For the next year, the airport will serve as a temporary home for the HPM, which is undergoing restoration following the 2020 earthquake, until the opening of its first permanent exhibition, said HPM director Matea Brstilo Rešetar.
With this exhibition, the HPM aims to highlight "individuals whose work has shaped not only Croatian but also European and global history," she added.
Culture and Media Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek said many international airports featured museum spaces, allowing countries to bring their culture closer to travelers while making their time at the airport "more meaningful and enriching."
This exhibition will teach passengers about Croatian culture, history and identity, she said, expressing hope that it will "remind all visitors of Croatia’s rich cultural heritage" and encourage them to return.
"The idea is for the Museum Zone to remain a permanent exhibition space at the airport, showcasing different segments from the collections of various Croatian national museums," she added.
The ministry co-financed the exhibition with €50,000 and the minister hopes this initiative will inspire other Croatian airports to adopt similar projects.
She said the ministry was working on 14 new permanent museum exhibitions across Croatia in collaboration with national museum directors and restoring 30 museums in Zagreb.
Brstilo Rešetar and Huseyin Bahadir Bedir, CEO of Zagreb International Airport, today signed an agreement formalising their partnership.
An airport should reflect the depth and diversity of a nation's history, said Bahadir Bedir, highlighting that Zagreb International Airport is the only airport in the region to launch such a cultural initiative.
Today marks just the beginning of our collaboration with the HPM, and we look forward to realising more projects that will contribute to Croatia’s global promotion, he added.