Luigi Micheletti Award

THE LUIGI MICHELETTI AWARD 2022 goes to the Woodcarving Museum in Konjic, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, which depicts the history of the woodcarving tradition in this Bosnian town. This
artistic craft was put on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017. It
also portrays a model for the preservation of traditional crafts by building bridges between the craft
and modernistic design. Gano Nikšić, the director’s great grandfather, discovered a primitive handcarving
technique originating in a small village near Konjic. He perfected the technique and
collaboration with established furniture makers in Sarajevo led to worldwide recognition of the
craft. Gano passed his skills on to his four sons and the family has been designing and building
heirloom-quality hand-carved furniture for more than four generations. The collection contains
historical documents and archive material, including original photographs of woodcarvers, the
luxury interiors they decorated, and illustrations from exhibitions at major international exhibitions
at the turn of the 20th century. Involvement of the local community has expanded through
collaboration with local cultural institutions in the organisation of events, workshops and live
demonstrations of woodworking skills.
The judges said: This is a good example of intangible heritage preservation and enhancement, a
totally private initiative which could be an incentive to cultural investment in a part of Europe which is
in extreme need of local development based on culture. The very well thought out exhibition concept
comes into its own with the help of an impressive scenography. The museum is an excellent
communicator of an intangible world heritage that has arrived as a living tradition in the 21st century -
a role model for other world heritage sites.