Milk 2002 - 2003

One inevitable side effect of the process of globalisation
and standardisation in Europe seems to be the assimilation and disappearance of
certain local characteristics and cultural particularities. Can this process of
adjusting economic standards be modified so that these practices are
functionally protected and maintained? What can be done to achieve this goal?
These are the questions at the heart of the Milk 2002-2003 Project,
an ongoing social initiative as well as a multimedia documentary and communication
project, initiated and conceptualised by the Croatian artist Kristina Leko
and produced in collaboration with the Local Base for Culture Refreshment,
BLOK, Zagreb. By focusing on a single small detail in the big picture of
European standardisation-the possible disappearance of the milkmaids of Zagreb
and one of the traditional women's trades-the project shows as in a prism the
numerous dimensions of this process of change.
Tourists photograph them. They are one of the trademarks of the city of Zagreb.
And yet despite all their hard work and the centuries they have been in the
city, it is unlikely they will survive Croatia's entry into Europe. Europe
wants refrigerated markets, and most of these women will not be able to cope
with the rise in prices at their point of sale. Europe also makes demands about
the quality of fresh milk, and outside of the big farms, these demands can be
met only with great difficulty and expense. The way the big farms are
developing, it could well be that in a hundred years no one will ever touch a
cow or talk with it. And the people who talk with the cows will gradually
vanish. As also, perhaps, will those who talk with each other at the
marketplace. (Declaration on the Zagreb Milkmaids, Kristina Leko)
According to Leko's research, more than 80% of about 300 milkmaids will cease
their activity if they have to pay the new price at their point of sale that
was announced. Many of them have been working for decades at the same
marketplace, and have established a very personal interaction with long-time
clients. Most of them are among the 95% of Croatian milk producers that have no
more than three cows. This goes along with a very special relationship to
nature and animals, as well as to the quality of the product. Milkmaids represent
a traditional female profession, and an example of women who guarantee the
financial stability of their families. Many of the milkmaids are totally
dependent on the income they get at the market, since they usually have only a
very small pension, if any.
The MILK 2002-2003 Project seeks to improve the position of Zagreb
milkmaids by making an impact on public opinion and the legal process, as well
as by providing a platform for the milkmaids to organise. The project was
kick-started with an action in Zagreb's Dolac Marketplace in August 2002, when
three milkmaids (Katica Bzig, Bregovlje, 57 years of working at the Dolac
Marketplace; Marija Spoljar, Donja Bistra, 55 years of working at the Dolac
Marketplace; Marica Seničić, Jakovlje, 44 years of working at Dolac
Marketplace), along with Kristina Leko and organisers from Urban Festival
Zagreb, handed out free fresh cheese and cream to customers and collected
signatures. The other components of the project are as follows:
an extensive database containing a complete listing of Zagreb's milkmaids,
video and photographic portraits, as well as personal statements;
a web site, scheduled to be published at the end of October 2003, that will
feature the database and a multimedia archive, as well as historical and
current information, for instance, on the industrialisation of dairy
production;
an exhibition at Zagreb's PM Gallery in November 2003, featuring video and
photographic material, the complete results of the research, as well as a
collection of objects; an extensive media campaign accompanying the exhibition that will publicise the
issue of possible legal protection for the milkmaid profession.
City of Women will present a preview of the project results, including a video
screening of Zagreb's Milkmaids on Your Right, as well as a look at the
extensive documentary material, presented by Kristina Leko and Vesna Vuković
(BLOK, Zagreb). Višnja Čukelj Milkmaid, Zagreb) will offer a view
of her daily working and living routines and present her requests concerning
the future of her profession.
Kristina Leko / Bettina Knaup

Artist and initiator of the project, responsible for the
concept: Kristina Leko
Organiser and project producer: Vesna Vuković (BLOK)
Zagreb milkmaid: Višnja Čukelj
Produced by: BLOK, Zagreb & Kristina Leko

Programme:
Oct. 14, 11.00 -14.00: action at the covered market in Ljubljana
Oct. 14, 20.00: communication project

Production and organisation of the event in Ljubljana: City of Women
In co-operation with: Cankarjev dom