So we’ve done the RPG event on Thursday, a race through eleven galleries in downtown Zagreb in four hours. We had no ideas how it would turn out or even if it is doable in that amount of time. Some of our colleges, culture journalists, had criticized the event as demeaning to the institution of art gallery, not having enough time to soak in all the art in them, etc… blatantly ignoring the event as meaningless. We had our doubts, but they were all gone by the time we reached the eleventh gallery.
It was a fun night for us. The crisp and calm autumn winds had come to Zagreb and the evenings seem a bit more mysterious as you stroll through yellow lit streets comprised of baroque and neo-goth structures, the galleries providing little pit stops of warmth for the body and the soul. We’ve been to all of them many times, and know the people who surf the culture scene, but the RPG provided us with a novelty of different interaction with people who we’ve met in the race. The competitive note of the race is only formal. Strangers you’ve met in one gallery will share their opinions on the other you are about to visit, gallery owners happily welcoming anyone who enters, even if it is for a minute or so, giving you the rundown of how many people have passed through by then (We were split into two teams, so there really was a harsh competition going on between us. Any info on the other team was welcome.) We’ve regrouped for the concert and the declaration of winners and had a few ‘glasses of conversation’ (it’s a term people in Zagreb use to sound polite) with people we’ve met along the way.
We did the RPG to see if it is something we could recommend this kind of sightseeing to other people, and we wholeheartedly do. You don’t need to be in the event to do it. Split up, set the time frame and the locations, and go for it. The bragging rights are for the taking. It was a nice four hour walk for us with no rushing and we’ve decided to revisit the ones we liked the most on weekend, so there’s no fear of ‘not soaking in the art’. Discovering culture should be fun, shared experience and this did it for us. Try it out on your own.
