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There a quite a few interesting places in Zagreb, Croatia, that would be worth visiting, if you ever find yourself here – these are some of my recommendations.

Museum of Broken Relationships

The idea for the museum was conceived by Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić – recognizing that most of our life events are marked with rituals and ceremonies, but that such a ritual is misssing when it comes to ending a relationship. They asked people to share their break-up stories and donate an ‘artefact’ of the ended relationship. The idea was a huge success – the museum has amassed a vast collection of stories and objects, toured the world with the travelling show, and won the Kenneth Hudson Award for the most innovative museum in Europe. The objects on display vary from teddy-bears to axes, from wedding dresses to shattered mirrors. The stories behind them and the break-ups are often complex, moving, or even shocking – this exhibition leaves nobody indifferent.

Within the museum there is a charming coffee-shop where you can relax after seeing the show, and a gift-shop with unusual and funny souvenirs.

Lauba

Situated in a former factory, Lauba – People and Art House, exhibits the works of the younger and middle generation Croatian artists, and also serves as a laboratory for art experiments and a place of cultural innovation. This is the best place to get acquainted with the current Croatian art scene. The non-permanent exhibition changes monthly, featuring a large number of artworks, and is accompanied by workshops, lectures, artist talks and film screenings. It is also possible to watch the artists as they create their works or set up their exhibitions.

Lauba is open from 3-11 PM, and the coffee-shop at the entrance is a cool place for relaxing before or after visiting the show.

Medika

Yet another former factory, squatted a couple of years ago and turned into a meeting place for people of various interests. Within Medika, there are two galleries – the Grey gallery dedicated to graffiti, underground and street art, and Jogurt, which shows the works of young contemporary artists. Medika also hosts several festivals throughout the year (for example, Vox Feminae – Ladyfest Zagreb), as well as numerous music gigs of various genres, from dubsteb, reggae, and blues, to heavy metal. There is a very well-equipped library as well as a weekly flea-market, improvised cinema and studio space, garden in which a group of enthusiasts is growing vegetables, a space for multimedia experiments, and numerous workshops in which you can learn everything from computer science to circus skills.

Booksa

A coffee-shop for book lovers, near the centre of the town, with a great variety of local and international newspapers, magazines, and comic books. On an almost daily basis there are book-related events – book club, discussions, quizzes, talks with guest writers from Croatia and abroad, creative writing workshops. There is also a weekly French book club, French Wednesday. In the evenings you can enjoy acoustic sets by indie bands.

Muzungu

What makes this coffee-shop special is not just its lively and energetic interior, but also the fact that this place is dedicated to promoting fair-trade. It serves exclusively fair-trade coffee, and in their shop you can find hand-crafted objects and Bead by Bead jewellery from Africa. In the evenings there is live music – usually indie, jazz, or folk music by local bands, and stand-up comedy shows. Muzungu also gives local artists a chance to show their work on the walls, and organises charity/humanitarian events.

Greta

Greta is a recently opened gallery on the main street in Zagreb. It has already become very popular, due to their weekly rotation of exhibitions, interesting choice of artists and artworks, and openness to experimental art, installations and performances. This is the place where you can see the more edgy and thought-provoking works and meet a lot of interesting people. It is a very welcoming and fun place, and exhibition openings at Greta usually turn into parties that last until late into the night.

Studentski Centar

A place where you’re guaranteed to find a lot of interesting things is definitely Studentski Centar (Student Centre). The main building contains a students cafeteria/restaurant, a cinema, and a large venue where several annual festivals (arts, crafts, photography, music, and film festivals), exhibitions, and many music gigs take place. In the surrounding buildings you can find a gallery which shows young and contemporary Croatian artists, a theatre, and a coffee-shop. This is the place where you can get free dance lessons, attend photography and art workshops or participate in an art project yourself, listen to an interesting lecture, watch an art film, or simply attend a party in the evening.

Photo from last year’s Organ Vida photography festival

There is still time to take part in Papergirl Zagreb – the deadline is 1 June. Take a look at their blog to find out how to get involved.

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My Creative Scene is an insight into different creative & cultural happenings in cities where your members and readers live. Browse through more insider guides here or contact us to write about the arts scene where you are.

1.  CHCH 220212 Type Branding Poster Project
Behance
Peter Godkin

Both a call for collaboration & a creative response to a natural disaster, the aim of this project is to bring the World’s attention to the continuing problems of the People of Christchurch. The intention is to show support not only to the general public, but to fellow creatives in Christchurch as well. See updates on the project here.

2. Papergirl Zagreb
Twitter – @PapergirlZagreb
Ivana Rezek

If you aren’t familiar with Papergirl, it is a project that seeks to bring art to the community in a new, exciting and participatory way; directly and freely by bicycle. It happens in cities all over the work. Papergirl Zabreb are currently looking for your art to spread around the streets of Croatia’s capital.

3. Sketch a Day
Facebook
Artist

Hoping to inspire a year of drawing, the artist is on a mission to create a sketch a day throughout 2012 and is encouraging input from the public.

4. Smile Project
Behance
Marek Wysoczynski

Originated in Poland, this project is calling for your smiles. The idea is that people from all over the world submit their “autograph” in the form of an image of their smile, the smiles will then be exhibited in Children’s hospitals globally.

5. 28 Drawings Later: February Drawing Challenge
Facebook
Victoria Evans

This is a drawing challenge and social networking project created by Visual Artist Victoria Evans. The result iss an evolving, month-long, participatory online gallery which encourages everyone, artists and non-artists alike, to see what might happen if they made time to draw every day for a month.

Do you have a project that needs creative input? Let us know in the comments below.

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See more Top 5′s selected from the network here.