Map of Memories: A Polyphony of the Unspoken

The project brings together 179 memories, each connected to a different location in the city. These memories make no distinction based on the age, gender, education or social status of those sharing them. The voices of young and old, workers and professors, mothers and children, immigrants from different periods and long-standing local residents stand side by side. Each voice remains distinct, yet together they create the polyphony of a city.

The project does not seek out only beautiful or entertaining stories. Like life itself, it also encompasses accounts of loss, loneliness, pain, violence, social inequalities, differing customs, injustice and pivotal moments in people's lives. Some memories are tender and inspiring, others humorous and entertaining; some are deeply moving, while others appear entirely ordinary. The aim of the project is not to create an idealised image of the city, but to reveal life in all its complexity.

It is through these stories that the values shaping a community come to light — sometimes through their presence, sometimes through their absence. They speak of trust and betrayal, belonging and exclusion, courage and fear, love and loss, mutual support, friendship and family. They invite us to reflect on the people we once were, the people we are today and the people we wish to become.

For Maja Pegan, collecting memories is not simply a way of exploring the city; above all, it is about connecting with people.

One of the greatest privileges in life is being entrusted with someone's story. When someone shares a memory, they give us more than a piece of information about the past. They give us a part of themselves. Such conversations remind us of how vulnerable we are as individuals, and how important mutual support and the awareness that we are, in fact, one community truly are.

Polyphony as Plankton

The project's title draws on two images that speak of the same idea: the individual as part of a community.

Just as polyphony in music emerges from numerous independent voices that come together to create a composition, a city is also made up of the stories of its inhabitants. At the same time, the project draws a parallel with plankton — a tiny, almost invisible world of organisms that sustains life throughout an entire aquatic ecosystem. As a city on the banks of the Drava River, Maribor carries this symbolism too. Just as a world of plankton exists beneath the surface of the river, beneath the surface of everyday life lie the stories, experiences and memories of the people who shape the city's identity.

The installation in the Minorite Church consists of numerous Petri dishes, each containing a QR code that takes visitors to an individual memory. Every dish contains a single point of light, representing one voice, one story and one life experience. The church is deliberately immersed in darkness, allowing these points of light to appear like tiny organisms within the space. Each light is small and fragile, yet together they form a living, interconnected organism: a community.

Visitors move among them, exploring the stories of people who have chosen to share a part of their lives. Through these accounts, they discover not only the city itself, but above all the people who inhabit it. The exhibition thus becomes a space of encounter between storyteller and listener, past and present, and strangers who may never meet, yet are connected through the same city.

The choice of the Minorite Church is deliberate. For centuries, this has been a place dedicated to bringing communities together. The project, too, is founded on the belief that despite our differences in age, faith, political views and ways of life, we are connected by a shared history, a shared space and the ability to listen to one another.

A Polyphony of Memories is therefore more than an exhibition about Maribor's past. It is an invitation to listen, understand and connect. Each memory is a small fragment of a greater whole. While seemingly insignificant on its own, together these memories reveal the city as a living organism.

An Archive for the Future

All collected memories will be permanently preserved at the Regional Archives Maribor (Pokrajinski arhiv Maribor), where they will remain as testimonies of our time for future generations. They are not intended to represent a definitive history of the city, but rather a collection of human voices through which future generations will be able to understand how people lived and thought.

Content Classification

Each QR code features a colour-coded label indicating the subject matter of the memory. Content marked in red is not recommended for children under the age of 12.

Accompanying Programme

12 January 2027, at 5 pm
Breathing Exercises with Mojca Kasjak and the Polyphony of Memories

14 January 2027
Remembering with Maja – A conversation over tea

19 January 2027
Remembering with Maja – A conversation over tea

Credits

Project creator: Maja Pegan
Technical direction: Monika Pocrnjić and Gašper Bohinec
Technical support: Anika Oder
Public relations: Anika Oder
Graphic design: Beti Trstenjak

Co-producers: Maribor Puppet Theatre and Minoriti Cultural Quarter
Co-financed by: Municipality of Maribor

A Message of Gratitude

"Dear storytellers, thank you for entrusting the community with your memories. Without your voices, the Polyphony of Memories would not exist."

Exhibition Opening

Thursday, 17 December 2026, at 5:30 pm

On the opening day, the exhibition will remain open until 8 pm.

Exhibition Opening Hours

The exhibition will be open from 17 December 2026 to 22 January 2027, Thursday to Sunday, from 5 pm to 8 pm, as well as from 21 to 23 December 2026, also from 5 pm to 8 pm.

The exhibition will be closed for the holidays on 24, 25 and 31 December 2026, and 1 January 2027.

Admission is free.