Murals for Mura! 

In May 2018, as a part of the ‘Save Mura’ campaign the Museum of Madness, in partnership with the local artist Saša Bezjak, organized the ‘Murals for Mura’ activist art action in Sladki Vrh, Gornja Radgona and Radenci—villages through which the river Mura flows. 

The introduction to the art action was dedicated to raising awareness of what the Mura is and what its values ​​are; we watched the documentary Mura – Faces of the same river. There was also a discussion with nature conservationist and river activist Andreja Slameršek about the fight for the river. She talked about the procedures for obtaining documentation for the construction of the dams, about the threats she receives as an advocate of free-flowing rivers, about the state’s concealment of information regarding the dams, and the role of the courts in enforcing rights for animals and humans.

Renowned artists Anka Krašna, Ana Pečar, Andreja Džakušič, Aleksandra Farazin, Iva Tratnik, Keiko Miyazaki, Milan Ketiš and Saša Bezjak painted ‘free-flowing Mura River murals’ on the outer surfaces of buildings in the municipalities of Šentilj, Gornja Radgona and Radenci. Anka Krašna’s painting offered a blunt and dark vision: behind the eight-meter high hydroelectric dam, a dead Mura would lie. The Japanese painter Keiko Miyazaki, who lives and works in Slovenia, explained her reasons for participating in the Mura campaign: “Sometimes we forget that we humans are part of nature. We cannot control nature. The only way is to respect her and live in balance with her.”

The aim of the art campaign was to raise locals’ and decision-makers’ awareness about the necessity of preserving the Mura from the dams. 

Check out the Museum of Madness and the Murals for Mura!