Returning the focus to the museum, investing in infrastructure, launching exhibition contests, completing the audit, renovating the December Art Salon, providing space for young authors, reminding the forgotten..., are some of the goals of the new director of the Museums and Galleries of Podgorica Ivan Ćupić.
She announced this at yesterday's media conference where she presented the work plan and program for 2024, as well as general, long-term goals.
"To renovate everything that has not been renovated and modernize everything that can be modernized." To adjust accessibility for people with disabilities. To realize some programs that were not current until now. To dedicate ourselves to young people and to introduce contests for exhibitions from 2025, because until now the policy was not a contest but an invitation... My goal is to dedicate a segment to women artists who have been forgotten and who are not mentioned within the manifestation that would was called 'Memory forward', which would also entail creating an exhibition from our fund and the fund of the National Museum of Montenegro of female artists who are no longer alive and to draw attention to them," Ćupić summed up in response to journalists' questions.
Asked what she sees as the biggest problems or challenges, she pointed out the infrastructure, the neglect of certain activities, as well as the audit, the results of which are uncertain...
"Our museum is a bit neglected, and the focus was more on the gallery exhibition, so this is perhaps a complaint about the plan and program for 2024. The goal is to change that and to attract the audience, primarily young people, to come and familiarize themselves with objects and thus bring the work of the museum closer to them. Attendance at the museum and gallery spaces is not adequate and as we expected, so we will also work on visibility. A large number of people from Podgorica have never entered the museum, some don't even know that we have a permanent exhibition, so we will start with those things - to bring our people from Podgorica into the museum, and then in order", said the director.
Ćupić pointed out that the work program of the Museums and Galleries of Podgorica was largely inherited from the previous director. Vučić Ćetković, and although rich, it was necessary to adapt it. She presented only some of the planned activities.
Exhibitions of Warhol, Veličković, Dujmović
The announcement of the program for 2024 highlights the exhibition Andy Warhol.
"Cooperation with the embassies in Montenegro has been intensified, within which we will, in partnership with the Slovak embassy and His Excellency Boris Gandel, during the year to organize an Andy Warhol exhibition in which his works will be presented in our Modern Gallery. "In cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Montenegro, the exhibition "Diplomacy and Art" is planned from March 19 to April XNUMX in the Modern Gallery," Ćupić announced.
She also recalled the ceremony on the occasion of the 100th birthday of the master of Montenegrin painting, Voj Stanić, which was announced for tomorrow in cooperation with RTCG, ULUCG and the National Museum of Montenegro. In addition, it will mark the 130th anniversary of his birth Rista Stijović.
"The jubilee, 130 years since the birth of Risto Stijović, the great Montenegrin sculptor and the founder of modern art in Montenegro, is coming to an end on the eighth of October this year. On this occasion, activities were planned for the purpose of promoting the rich creative oeuvre and legacies of this artist", she said and continued:
"We are creating the conditions for the realization of the exhibition Vladimir Veličković "A figure as an expression of existence", of an artist who pushed the limits of the perception of Yugoslav art of the given time, and as a result of inter-museum cooperation between the JU Museums and Gallery of Podgorica and the Belgrade Museum of Contemporary Art, with the aim of affirming and promoting culture and cultural heritage".
An exhibition of the Sarajevo artist will also be organized Hana Dujmović in the Modern Gallery, which deals with engaged art. The new director pointed out that she is particularly pleased with the re-introduction of the December Art Salon, which for many years was an integral part of the December Art Scene event.
"The December salon will promote the contemporary art scene, and at the invitation of the curator of the salon, artists of different generations and poetics will participate. It is planned that it will be judged and that the laureates will receive monetary prizes, and it will be realized in the exhibition spaces of our institution. In addition, accompanying educational programs are planned, such as public expert guidance, talks with artists and workshops", she announced and pointed out that this was lacking in the capital city's cultural offer.
She added that the program is suitable for all ages, so they continue with the organization of educational workshops "In the realm of the museum", which are intended for the youngest audience and are led by the institution's pedagogues.
Cultural heritage and the social role of culture
In the field of archeology and conservation activities, they have big plans, Ćupić said, but they are waiting for them to be shaped and concretized in order to present them to the public. She revealed that the priority is the Marko Miljanov museum, but also the archaeological site of Duklja. When asked whether she would respond to the Public Call for proposals for projects and programs for the Program for the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Property for 2024, announced by the Ministry of Culture and Media, she replied that she would consult with curators and archaeologists.
"In the area of cultural heritage, JU Museums and Galleries of Podgorica will, as part of its core activity, deal with the collection of museum material (through field research, purchase, gifts, exchange and other means); implementing preventive and permanent protection of museum objects and museum documentation; research in museum activity for the purpose of collection, valorization and presentation of museum material; performing professional processing of museum material; keeping documentation on museum material; by auditing the museum fund; by organizing permanent and occasional exhibitions", she announced.
