The Mayor of the City of Dubrovnik, Mato Frankovic, held a meeting with members of the Economic Council about the economic situation caused by the coronavirus epidemic and the effects on the 2020 tourist season.

Sector representatives presented current business concerns and expectations. Considering its territorial specificity and the fact that tourism is the most important branch of economy in the Dubrovnik area, we are entering the most uncertain tourist season since the Homeland War.

Dubrovnik is completely an airline destination and if international flights connections are not possible during the tourist season 2020, there is a threat of complete collapse.

At the meeting it was pointed out that because of the above mentioned things, Dubrovnik should be viewed in a special way in relation to all other tourist cities in the Republic of Croatia.

In order to achieve synergy and co-operation, all for the purpose of economic progress and further development of the City, the conclusion of the Economic Council is that it is necessary to send a letter to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic and Minister of Tourism Gary Cappelli requesting the approval of the introduction of charter flights with destinations in the European Union, but also with the UK - as the most important travel market of the city of Dubrovnik, respecting all epidemiological measures and specific protocols.

It is also suggested to allow private aircrafts to arrive at the airport as well as the arrival of mega yachts, provided that passengers have a document no older than 48 hours before boarding which confirms that the passenger is not COVID-19 positive.

Dubrovnik is highly financially dependent on tourism and, by acting jointly, it is necessary to enable the people of Dubrovnik to do business in the 2020 season, which will certainly be weaker due to the epidemic effect.

The view of all Economic Council is that almost 80 percent of the Dubrovnik economy will not survive until the spring of 2021 unless international air transport is enabled.

An additional quantity of protective equipment was shipped to Croatia by direct flight from Shanghai. Part of this shipment was six thousand protective masks that arrived today in Dubrovnik.

This is a donation from one of Dubrovnik's twin cities, Chinese city of Sanya, with which the City of Dubrovnik has signed a co-operation protocol back in 2013.
After the donation from the Chinese city of Yangzhou, this is the second international donation that will contribute to better equipping the City of Dubrovnik.

The Civil Protection Headquarters of the City of Dubrovnik will distribute protective masks to establishments that have started or are about to begin working: Dubrovnik Museums, Dubrovnik Libraries, Kindergartens Dubrovnik, elementary schools and public utilities Libertas, Sanitat, Boninovo and Vrtlar. One part of masks will go to retirement homes and Josipovac Center for Rehabilitation.

Coronavirus situation affects all parts of life, but some things brighten up our days by making us laugh, such as statues with medical protective masks. It's that simple! Vlaho Bukovac statue, situated in the little gem of Cavtat, is taken care of – the painter has been wearing his green medical protective mask for a few days now. 

We know you love Cavtat, but how much did you know about Vlaho Bukovac? If your answer is: not much or – who is Vlaho Bukovac, continue to read this text and learn something new today from the biography we found at the Bukovac House website. 

Vlaho Bukovac was born on July 4, 1855 in Cavtat. Bukovac spent his youth far away from his family home. At only eleven years of age, he left with his uncle, Frano, for New York. Shortly after their arrival in America, Bukovac’s uncle unexpectedly died. His uncle’s wife, Bukovac’s aunt by marriage, instead of sending him to school, sent him to a juvenile reform school on Heart’s Island. Four years later, Bukovac returned from New York to Cavtat. So as not to be a burden to his parents, the fifteen-year-old Bukovac decided to earn his living on the open sea. After a short nautical training, he left as a sailor on the boat, “Osmi dubrovački,” which was traveling to Istanbul-Liverpool-Odessa. Bukovac’s life as a sailor was soon brought to an end by a dangerous fall into the hold of the ship. During the time of his convalescence in Cavtat Bukovac began the first wall paintings in his parents house and news spread through the town that Bukovac was a talented painter.

Soon after his recovery, Bukovac decided to seek his fortune in the world again. In 1873 he left for Peru with his brother, Jozo. There he successfully earned money painting train cars, but after just one year, he left for California in search of better work. In San Francisco, he began his “amateur” career in painting, as well as his first lessons in art. He painted portraits by commission, and the positive critiques he received encouraged him to return to Europe to study painting formally. During his short time in Cavtat, Bukovac prepared for his artistic training by painting portraits of his family. In 1877, under the influence of the Dubrovnik poet, Medo Pucić, he changed his last name, Fagioni, to the Croatian, Bukovac.

