Charity exhibition “Smiling Faces of the Rijeka Carnival” on Korzo: photographs raising help for little Val and preserving the atmosphere of the fifth season
On Rijeka’s Korzo, the charity exhibition “Smiling Faces of the Rijeka Carnival” has opened, a project that for years has been turning the city’s most famous promenade into a gallery of emotions, colors, and carnival creativity. This time, the exhibition brings selected scenes of participants of the Rijeka Carnival 2026, and all proceeds from the sale of photographs are directed to help little Val Radovanović, a boy who needs intensive and expensive therapies. The opening of the exhibition was held at a moment when Rijeka still keeps the rhythm of carnival days – that familiar feeling that the city, if only briefly, frees itself from everyday life and becomes an open-air stage. For visitors coming from other areas, this exhibition is also an additional motive to stay in the city center and an opportunity to experience the carnival up close, with
accommodation in Rijeka near Korzo and all events.
A project that connects the City, the County, the Tourist Board, and the Rijeka photographic scene
The exhibition was opened by Nikola Kurti, a Rijeka photographer and owner of the photo studio “Kurti”, and Jelena Grubelić Kušeta, Head of Product Development at the Rijeka City Tourist Board. The organizers emphasize that this is a joint project of the City of Rijeka, the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, and the photo studio “Kurti”, which year after year confirms that the carnival is not only a parade and entertainment, but also a platform for solidarity. At the center of the concept is a simple idea: photography as a keepsake, but also as a concrete way to help. Instead of carnival images remaining only in private albums or on social networks, some of them gain a public life on Korzo – a place where locals, guests, masqueraders, and случайні passers-by naturally meet. Precisely on that everyday city stage, the exhibition gains additional strength: it is simultaneously cultural content, a public reminder of carnival energy, and a call to humanitarian action.
“These are the faces that make the heart of our carnival”
As Jelena Grubelić Kušeta pointed out, the exhibition is more than a series of beautiful frames: the photographs reveal the faces of carnival participants, masqueraders, children, parents, friends, and fellow citizens, but also the emotions, effort, and creativity woven into costumes and performances. In the Rijeka carnival, which over decades has built itself into the recognizable identity of the city, it is precisely the people – groups, families, associations, neighborhoods, and generations – who are its lasting value. The exhibition on Korzo makes that fact visible also to those who may not have participated in the parade, but are part of the city and community. Visitors do not look at “general” carnival scenes, but concrete moments: a smile beneath a mask, a hand-made detail on a costume, children’s joy, the shared step of a group that has been preparing its performance for months. And if Rijeka is being mentioned more often these days even outside Kvarner, that is also thanks to the carnival that brings a large number of people to the city – so the practical question of
accommodation for visitors in Rijeka during the carnival weeks also naturally arises.
Charitable goal: help for a boy who needs long-term therapies
The charitable dimension of the exhibition is aimed at helping Val Radovanović, a two-and-a-half-year-old boy who was born prematurely, in the seventh month of pregnancy, as a high-risk child. According to available information from the organizers’ call, very early after birth he suffered a grade II brain hemorrhage, which is associated with permanent damage and serious neurological disorders. His development does not match his age: he cannot sit independently, has no coordinated hand movements, does not walk and does not speak, and he also faces difficulties with vision. In the eighth month of life, he was also diagnosed with epilepsy, which further slowed development and increased the need for continuous therapies. In such cases, as experts explain in publicly available information on early neurological development and rehabilitation, therapies are often long-term, intensive, and financially demanding, and families often rely on the wider community. The exhibition organizers therefore invite citizens to help Val and his parents by purchasing framed carnival photographs or making donations.
How to participate: buying a photo as a donation
The participation model is designed so that the donation has both symbolic and practical value. According to information from the opening, citizens pay a donation in the amount of 40 euros and, with proof of payment at the photo studio “Kurti”, choose the desired photograph from the gallery, after which they receive a framed carnival photograph. The organizers note that payment and pickup details are handled according to officially published instructions, and interested people can also get information on the official channels of the carnival organization and at the photo studio. In this way, the exhibition keeps a clear message: anyone who enjoyed the carnival can turn that experience into concrete help, without big procedures and without the “distance” that often exists with charitable actions. And Korzo is precisely the ideal place for such a call – visible, accessible, and at the center of city life, with the possibility that guests coming for a day trip or weekend in Rijeka can plan in advance
accommodation near the event location and combine a walk through the exhibition with other carnival content.
