Southern Hungary, between 1916 and 1920. A village teacher photographs the inhabitants of his village. He makes more than 700 shots. The photos show his own as well as his neighbors’ neighbors: Germans, Serbs, Hungarians, Jews, Roma, but also the Russian prisoners of war working for the villagers at that time.

Some of these photographs can be seen since 2008 as part of an international traveling exhibition. The exhibition’s central theme is the coexistence of people of different languages, cultures and religions – factors that shape the personal identity of each individual.

The historical photos’ exhibition is from the very beginning accompanied by an activity called Bring an object! The aim of this activity is to assist visitors to access the subject and to visually convey it. The starting point is a detail in the photographs: the portrayed villagers hold an object in their hand, which gives us a clue about their social status, the identity of the person depicted and their motives.

Current visitors are in a slightly different situation; they are asked to be photographed with a personal object that means a lot to them. This object should, if possible, originate from a different culture, or should be associated with a culture that is different from the current environment of the object’s owner. The photographed person is asked to share her/his very personal story connected to this object.

The photographs, together with the stories, create a sort of a bridge: diverse relationships and connections between different cultures become directly comprehensible and understandable. They inspire visitors to develop an in-depth look at the world outside their own environment.