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This article was developed within the program Venture an Idea funded by the USAID.
For hundred-odd years, Belgrade has boasted a bustling cultural scene quite unmatched in this part of the globe. That’s why it was such a damn shame that the National Museum of Serbia - only the most important and renowned art institution in the country - was closed for renovation for 15 years.
It Was Worth the Wait, Though
But since the museum reopened in 2018, it’s been one highlight show after the other. Fans of the Roman Baroque sculpture enjoyed pieces from the school of Bernini; photography buffs drooled over the work by American icon Rob Woodcox, and the rest had a swell time marveling at the signature output by Belgian multidisciplinary visual artist Jan Fabre.
So, without much ado, let’s hop over to Republic Square and see what the museum has in store for this holiday season, shall we?
Concentration Camp on Belgrade Fair (1941 – 1944)
One for the history aficionados, this is. Until January 15th, you can see the Belgrade Fair Complex in a completely new light. You’ll get to witness how the building, once a proud symbol of economic progress, served as a WWII concentration camp during the Nazi occupation of the city. The exhibition follows its transformation from an emblem of hope to one of total and utter despair.
The Big One – Kosta Hakman: Scenes of The Everyday
For those with a more artistic disposition, the solo exhibition by one of Serbia’s foremost modernist painters Kosta Hakman is on display. Titled Scenes of the Everyday, the show tracks several decades of the artist’s work, focusing on his interwar output. Through Hakman’s self-portraits, still natures, landscapes, cityscapes, and private spaces, we get to explore the artist’s treatment of various motifs that repeat and transform throughout his oeuvre. The show is on until January 15th.
And all that on top of the exquisite permanent collection at the National Museum that includes works by Mondrian, Botticelli, Rembrandt, Titian, Monet, and Picasso, as well as precious artifacts like the Miroslav Gospel illuminated manuscript and the Old Egyptian Nesmin mummy from the 3rd century B.C.E. For more information on the collection, as well as past, present, and future shows, visit the museum’s fantastic website. It didn’t win the PC PRESS’ top 50 online resources award for nothing.
Check out our Belgrade Insights page for similar relevant stories.
This article is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this program are the responsibility of Nova Iskra and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.