Miletić, during the opening of the exhibition.
Credits: Hassan Abdelghani & Boris Vincek
