Maja Uskoković, Director of the Maritime Museum of Montenegro, Kotor
The Bay of Kotor between historical memory and contemporary cultural currents
In the heart of Kotor, in the eighteenth-century Palata Grgurina, the Maritime Museum of Montenegro preserves the story of one of the Mediterranean’s most recognisable cultural landscapes. Yet in the vision of its Director, Maja Uskoković, this space has long since transcended the role of a conventional museum institution. Today, it is a dynamic cultural organism – a place of encounter between past and present, local and international, tangible and intangible heritage.
In conversation with “Diplomacy & Commerce Montenegro,” Uskoković speaks of the Museum as a platform for dialogue and cultural diplomacy, of the Bay of Kotor as a space where civilisations meet, and of the maritime tradition that naturally connects Montenegro with Europe and the Mediterranean. In a time of rapid change and global challenges, the Maritime Museum in Kotor remains a guardian of identity, but also an active participant in its contemporary translation – for new generations and for an international audience.
Today, the Maritime Museum in Kotor is not merely a custodian of artefacts but also a space for cultural dialogue. How do you define its contemporary mission?
The Maritime Museum of Montenegro endeavours to keep pace with the contemporary trends in twenty-first-century museology. Museums today are no longer merely places in which objects and historical documents are preserved – they are spaces of encounter, dialogue, and exchange, places where the past converses with the present. The Maritime Museum does not safeguard maritime heritage alone; through publishing, exhibitions, educational programmes, and workshops, we strive to ensure that our visitors are actively involved in the life of the Museum and experience it as a living, approachable space. Given the large number of foreign visitors, many of our publications are bilingual, as we want our publishing output, too, to transcend Montenegro’s borders.
Kotor is a city that lives between its past and tourism. How challenging is it to preserve the authenticity of maritime heritage in an era of mass tourism?
It is indeed a major challenge. Kotor is at once a living city and a world-class destination, and precisely for that reason, we must be especially responsible toward its authenticity. Heritage must not become mere scenery for tourism. It is important to find a balance between openness toward visitors and the preservation of the identity of the space, the spirit of the city, and its history.
Your professional biography is rooted in conservation and restoration. Does that very sense of “saving the traces of time” also shape your approach to managing the Museum?
Absolutely. Conservation teaches you patience and responsibility toward the objects held in the Museum. When you work on the preservation of a single object, you come to realise how precious every trace of the past is, and how easily it can disappear. Leading an institution and managing its operations carries particular weight. As a conservator, I always place the preventive protection of objects above all else, and I probably notice certain things more than directors who do not come from the profession would. The maritime tradition of the Bay of Kotor carries a strong European and Mediterranean identity.
How important is it today for Montenegro to communicate with the Mediterranean precisely through culture?
I believe it is extremely important. The Bay of Kotor has always been a place where different civilisations, languages, and customs meet, and it is precisely in this that I see its particular strength. For centuries, it has been part of the Mediterranean cultural sphere, and its maritime tradition naturally connects Montenegro with Europe and the Mediterranean – not only geographically, but through history, architecture, seafaring tradition, and way of life.
The Palata Grgurina itself functions as an exhibit. What does the daily life of an institution housed within an eighteenth-century historical building look like?
The Palata Grgurina truly is an exhibit in its own right. Working in such a space represents a privilege, but also a great responsibility. In addition to our daily care for the museum collections, we are no less attentive to the palace itself as part of the cultural heritage.
On several occasions, you have spoken of the need to modernise the Museum’s permanent display and to reach out to younger generations. How do you strike a balance between new technologies and the dignity of the historical material?
Technology should be a means, not an end. It can help younger generations to understand history more easily and make the museum experience more interactive, but it must never displace the authenticity of the original object. As in all things, the key lies precisely in measure – using contemporary tools, but with respect for the collections and the space.
It seems the Maritime Museum is increasingly becoming a cultural stage – a venue for exhibitions, concerts, book launches, and meetings. Must the museums of the future be living social spaces?
I believe they must. The Maritime Museum has always been recognised as a cultural hub in the city of Kotor. A museum should not be a closed and silent space that people visit only occasionally. It should live together with the community. Cultural events, conversations, concerts, and gatherings give the museum new energy and enable it to become part of the city’s daily life.
