"Tolerance is the first, but very important step towards people being better to each other. It's not about loving everyone, it's about people not hurting each other - whether physically or verbally."
Mirko Ilic
The idea to organize an exhibition of posters traveling around the world originated in 2017. It was conceived by a Serbian art activist living in New York. Mirko Ilic.
The exhibition was prepared by the City of Bratislava and the Bratislava Cultural and Information Centre (BKIS) in cooperation with the exhibition curator – graphic designer Róbert Parš. “P"I tried to select works by recognized authors and at the same time topics that may resonate with us. It is certainly not just my feeling that our society is having increasing problems with tolerance. This collection can be a kind of challenge for us to think," explains R. Paršo.
We also talked about the exhibition with its initiator – Mirko Ilić.
The posters from the Tolerance project were placed in various unusual places – on buses, in a prison, on a bridge. What do you think about that? Why didn't the organizers choose the classic spaces of a gallery or museum?
Classic galleries and museums are visited by only a small group of people. With our exhibition, we tried to reach a wider audience. It was not so much about unconventional places as about places where a larger number of people pass by. In the case of the bus stickers, we used the opposite principle – the posters came directly to the people.
Do you remember the impetus that led to the Tolerance project? When did this idea come about?
The impetus was the festival “The House of Tolerance” in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The organizers offered me a space to present my work. I thought I would approach 28 artists and ask them to create a poster on the topic of tolerance. However, I had a requirement – they had to write the title “Tolerance” in their native language and also put their name on the poster. Twenty days later I received all the posters and 10 days later we opened the exhibition, which was a great success. However, I was sad that the exhibition would end and only people in Ljubljana would see the beautiful posters. So I thought I would create a traveling poster exhibition, to which new posters would be added all the time.
Why the topic of Tolerance?
Tolerance is the first, but very important step towards being better people to each other. It's not about loving everyone, it's about not hurting each other - physically or verbally. In a world increasingly divided by race, religion, sexuality and national origin, this show uses the unique power of design to remind us of what we all have in common.
How many posters does the exhibition consist of?
There are currently 155 posters in the exhibition, with a new one added approximately every two weeks. My dream is to have posters from every country in the world.
The exhibition was presented in 29 countries around the world. The posters were often the target of vandalism. Do you think that was a coincidence or was it because of the theme?
You know what's interesting? That vandalism was typical of Eastern European countries. There are two types of vandalism – people tear or cut posters to take them home. And then they damage them out of hatred. The second case happens especially with posters written in Arabic or posters in rainbow colors.
What was the initial intention of the exhibition?
The original exhibition contained 28 posters, today there are 155 and they were seen by about 150,000 visitors during 72 viewings. The exhibition exceeded my expectations and I am very happy about it.
What made you decide to give Róbert Parš permission to organize an exhibition in Bratislava together with the city of Bratislava and the Bratislava Cultural and Information Center?
I have known Robert Parš's work for some time, so I asked him to design a poster for Tolerance. Later, he offered me to try to organize an exhibition in Bratislava. I happily agreed. It is amazing that the exhibition was held on the SNP Bridge.
More about the artist:
Mirko Ilic Design www.mirkoilicdesign.com
Mirko Ilić Illustration www.mirkoilicillo.com