The return of Slovenian emigrants and their descendants to Slovenia after 1990
Exhibition on view from: October 26, 2023 to January 23, 2024, The lobby of the Knights’ Hall
Exhibition Curators: Barbara Kočevar, Stella Cavalleri in Sebastian Korenič Tratnik.
According to unofficial estimates about half a million Slovenians and people of Slovenian origin live outside the borders of the Republic of Slovenia. About 130,000 of them constitute ethnic minorities living in the regions directly bordering Slovenia in Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Italy. Some were born in Slovenia and then moved abroad, some have never been to Slovenia, some have visited once and some visit regularly. There are also some who have decided that Slovenia will (again) become their home – the so-called ‘returnees’.
The exhibition presents a concise overview of emigration from the Slovenian ethnic regions from the 19th century onwards. It highlights major historical events that influenced its course and places the life stories of ‘returnees’ of different generations at the centre of the exhibition. Each story provides a unique perspective on life as an emigrant and the return to the homeland or the homeland of one’s ancestors, thus revealing different chapters in the history of Slovenian emigration.
The exhibition was made possible by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.
