The exhibition was conceived and curated through a mentorship process led by the War Childhood Museum in collaboration with three organizations dedicated to social inclusion and fashion — Dress Again (Italy), ESPERO Atelier (France), and ANKAA Project (Greece). The starting point of this process was a workshop held in Sarajevo in September 2025, during which the partners jointly developed the exhibition concept and storytelling approach, reflecting on how each city could host the traveling collection with its own identity — while maintaining the same goal: fostering empathy, understanding, and new perspectives on migration.

Personal Stories from Around the World

Handle With Care — a traveling exhibition — presents 30 garments and 18 personal stories, accompanied by sketches, drawings, and creative documentation produced throughout the process. “Through this exhibition, we wanted to show that every piece of clothing can carry experience, memory, and a story about the search for belonging. Each fashion creation follows the search for a place that could be called home,” said Adna Muslija, project mentor.

The personal stories and testimonies of project participants from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria, Senegal, Gambia, Ukraine, Syria, and other countries also served as the narrative and conceptual foundation of the presented fashion collection, developed through a collaborative creative process that combined professional tailoring skills, ethical storytelling, and the use of recycled and previously used materials.

Paris, Athens, and Faenza

The traveling exhibition Handle With Care was first presented in Paris in March this year at the Maison des Réfugiés. The opening also featured a fashion show formally presenting the collection. The exhibition was later opened in Athens in April, as well as in Faenza at the Galleria Comunale d’Arte, where the exhibition was accompanied by a theatrical performance inspired by the collection and exhibition itself.

The mentorship process developed and implemented by the War Childhood Museum throughout the project draws on the institution’s long-standing experience working with personal testimonies, trauma, and memory. The methodology built through working with stories of those whose childhoods were shaped by war was transferred into the context of migration and social inclusion — affirming that fashion, like personal objects, can carry memory, identity, and dignity.

TexTALES is co-funded by the European Union through the Creative Europe programme. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The program featured a screening of Escape from Farida by Palestinian filmmaker Yahya Alsholy, followed by an online conversation with artist Murad Al-Assar, whose works are currently on view at the Museum. Joining live in Sarajevo, artist Hamada Elkept shared insights from his creative workshops with children in Gaza.

Gaza Biennale – Sarajevo Pavilion: Artistic Resistance and Solidarity

This temporary intervention within the Museum’s permanent exhibition is part of the Gaza Biennale—a global movement of solidarity with Palestine. Founded in 2024 by artists in Gaza in collaboration with the Forbidden Museum, the Biennale enables artistic voices from Gaza to resonate across the world through its wings (أجنحة), or pavilions, in cities such as London, Durban, Padua, Istanbul, Berlin, and Toronto.

Due to the ongoing occupation and genocide, the original artworks could not leave Gaza. Instead, Bosnian artist Danilo Kreso recreated the pieces for display in Sarajevo.

Palestinian Art at the War Childhood Museum

At the War Childhood Museum, these works enter into a dialogue with the permanent collection—personal objects that reflect children’s lived experiences of war. Similarly, the works of Alsholy and Al-Assar foreground powerful perspectives on violence, forced displacement, famine, and psychological warfare through the eyes of children, amplifying their voices and offering artistic witness to those who most need protection.

The artworks will remain on view in the Museum’s permanent exhibition until November 7.

Perspectives on Growing up in Post-Conflict Societies

Under the guidance of BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Elhum Shakerifar, participants aged 18–28 explored personal experiences of peace, conflict, and identity using their mobile phones as creative tools. In Sarajevo, the War Childhood Museum worked with mentor Mirza Ajnadžić to guide five young creators: Almir Agić, Hanan Alić, Demijan Ćatić, Luna Nur Jusupović, and Marko Pešikan.

The resulting films present perspectives on growing up in post-conflict societies, the legacies of war, and visions for a more peaceful future. Together with contributions from Derry and Bradford, they form a cross-border dialogue on memory, resilience, and activism.

The Exhibition as a Part of Bradford City of Culture 2025

Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director of Bradford 2025, said that as one of the UK’s youngest cities, a City of Sanctuary, and a newly designated Cultural City of Sanctuary, Bradford is the ideal host for Here We Stand.

“Throughout our year we’re spotlighting Bradford’s dynamic youth culture, radical spirit and international connections. This exhibition sits at the intersection of history, identity, and creative expression — reaffirming Bradford’s position as a city of peace, protest, and innovation.”

Amina Krvavac, director of the War Childhood Museum in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that in a world that continues to repeat the mistakes of the past, this exhibition reminds us that peace is not a passive idea, but a choice we make every day.

“By reflecting on identity, conflict and memory through their own lens, these young creators offer us both a warning and a vision: a future shaped by empathy, courage, and accountability.”

The exhibition runs until August 31, 2025 at Loading Bay in Bradford. Entry is free.

Activities are underway across Europe. Through tailoring workshops in Italy, France, and Greece, migrants are working with professional designers to co-create a sustainable clothing collection. Each piece will carry a personal story—turning garments into narratives of migration, identity, and resilience.