In addition, he will deal with professional processing and presentation of museum objects that are part of museum collections.
"There is also a digitization process, which is ongoing, with the aim of harmonizing with international standards of museum activity. From the protection of cultural heritage to the promotion of contemporary visual creativity, digitization is not only a global trend, but also one of the most significant models of the development of contemporary museology. On the other hand, the production and presentation of audio-visual content aims to spread knowledge about the values and importance of cultural assets, through virtual productions", said Ćupić.
Among the program priorities of the museum is the social role of culture, she pointed out.
"The realization of that program segment refers to topics of wider social importance and implies the promotion of civic and multicultural values, democracy, diversity of cultural identities and creative expressions, through the participation of the audience and citizens, as well as greater representation of social groups and communities. Within that program segment, our institution implements numerous thematic exhibitions, cooperation programs with the civil sector, as well as non-formal education programs for children and young people, which are implemented through interactive learning.
The program "Be on 'YOU' with a museum object" is also a novelty, which was conceived with the aim of affirming objects and works of art from the Ethnographic, Archaeological, and Historical Departments, as well as the work of the Department for Museum and Gallery Documentation, updating and popularizing museum activities through daily events. /forms.
"The goal of this program is to bring museum collections closer to the general public in a simple and interesting way," said Ćupić.
The budget is mostly intended for infrastructure
When it comes to the budget, it consists of several items...
"More than 300.000 is intended for the renovation of the cooling system, 150.000 for the renovation of the permanent exhibition, 50.000 euros is intended for the renovation of the lower part of Kuslev's house, as part of which we planned to maybe build some art-cafe and an apartment for visiting artists, because a lot of money is going on providing accommodation. In addition, we also have some 15 thousand for a macro space that would connect the space behind the administration building of JU Museums and Galleries and Kuslev's House. Some part of those funds was planned for last year, but it was not spent, so we managed to transfer it to this year. In addition to all that, we have more than 200.000 euros for regular programs," she told the media.
Ćupić announced that the administration building of JU Museums and Galleries of Podgorica will be closed due to work on the replacement of the air conditioning system, in the period from February 16 to March 16.
"Other museum units (Art Gallery, Risto Stijović Gallery, Kuslev House, Marko Miljanov Museum) will work at full capacity, according to established working hours. Also, what awaits us in the coming period is the continuation of work on modernization, accessibility and maintenance of exhibition spaces, which is also part of the strategic plan for improving exhibition conditions, in accordance with modern standards of museum and gallery activity", said the director.
The depots are in good condition, she stated and said that many of them have been renovated, and the continuation of those works will only happen when the audit is completed, she hopes at the end of next year.
Strengthening cooperation
She also pointed out that this institution participates in the IVA project (Inclusiveness and Visibility for Sustainable Cultural Development), which is implemented within the first call of the "Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans" program and lasts for 12 months.
"The goal of that project is to establish cooperation between cultural institutions from Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to protect inclusiveness and the influence of cultural and historical heritage, then to strengthen the capacity of partner cultural institutions through education and the acquisition of equipment, as well as the introduction of new inclusive services that preserve tradition and cultural and historical heritage, in order to make museums more inclusive, visible and attractive to citizens and tourists," she said.
As part of the mentioned activities, the organization of Museum Inclusivity Day is planned in both countries.
"The operational meeting related to this project was held on January 18 in Sarajevo, where the realization and implementation of upcoming activities, as well as the dynamic plan and budget of the project were discussed. Also, on that occasion, the Partnership Agreement on the joint realization of the project was signed, as well as the Agreement on mutual cooperation on the establishment of a common platform for inclusivity within the project," she pointed out.
Ćupić adds that cooperation with city and national institutions, museum and gallery institutions, civil sector organizations in the field of culture, art and social activities, cultural and artistic associations, the media, as well as with educational institutions, is continuing in order to improve cooperation and program activities as and in the direction of popularizing culture and introducing the public to our cultural heritage and artistic creativity.
She also announced the organization of a two-day international conference at the beginning of October.
"International Conference and General Assembly of the European Association of the Council of Europe - in partnership with the European association Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends, which deals with the analysis of cultural policies in the member countries and signatories of the European Convention on Culture, based in Bonn and in cooperation with the University "Mediterranean" Podgorica, JU Museums and galleries of Podgorica will hold a two-day international conference at the beginning of October this year, which will gather more than eighty members of the association, experts in cultural policies, curators, museum owners, artists and cultural workers from 45 European countries", explained Ćupić.
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