The exhibition remains open until March 5: Korzo as an open-air gallery
According to the official program of the Rijeka Carnival, the exhibition “Smiling Faces of the Carnival” is set up on Korzo in the period from February 19 to March 5, 2026. Thus, the carnival story continues even after the main parades, offering the city and guests content that is free to view, and at the same time connected to a charitable goal. In practice, this means that passers-by can stop “on the go” by the panels, recognize familiar faces, recall the atmosphere of the parade, or simply experience a part of the carnival color through the photographer’s lens. For Rijeka, which has shaped the tourist identity of winter through the carnival, such content extends the season and adds a social dimension. For visitors, the exhibition is also a landmark: a walk along Korzo gains a clear point of interest, and a stay in the city can be more easily put together as a whole – from the program in the center to suggestions for
accommodation offers in Rijeka for those who want to stay several days.
Wider context: Rijeka Carnival 2026 and key dates of the fifth season
The Rijeka Carnival in 2026 also kept the rhythm that makes it one of the most recognizable winter events in Croatia and the region: a series of events, neighborhood happenings, themed evenings, and charitable actions, with several clear highlights. According to the officially published program, the carnival season in Rijeka included traditional ceremonies, entertainment and cultural programs, and two big parades – the children’s and the international one. The program also highlights the carnival message “Be what you want!”, which emphasizes freedom of expression and the reversal of everyday life, which is also the foundation of the carnival tradition.
- Handover of the City Key: January 17, 2026, Korzo
- Election of the Queen of the Rijeka Carnival: January 23, 2026.
- Children’s carnival parade: January 31, 2026, Korzo
- International carnival parade: February 15, 2026, Korzo
- Exhibition “Smiling Faces of the Carnival”: February 19 – March 5, 2026, Korzo
These dates, listed in the official program, show how the carnival is not exhausted in a single parade Sunday, but is spread across weeks and city spaces. That is precisely why the exhibition on Korzo makes sense also as a kind of “epilogue” to the most intense days: it brings the focus back to people and details that are easy to miss in the parade crowd. At the same time, it reminds that the carnival community is broader than the participants themselves – it includes spectators, volunteers, organizers, technical teams, photographers, and institutions that cooperate on the program. For many who come from outside, it is also an invitation to experience the carnival more slowly and thoroughly, with planning a stay and
accommodation in Rijeka during the carnival in order to catch more content, and not just one day.
Why such exhibitions carry weight: culture, tourism, and solidarity in the same frame
The charity exhibition on Korzo shows why the Rijeka Carnival has a broader meaning than mere spectacle. First, it is a cultural document: the photographs record the aesthetics and creativity that grows out of local tradition, but is constantly renewed with new ideas, materials, and generations. Second, it is a tourist tool in the most natural way – not through advertising, but through content that gives the visitor a reason to stay in the city center and experience it as a living scene. Third, it is a social mechanism of solidarity: instead of an abstract call for help, it offers a concrete object, a keepsake, and a direct connection between giving and the community. In a time when charitable actions often disperse through digital channels, the physical presence of the exhibition on Korzo brings back a sense of closeness and responsibility toward a neighbor, a fellow citizen, a family struggling with difficult circumstances. And that is why the organizers emphasize togetherness: Korzo is not only a place of meeting and joy, but also a space where the values of the community can be seen without big words – through photography, through a smile, and through the decision to help.
Sources
- Rijeka City Tourist Board (Visit Rijeka) – official program of the Rijeka Carnival 2026 with dates of key events and the exhibition “Smiling Faces of the Carnival” (link)
- Visit Rijeka – thematic page of the Rijeka Carnival with an overview of the carnival season and official information (link)
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