As part of TexTALES, the Museum is supporting partners by sharing its ethical and sensitive storytelling methodologies—ensuring participants’ stories are collected and presented with care.

From Sketches to Stories: Workshop in Paris

In May, Museum team members participated in a co-creation workshop in Paris, where members of migrant communities and fashion design students showcased their first designs. 

Adna Muslija, the Museum’s collaborator on the project, shared her impressions:

“In conversations about design sketches and the creative process, it became clear that fabrics—these woven threads that protect us—can also serve as tools in the fight for dignity and rights.”

She added that the Museum’s ongoing role in shaping the multimedia exhibition, which will present the collection across Europe in 2026, is a meaningful extension of its mission: to create space for stories that are too often left untold.

TexTALES Background

Officially launched in October 2024, texTALES is co-funded by the European Creative Program. The project brings together a network of organizations from four countries, each offering different expertise: Farsi Prossimo ODV (Italy), ANKAA (Greece), Espero Atelier (France), and War Childhood Museum (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

Stay tuned as TexTALES continues to unfold.

It was with this goal in mind that the War Childhood Museum created the exhibition “Speaking Out” in 2021, entirely co-created with women who survived conflict-related sexual violence and children born as a result of war. Since then, the exhibition has been presented to the public in Sarajevo, Mostar, and Belgrade, offering space for dialogue around a topic that too often remains unaddressed.

From Gender Justice to Sustainable Peace

The most recent edition of the exhibition was held from June 12 to 18, 2025, at the European House of Culture and National Minorities in Sarajevo, as part of the cultural-educational program “Women Lead. Peace Follows.” This program accompanied the international conference “From Gender Justice to Sustainable Peace: A 25-Year Vision”, jointly organized by the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United Nations in BiH, under the initiative “Women Lead on the Path to Peace and Security in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” implemented by UN Women, UNFPA, and IOM, with support from the UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). The conference was additionally supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.

Our bodies are not just bodies. They are archives. Maps. They carry stories the world often refuses to hear. Through body mapping, we are not asking for pity. We are asking for truth. For visibility.
— Midheta Kaloper, survivor and co-author of the exhibition

Survivors’ Voices in Public Space

Through personal testimonies, objects, and excerpts from video testimonies, Speaking Out created space for experiences that are rarely acknowledged. At the heart of the exhibition were body maps, created during artistic-documentary workshops, enabling survivors to express their experiences in ways that do not require verbalizing trauma.

These stories are part of us—transferred onto paper so that each visitor may receive a message and a lesson: that these are women of strength who have mapped out their own stories. Sometimes, in life, it is easier to express so much on paper than to speak it aloud—so that visitors may understand the weight and depth of our stories, our pain, our joyful moments, and our struggle.

— Midheta Kaloper

Amina Krvavac, Director of the War Childhood Museum Bosnia and Herzegovina, emphasized that the body mapping methodology, through the use of life-sized body outlines, allows for a space to map pain, memories, and key life events without having to verbalize them.

This methodology offers survivors a chance to reflect on their entire life story. In doing so, they no longer see themselves solely through the lens of having survived sexual violence, nor is their identity reduced to that trauma. Instead, they recognize that they are so much more. It is essential that they find their inner strength and speak about their experiences—because through that visibility, we can all contribute to their fight for justice and against stigmatization.

The exhibition was the result of months of collaboration between the Museum and associations including Forgotten Children of War, Wings of Hope, Psiholab, and individual survivors’ groups. In addition to women’s testimonies, a crucial part of the exhibition focused on the voices of children born as a result of wartime sexual violence—individuals whose existence is still socially marginalized.

Space for Dialogue

The closing of Speaking Out does not mark the end of the need for truth, nor the end of the call to action. On the contrary, June 19 reminds us how important it is to continue talking about conflict-related sexual violence—without stigma, without silence, without turning away.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, systemic support for survivors and children born of war is still lacking. Exhibitions like this demonstrate that cultural institutions play a vital role in recognition, documentation, and opening space for dialogue. They invite us to listen and not to forget.

The exhibition will open on Thursday, June 12, 2025, at the European House of Culture and National Minorities in Sarajevo. It will be open to the public until June 18, 2025, every day from 11 AM to 7 PM.

Personal Testimonies and Body Mapping

As part of the seven-day accompanying cultural and educational program of the conference titled “Women Lead. Peace Follows”, the exhibition “Speaking Out” aims to raise awareness about the experiences and position of survivors and children born of war, and to encourage society to see them as bearers of resilience, knowledge, and strength.

Through personal stories, objects, and video testimonies, the exhibition highlights the everyday challenges these individuals face. Its content is the result of months of documenting experiences and conducting body mapping workshops, during which women used the language of art to convey their life stories.

Survivors’ Perspectives in the Public Space

The opening of the exhibition represents an important step toward greater recognition of the perspectives of women who survived conflict-related sexual violence and children born of war, as well as toward creating space for dialogue, empathy, and justice.

The conference is jointly organized by the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United Nations in BiH as part of the initiative “Women Lead on the Path to Peace and Security in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, implemented by UN Women, UNFPA, and IOM with support from the UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). The organization of the conference is also supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.