The Paris Period (1877 – 1893)

With the help of Medo Pucić in 1877, Bukovac set off for Paris. Thanks to the small painted study, “Hand,” he was accepted at the École des Beaux Arts in the already overfull class of Alexandre Cabanel. He made such quick progress in painting that just the following year, in 1878, he exhibited at one of the most important international exhibitions – the Paris Salon. For the next fifteen years, until 1893, Bukovac would exhibit various paintings, especially nudes, portraits and Montenegrin motifs. With the passage of time, Bukovac became well-known as an excellent portraitist. During his time as a student, and later, when established in Paris, he made several trips to paint portraits in Cavtat, Cetinje, Korčula, Split, Zadar. Beginning in 1886, thanks to a relationship with the English art dealers, the Vicars brothers, he made several visits to England, and left a great number of portraits there. The landscapes and views painted in the forest of Fontainebleau, Montmartre or at home in Cavtat and the surrounding countryside form an interesting contrast to the academic compositions that otherwise characterized Bukovac’s Paris phase. In 1892 Vlaho Bukovac married the young Jelica Pitarević from Dubrovnik, with whom he had four children, his son Ago and daughters, Ivanka, Jelica and Marija.

The Zagreb Period (1893 – 1898)

With his arrival in Zagreb in 1893, Bukovac became the central figure and founder of a Croatian art scene. He was the initiator of artistic events and, by influencing a generation of young artists, participated in the creation of the foundations of Modern Art in Croatia.

Young artists such as Bela Čikoš Sesija, Oton Iveković, Ivan Tišov, Robert Frangeš, Rudolf Valdec and Robert Auer, who had been studying art in Munich, Stuttgart and Vienna, returned to Zagreb so that they could work with Bukovac. Allowing them the freedom of personal expression, but directing them to the importance of painting in nature, a characteristic that they all shared, he urged them to use a lightened palette and impressed the importance of color on them– thus they were known as the “Colorful Zagreb School.” In 1896, the majority of those artists, with Bukovac as their leader, exhibited in the Millennial Exhibition in Budapest. Upon the close of the Exhibition, the iron skeleton of the Croatian Pavilion of History and Art, which had been built specially for the Exhibition, was transported to Zagreb. Moving the building was due largely to the efforts of the artists. It served as the basis of Zagreb’s first Art Pavilion. Bukovac’s Zagreb phase, apart from exceptional portraits, is also characterized by the large compositions, “Dubravka” and “Long Live the King,” which he painted for the Golden Hall of the government’s department for religion and education, the monumental ceremonial curtain, “Glory to Them,” for the Croatian National Theatre and “Gundulić’s Dream” for Bishop Strossmayer’s Art Gallery. In 1897 Bukovac roused the younger artists to secede from the conceptually-outdated Society of Art and founded the Society of Croatian Artists, in keeping with the spirit of the time. In 1898 this society organized a large exhibition, the “Croatian Salon,” which was the first representative presentation of Croatian Artists in the Art Pavilion. In the same year, directly before the opening of the Croatian Salon, as a result of a culmination of disagreements with Izidor Kršnjavi, a disappointed Bukovac left Zagreb and retreated to his birthplace of Cavtat.

The Cavtat Period (1898 – 1902)

Bukovac remained in Cavtat for four years. He painted views of the landscapes of Cavtat and Dubrovnik, as well as portraits of friends and family. He painted a diorama, “The Tomb of Christ” for the parish church of St. Nikola – a large scene staggered in recessive planes which is still used today during Easter week in the sanctuary of the church. Bukovac also painted the ceiling of the Bonda theatre in Dubrovnik. In 1900, Bukovac exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, and in 1901 at the Venice Biennial for the second time. In peaceful Cavtat, he began to miss working and socializing with other artists and so decided to set off again into the world, this time with his family. In 1902 he left for Vienna where he had a large solo exhibition.

The Prague Period (1903 – 1922)

During his short stay in Vienna, Bukovac received an invitation from Prague to fill an open position as professor at the Academy of Fine Arts. He spent the last twenty years of his life in Prague dedicating himself to pedagogical work, spending most summers in Cavtat, the place of his birth. He had his first solo exhibition in Prague in 1915. During the First World War, Bukovac wrote his autobiography, published under the name Moj život in 1918 in Zagreb.
He visited Cavtat for the last time in 1920. He died on April 23, 1922 in Prague. His funeral procession was conducted with the greatest honours and he was buried in his native Cavtat.

