Carnival Masks at The Best in Heritage in Barcelona
In October, Muze participated in The Best in Heritage in Barcelona, a conference presenting selected examples of recently awarded museum, heritage, and conservation projects.
One of this year’s laureates was the short museum film “Carnival masks” (dir. Miroslav Sikavica), which received the 2024 Museums in Short Jury Award for Best Museum Film. The film is part of the permanent exhibition of the Museum of Bećarac in Pleternica, illustrating how bećarac, recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, shapes all aspects of local community life, including the festive period of Carnival. The Museum of Bećarac and the film “Carnival masks” were presented by creative director Mirna Draženović and project manager Mateja Kuka Brkić, who were involved in shaping the museum’s permanent exhibition and were responsible for artistic direction and content development.
The Barcelona conference created opportunities for networking and the exchange of knowledge, experiences, and examples of good practice among professionals from diverse cultural and heritage institutions.
Around 40 projects were presented at the conference—projects that raise standards of excellence in the heritage sector and that were awarded in the past year by prominent organisations recognizing positive developments in heritage institutions, with emphasis on social and technological innovation, digital transformation, community engagement, and sustainability.
Among them were laureates of awards presented by the Art Fund Prize, Museums + Heritage Awards, Kids in Museums, CIMAM, European Museum Forum, Chinese Museum Association, American Alliance of Museums, European Museum Academy, Institute for Museum and Library Service, European Heritage Awards – Europa Nostra, Blooloop, Prix Versailles, Portuguese Museum Association, Council of Europe, UNESCO, ICCROM, and others.
The Best in Heritage was launched in 2002 under the leadership of Prof. Tomislav Šola, initiated by the European Heritage Association, a non-governmental, non-profit organisation committed to promoting professional excellence in heritage-related projects.
The Best in Heritage 2025 conference was held from 22–24 October 2025 in Barcelona, in partnership with the La Caixa Foundation, the Government of Catalonia, and the Barcelona City Council, and under the patronage of Europa Nostra and the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
Participation at the conference was supported by the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia.