Kotor has always been a port for people from different cultures, languages, and religions. Can maritime heritage today serve as a bridge of dialogue in a divided world?
It can, and I believe that it is precisely in this that its great value lies. Seafarers have, for centuries, connected different shores, cultures, and peoples – from the time of Marco Polo and his journeys along the Silk Roads, right up to the present day. The maritime tradition reminds us that exchange, openness, and encounter are the natural conditions of the Mediterranean, and that the sea has never separated people, but connected them. Kotor, as a city of seafarers, has always had that breadth toward foreigners, because there is scarcely a family in the Bay of Kotor in which someone has not been, or still is, a mariner.
We often speak of tangible heritage, but what about intangible heritage – customs, speech, maritime practices, and the memories of families who lived by the sea?
Intangible heritage is perhaps the most vulnerable aspect of a given space’s identity. Objects can survive for centuries, but customs, language, and memories disappear far more quickly if we do not pass them on. That is why it is important to record the stories of families, maritime expressions, local customs, and the everyday life of people who lived by the sea. One of the latest publications of the Maritime Museum is “Fešta o’ cukra,” a small but valuable edition devoted to the tradition of preparing sweet delicacies in the Bay of Kotor.
Through a blend of cultural heritage and gastronomy, we tell the story of customs, recipes, and a way of life passed down through generations. We have also published a facsimile edition of “Ribarski nazivi na Mulu” (“Fishing Terminology of Muo”) by Don Stjepo Vukašinović (1879-1946). This work from the early twentieth century is a significant source for the study of the language, culture, and life of fishermen in the Bay of Kotor. It is particularly important for its rich vocabulary of Boka expressions that preserve the speech and traditions of the area. These words bear witness to the everyday life of labourers and fishermen, their customs and working methods. The work also reveals the special relationship the fishermen of Muo have with their boats, which they experience as living beings, assigning to every part of the boat a name akin to those of parts of the human body.
In a time of accelerating change and digital routine, are museums becoming places of silence and contemplation that contemporary man increasingly seeks?
I believe so. People today live at a great pace and amid a constant stream of information. A museum can offer a different rhythm – a space in which a person pauses, looks at an object, and feels the continuity of time. Such experiences are becoming ever more precious. Kotor today attracts audiences from all over the world.
What do foreign visitors most commonly identify as distinctive about the maritime tradition of the Bay of Kotor?
To many, it is incredible that the Bay of Kotor, despite its modest size, produced so many captains, ships, and maritime stories connected with the entire Mediterranean and beyond. What fascinates them most is the combination of a small space and a great maritime history.
To what extent do cultural institutions in Montenegro have the support to think long-term, strategically, and internationally?
Culture often operates between enthusiasm and limited resources. Nevertheless, there is a growing awareness of the importance of cultural heritage. Long-term development requires stable support, clear strategies, and international cooperation, particularly when we speak of institutions that safeguard national heritage.
If you had to describe the relationship between the Bay of Kotor and the sea in a single sentence, what would it be?
For those of us who grew up in the Bay of Kotor, the Bay and the sea are one – life in every sense of the word. In the Bay of Kotor, the sea is not merely a landscape; it is a way of life.
What is your vision for the Maritime Museum over the next ten years?
We are currently working on the reorganisation of the space, a new permanent display, and the replacement of the Museum vitrines to meet all contemporary museum standards. The Maritime Museum is already recognised for its rich programme of activities. Still, I would like it to become even more open to international cooperation, contemporary museological practices, and younger generations, while preserving the authenticity and dignity of the space to which it belongs.
Do you believe that culture can still change society – quietly, but fundamentally?
Of course. I would not work in culture if I did not believe that. Perhaps change does not come at the speed we might wish, but it is important that culture always be present and that, through its work, it contributes to society. I believe that culture exerts its influence quietly, but deeply. It shapes a person’s awareness, sensibility, and relationship with others. Art and culture change people from within – and it is precisely from that point that every real change begins.
What would you like a young person to feel upon leaving the Maritime Museum in Kotor?
I would like them to leave filled with emotion and a sense of pride – to feel that Kotor, the Bay, and seafaring endure, and to sense how proud we ourselves are of our history and the heritage we safeguard.