(Text from the Bukovac House website)

Also, this is a great moment to tell you to visit Museums and galleries of Konavle when you visit (hopefully soon) Dubrovnik or Cavtat. They consist of Konavle County Museum, House Bukovac, Department of Archaeology and Racic Mausoleum.

It's an International Dance Day and now, more than ever, we need to embrace the positive impacts that dance has on our mood! Before jumping into making choreographies suitable for your living room, you may take a tip or two from professionals: Dubrovnik's Folklore Ensemble Lindo. 

- More than ever, we feel the need to mark the International Dance Day, which has been celebrated in the world since 1982. We want to congratulate it first to our amateurs and then to everyone who loves dancing. We hope to have some rehearsals and performances as soon as possible. Until then, let's recall some of our earlier concerts – Foklore Ensemble Lindo published on their official Facebook page.

And now: dance time. Take a look at the video below, sit back and enjoy. Or even better – dance with them!

Tremors in Zagreb continue. A new weak earthquake struck Markusevec, 7 kilometers north of the Zagreb centre, according to EMSC. 

The earthquake happened at 5.38 am and according to the first information the intensity was 1,7 at the Richter scale.

The strongest earthquake that shook the Croatian captial happened on March 22nd, causing great damage in Zagreb. Since then, there were numerous tremors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the arrival of banned and non-compliant goods, especially face masks, in the European Union - Ministry of Finance, Customs Administraton published. In many cases, these are also infringements of intellectual property rights in relation to face masks.

Counterfeit respirators are products that are falsely marketed and sold as being NIOSH-approved (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) and may not be capable of providing appropriate respiratory protection to workers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this is how to identify a NIOSH-approved respirator:

NIOSH-approved respirators have an approval label on or within the packaging of the respirator (i.e. on the box itself and/or within the users’ instructions). Additionally, an abbreviated approval is on the FFR itself. You can verify the approval number on the NIOSH Certified Equipment List (CEL) or the NIOSH Trusted-Source page to determine if the respirator has been approved by NIOSH. NIOSH-approved FFRs will always have one the following designations: N95, N99, N100, R95, R99, R100, P95, P99, P100.

Signs that a respirator may be counterfeit:

-No markings at all on the filtering facepiece respirator
-No approval (TC) number on filtering facepiece respirator or headband
-No NIOSH markings
-NIOSH spelled incorrectly
-Presence of decorative fabric or other decorative add-ons (e.g., sequins)
-Claims for the of approval for children (NIOSH does not approve any type of respiratory protection for children)
-Filtering facepiece respirator has ear loops instead of headbands

The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra preserves and promotes Croatian musical heritage even when its members are separated! In their homes, living rooms, from their windows, they performed Idyll, composed by famous Croatian composer Blagoje Bersa and brought it to your home!

With this video, that is just one of many, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra aims to promote Croatian composers and our musical heritage, alongside with recordings of previously held concerts. The videos are published daily on their social media. This video was edited by VSP Video Dubrovnik. Watch it and enjoy!

Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy of the Republic of Croatia has shared an interesting photography contest on their website, and the topic is one of the biggest environmental problems nowdays: plastic waste. 

The conest is launched by the Plastic Waste Partnership to promote outreach, education and awareness-raising on the global plastic waste crisis. The contest welcomes entries from all walks of life: from amateur to professional photographers, of all ages. Through the contest, the Partnership wants to shine a light not only on the plastic waste problem, but also the solutions out there, our collective progress to date and the challenges and opportunities moving forward.

Entered photos will be judged by a panel including the National Geographic Photographer Sara Hylton, and winning images will be used for a Basel Convention plastic waste calendar and displayed at the 2021 meetings of the Conference of Parties, or Triple COPs, at UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

Contest participants are invited to submit their entries in the following six categories which relate to the impacts of the plastic waste problem, the progress we’ve made and where we need to focus our attention:

-Let’s go outside! - Plastic waste and nature

-Plastic waste and our health and livelihoods

-Tiny but everywhere: Microplastics

-Let’s use it! - Plastic waste as a resource

-Let’s do it! - Solutions for avoiding single-use plastic products

-Let’s fix it! - Alternatives, new technologies and innovation

You can see the details about the photography competition here.