You need an island for such a good feeling, that's the name of the art project that Montenegro will present at the 60th Art Biennale in Venice in 2024. The author of the project is an artist Darja Bajagić and the curator Ana Simona Zelenović.
The theme of the Biennale is "Stranger Everywhere", and at the competition of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro (MSUCG), the selected project stood out for its quality, ability to connect the present time with the past, and the authenticity of each element of the project. This was said at yesterday's media conference in Podgorica by a member of the jury, a curator from Italy Daniel Capra (Capra).
The Ministry of Culture and Media (MKM) is also the patron, MSUCG is the organizer and executive producer, and the director of the Museum dr Vladislav Scepanovic Commissioner of the Montenegrin Pavilion.
Democratization and new space
At yesterday's media conference, Šćepanović highlighted several novelties, i.e. changes established during this year's election process and the subsequent presentation of Montenegro at the popular Review.
The first step was the new area of the Pavilion of Montenegro, which will be located in a prominent position in the city. Instead of "Palazzo Malipiero", the exhibition space is "Ospedaletto", announced Šćepanović. Answering a question from "Vijesti", he said that it was financed by MKM as a sponsor, and that he was not informed of the exact amount for which the space was leased. The budget intended for the production is 80.000 euros, and Šćepanović also pointed out that due to bureaucratic procedures, they will do their best to implement the largest part of the budget by the end of the year, while the rest needed for implementation will be transferred to the next one.
After the 60th edition of the Show, Šćepanović plans to start negotiations for space in the Arsenal for the 2026 Biennale, which would be of particular importance.
"This is an extremely important step that will allow our artists to present themselves on one of the most prestigious artistic platforms... We are creating the conditions for Montenegrin art to get an internationally recognized platform that will highlight the richness and diversity of our art scene," Šćepanović said, among other things.
Speaking about this year's public call, he pointed out that in order to democratize and open the selection process, the competition was open to artists, art groups and curators with curatorial projects.
"We broke with the traditional practice of appointing curators, and gave artists the opportunity to present their concepts themselves, thus creating a more open and inclusive environment for artistic creativity. By forming an international jury, we ensured transparency in the decision-making process, providing a fair assessment and support for the author's proposals. This is a step towards the creation of an environment in which quality, innovation and diversity in artistic creation are valued," Šćepanović said.
With the earlier practice of appointing curators, a kind of injustice was done to others from that branch to present their ideas, he says.
"I thought that this was not a correct approach, especially towards other fellow curators. I thought that the most important thing is that we have that freedom for the curator to come up with different curatorial projects. We received a lot of applications, about 15. The jury worked very hard and not always unanimously, so the decision was not unanimous either," he said.
Šćepanović sees it precisely as a positive change that is evidence of a careful analysis of projects. The jury that made the final decision worked in an international composition, which is also another change. In addition to Šćepanović and Kapra, the jury included: a museum advisor at MSU Marina Celebic, a curator from North Macedonia Jovanka Popova and a curator from Norway Gunnar B. Kvaran. According to their opinion, in addition to the winning project, the artist's concepts also stood out Andrijane Gvozdenović and curators Nela Gligorović, as well as the concept Tadije Janičić and curators Ljiljana Karadzic.
He personally feels the given topic
That Montenegro can be proud of the chosen project, said the curator from Italy, Capra, who also admitted that he was positively surprised by the quality of the projects submitted to the competition. He praised this year's organization, which is more transparent. He also adds that only participating in the prestigious contemporary art exhibition is a chance for the development of the cultural scene and system in the culture of Montenegro.
The theme of the Biennale was inspired by the eponymous group of anarchists from Turin who fought against racism and xenophobia, explained the moderator of the press conference and spokeswoman for the MSUCG. Hristina Bosković. She added that the curator of the Biennale Adriano Pedrosa points out that the theme "Foreigner everywhere" also applies to all other forms of marginalization, including those "indigenous" authors who may feel like strangers in their own environment.
This perhaps corresponds best with the artist Darja Bajagić, who is originally from Montenegro, but grew up, was educated, lived and pursued a career abroad, which "Vijesti" previously wrote about.
"The theme of the Biennale was all the more reason to register this project of ours", confirmed the curator Ana Simona Zelenović and additionally explained that Bajagić herself often felt like a stranger.
"Originally from Montenegro, she lived in Egypt, then in America, got an education there and then came to live in Montenegro again, which I think is also very important for the presentation at the Biennale. At the same time, it was presented throughout Europe and America, which contributes to some connection between Montenegro and the international context on the one hand, and the project itself is interesting for several reasons... One of them is that Mamula itself has a complex history, but also which can be traced to some history of Montenegro as a state, but also of the relationship to cultural heritage, culture of memory, collective memory. This is something that Darja is currently interested in in her research and work," said the curator.
Curator Zelenović added that the goal of the project is to critically examine the culture of collective memory and reflect on our relationship to our common heritage. The artist explores these topics through painting and sculpture, and especially focuses on the complex and multi-layered history of the Montenegrin island of Mamula, she revealed.
"Bajagić, through research and artistic practice, explores our reception and perception of images and other visual representations, despite the lack or precisely because they possess knowledge of the corresponding historical or social context. Experimenting with the construction of symbolic systems of meaning, the artist explores how it is generated through visuality and how opinions gain strength in a contemporary image-based society," she said.
Darja Bajagić addressed the audience via video connection and thanked for the opportunity to represent Montenegro at the Art Biennale in Venice. When asked by "Vijesti" whether her premier presentation at the Montenegrin Art Salon "13. November" in Cetinje in 2020 (at the invitation of the curator Petar Ćuković), she answered in the affirmative.
"That was my first presentation in Montenegro and since then I have tried to deal with different topics that are relevant here, locally. When I returned, about a year ago, I felt the need to build stronger ties at the local level, with the environment, history, culture, heritage, which I partly did this way. However, although it is all close to me and a part of me, it is at the same time foreign and unknown to me... I was presented with a great opportunity and I am very pleased to have the opportunity to present a project that I have worked on for many years and which I very important on a personal level", said Bajagić.
Darja Bajagić was born in 1990 in Podgorica, but grew up in Egypt and the United States of America (USA). He currently lives and works between Montenegro and the USA. She graduated from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in 2012, and then received her master's degree from the prestigious Yale - Yale University School of Art in 2014. She also received a prestigious scholarship from the Lemelson Foundation, and participated in numerous exhibitions in Europe and America.
Institutions closed the scene
When asked by "Vijesti" whether one of the tendencies of MSUCG is the expansion of the art scene, and focusing attention on authors from Montenegro who live and work abroad, as well as the presentation of current cultural trends abroad, Šćepanović replied that he mapped exactly that as some of the problems.
"Jovanka Popova from North Macedonia, who is a very active curator, told me that she doesn't know what is happening in Montenegro lately... At the same time, we are here - Montenegro and Macedonia. Thus, the first step is the opening of Montenegro and the presentation of Montenegrin artists in the world. And of course, through cooperation with other artists from the region, but also from the world, as well as establishing some form of communication... Of course, there were individual attempts, but I think institutional ones were lacking," he said.
Šćepanović also said that progress has been made, but we still need to work on improving the situation.
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