Both truth and optimism, and renewal and return, different artistic expressions, motifs, styles and media, as well as significant prizes, will be brought by the Podgorica Art Salon, which after a 16-year break continues its path founded less than three decades ago.
The salon will be opened today at the Modern Gallery in Podgorica, at 20 p.m. Curator of the exhibition "Garden of Hope - Art and the Search for Truth", she is a museum consultant at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina, dr. Sanja Kojić Mladenov who designed the concept and selected the participants.
At yesterday's press conference, she said that she did the selection of artists together with the curatorial team of the Podgorica Museum and Gallery, expressing her gratitude.
"The works that will be presented were created in different media, there are new, traditional, all expressions, and in addition, they are different thematically and in the approach itself. There are works that deal with mutual relations, the topic of ecology and ecological practice, and there are quite a few in which the authors search for the truth," said the curator.
Director of the Podgorica Museum and Gallery Ivana Ćupić yesterday she summarized the concept and goals, but also the satisfaction due to the renovation of the salon, while the curator is the coordinator Miloš Marjanović pointed out the need for it.
Artists from Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia will present their works: Ana Aleksić, Bojan Stojčić, Darja Bajagić, diStruktura, Dragan Vojvodić, Irena Lagator Pejović, Gordana Kuč, Ivan Đurišić, Ivan Šuković, Ivana Ivković, Ivanka Vana Prelević, Jelena Pavićević Marković, Jelena Tomašević, Lana Čmajčanin, Lidija Delić, Marija Marković, Milka Delibašić, Nada Kazić, Nenad Šoškić, Nikola Marković, Nikolina Zuber, Robert Jankulovski & Monika, Moteska, Selma Selman, Selman Trtovac, Sreten Milatović, Tomo Pavićević, Vaso Nikčević.
Money surprise
During the duration of the exhibition, until January 16, 2025, three prizes will be awarded, namely: cash for the first place, cash for the second, as well as an exhibition in one of the spaces of the Museum and galleries during 2025/2026 for the third place winner. Ćupić did not answer the media's question about the amount of money that the first-ranked winner will win with a specific figure, stressing that she will leave it as a "surprise", because it is a significant sum - "not 100, not 200, not 500"...
The jury that will decide on the awards consists of: director of the Podgorica Museums and Galleries Ivana Ćupić, curator and selector Sanja Kojić Mladenov, curator coordinator Miloš Marjanović and Jelena Janković from the New Gallery of Visual Arts in Podgorica. When asked by "Vijesti" why exactly they, as organizers, remain on the jury, Ćupić says that this was exactly the reason.
"Given that we've been in this for a few months and in a way this is our child, I wouldn't like someone else to come here and mess up some of our energy. That's why I decided that it (the jury) should be us, and that there would be no 'Greek' word, that's why Sanja Kojić Mladenov is there, as a curator on a higher level, because she is recognized in Europe after all... That's why we decided to have everything within the confines of the house", explained the director of the institution.
Ćupić also pointed out that she expects that cooperation with Kojić Mladenov will result in the presentation of Montenegrin artists further in Europe.
Restoration of the confiscated
The Podgorica Art Salon, as one of the most significant cultural events in Podgorica and Montenegro, was first held in 1995 and was conceived as a promotion of Podgorica artists who, through their work and creative activity, have earned a special place in the city's cultural circles, she recalled. Cupic.
The tradition of holding the Salon continued until 2008, with one break in 1999, and then there was another break until this year.
"The first exhibition of the Salon after a long break aims to gather and present contemporary local and regional artists. As a manifestation of a long tradition, the framework of the Salon builds on already achieved results that followed both social, artistic and historical trends, and continues with the productive current artistic phenomena, but also methodological approaches and concepts", pointed out Ćupić.
Considering the long break of 16 years, when asked by Vijesta why they focused on the restoration and not on starting a new manifestation, Ćupić said that they did not want to organize and start something new, but to return the Podgorica art salon...
"Because it was somehow taken away from Podgorica and Montenegrin artists, because it simply disappeared from the scene. We have some beautiful memories of that Salon, and maybe this idea of restoration is somewhat personal and based on emotions, because after 20 years of work, I in pedagogy and doing fine art, returned to the institution to which I associate my beginnings, even as an intern," revealed Ćupić.
Kojić Mladenov said that this engagement was more important to her after she found out that the Salon had not been organized for many years.
Diversity (and) diversity
Marjanović stated that every institution in Montenegro and every environment has a certain art review that unites poetics from that environment, whether at the local or state level. This, the Podgorica art salon, is needed by the public institution Museums and Galleries of Podgorica and the capital city, he added.
"Regional salons are organized in the context that is best for art and the individual creativity of authors... Comparing poetics and environments can help us determine whether we are going in the right direction and whether we are producing good results in the field of culture and art," he said. .
The curator added that the experience of working at salons is always interesting and challenging, because they represent an important art manifestation.
"They usually present some active events in art, and they always reflect some social currents that exist and which, of course, affect the art itself," explained the curator and added:
"The very theme 'Garden of Hope' symbolically points to the variety and difference that exists on the art scene, which will be seen in the exhibition. 'The search for truth' can be viewed through the segment of truth that is completely neglected and forgotten in our society, and it is up to Saloni and ourselves to search for it and ask questions to the audience and all consumers of art. The segment of hope represents the optimistic message of Saloni, which is starting again and paving the way for further development," she said curator.
Bonus video:
