Private Museums: Zagreb is a Hub for Innovative, Unusual, and Different Museum Concepts

Twice a year, on January 10 and May 2, World Laughter Day is celebrated, and this year, on the Friday before the most depressing day of the year, the third Monday in January, a laughter museum named HaHaHouse was opened in Zagreb. The idea for the opening of this museum came to founder Andrea Golubić, as she says, spontaneously, by observing people nearby, random passersby, and our everyday life that seems negative and filled only with problems.

– I wanted to contribute in the opposite direction, to show that there is always a reason to laugh; that as a society we should not forget to laugh and find joy in small things. Shortly after the idea was born, I expanded the team and HaHaHouse began to take tangible shape – Golubić tells us, adding that the main message of the museum is that laughter is the best medicine.

HaHaHouse is thus the latest, twenty-fourth private museum in Croatia, and also the first laughter museum in the world. According to the Croatian Museum Act, a private museum is defined as ‘a museum whose founder is another legal or natural person’, as opposed to a public museum which is a non-profit legal entity founded by the Republic of Croatia, local and regional self-government units, or a legal entity in their ownership, as explained to us by the Museum Documentation Centre (MDC), where a total of 171 museums are registered.

New and Unseen

While all of them enrich the cultural scene and offer something ‘new and unseen’, one Croatian museum has not only stood out in the domestic market but also on a global scale. Of course, the story of private museums would not be complete without the Museum of Illusions, which is why we contacted the president of the company Metamorfoza behind it, Teo Širola, while preparing this article. The museum has more than 55 locations worldwide, and that number is constantly growing. Their success, Širola emphasizes, lies in the combination of an innovative concept that merges education and entertainment, a recognizable visual identity that they continuously work on, and smart expansion strategies.

– We also strive to be flexible, both in business and in the content of each location, which we adapt as much as possible to ensure that visitors always receive a unique experience – explains Širola, who confirmed to us that their museums are extremely profitable, which is one of the reasons for the high interest in franchising this concept and why they decided to step into the role of investors and operators.

– In addition to ticket sales, we strive to diversify revenue through sales in museum shops, special events, and additional content, which we are constantly working on to offer visitors even more – notes Širola, adding that expansion is always in focus, especially wanting to be in major world metropolises. They are now planning to expand into new markets, including those on two continents where they are not yet present, as well as enhancing existing museums with new exhibits and additional content.

While some, like the Museum of Hangovers, utilize interactive programs based on artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies that allow for personalized experiences for visitors, as well as simulators that further enrich the interactive aspect of the museum, others go in the completely opposite direction, like the Museum of Forgotten Stories.

– We are completely focused on the analog experience of the world. The objects, graphics, puppets, and scenes are made of wood, plaster, and textiles. They have their own texture, smell, and visual expression through which we communicate with the audience. Forgotten folk tales and their characters are stored here as if in a grandmother’s old attic, and all we need to touch them is a little imagination – they explain from that museum.

Diversity and Freshness

Golubić, on the other hand, says that HaHaHouse has an application that scans the facial expressions of visitors. This measures the incoming and outgoing amount of ‘joy’ during the visit to the museum. – Within the museum, we also have an exhibit called ‘Interactive Pictures’ which consists of three large screens connected to some external object, through which the visitor influences the image displayed on the screen. We also have our version of a photobooth that takes a picture of the visitor and produces a personalized caricature that the visitor can directly send to their email or one of their social media accounts – explains Golubić, who says she is extremely proud of Zagreb for becoming ‘a true hub for opening innovative, unusual, and different’ museum concepts.

What other private museums exist in Croatia, how they secured funding for their operations, and what makes them unique on the cultural scene can be found in the printed and digital edition of Lider.

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