After a whole decade, Belgrade citizens finally have a chance at visiting the Belgrade Museum of Contemporary Art. Many museums have been closed off in Belgrade because of reconstructions and general renovations, and it’s a pity to miss all of the exhibitions because Belgrade really has a lot to offer when it comes to museums. However, the situation is at a turning point, and it looks like the trigger is the reopening of this museum. The museum will be officially open on 20th of October at 10:00 AM with an exhibition which is named „Sequences. Art of Yugoslavia and Serbia from the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art“.
There have been many confirmed visitors from all around the world that are coming at the official opening, so if you’re planning on coming, and you don’t live nearby, there is an abundance of Belgrade apartments that you can rent for the duration of your stay. If, however, you already have accommodation, don’t miss exhibitions prepared for you by doctor Dejan Sretenovic, the author of the exhibition concept, and the works of the curators Zoran Eric and Misela Blanusa.
This project, or more specifically, organization of the event has cost about 250 thousand euros, and as a result, every visitor will have free continuous multimedia content available for seven days straight. That means that you can come by any time of the day, and take a look at about eight hundred masterpieces presented in the museum.
The reconstruction of the building was a very bold move. Its interior is not only functional – it’s been very specifically designed on five levels which are all connected with stairs, but in a way that it won’t make the visitor lose his breath until they reach the top of the exhibit. Having in mind that the top level is more than 10 meters above the ground, it wasn’t easy to do that, but it was done carefully and successfully.
The architects which were working on the building, Ivan Antic and Ivanka Raspopovic, had this idea to make the building in a way that it enables its visitors to see exhibits from multiple levels and angles. They achieved this wonderful effect by removing corridors and other typical museum designs which block the view. This building has won them the October Belgrade architect award in ’58, and they received it on the day of the opening ceremony. The inside of the building is about 5000 square metres, and it’s surrounded by a gorgeous park which is embellished with sculptures from some of Yugoslavia’s 20th century most famous sculptors.
Since the museum’s been open in 1958. there has been collected over 8000 art pieces, with the intention of representing all of the predominant art periods, movements and tendencies of the 20th century in the Balkan area and wider. “As a basis for the future museum work, we took advice and experiences from some of the most famous museums of art and history in the world and used them to our advantage.”, the organisation shares.
All audiences will be able to enjoy un the music program that will take place in front of the museum. Music will be performed by a jazz band “Four Plus”, and DJs Sonja Pavlica and Boban Petronije. Visitors will also be able to see the performance of the famous dancer and choreographer Jakopo Godani with a team of dancers from the Frankfurt Ballet, and after that listen to the Belgrade Philharmonic orchestra. The opening ceremony will be attended by Tate gallery representatives, as well as from MoMa from New York and other famous world museums
