21st Century Abolishes Elitism

We have to fight for our young!

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Following restoration, two elite museums in Serbia opened their doors last year – the Gallery of Matica Srpska (GMS) in Novi Sad and the Museum of Modern Art (MMA) in Belgrade. We have talked to the directors of these two institutions – Tijana Palkovljević-Bugarski (GMS) and Slobodan Nakarada (MMA) – about the importance of quality art in an impoverished and politicized society like ours, and asked them the same 7 questions. Here are their answers.

The opening of the MMA and GMS, after the restoration, was one of the most important cultural events in Serbia in 2017. Looking back, how did the visitors and the general public react to the new-old museum space?

Slobodan: The reactions were fantastic! So far, over 84,000 people have visited our museum, and I do believe that we are constantly underestimating the thirst that people have for this kind of cultural content. The Museum’s building in Ušće was closed for 10 years, and we were sure that the audience had disappeared for good and forgot what we had in our possession. You have to constantly communicate to your audience and especially educate younger generations.

Tijana: As a result of the 2017 restoration, the Gallery of Matica Srpska now has a completely re-designed facade. Furthermore, thanks to numerous and diverse programmes and an active media campaign, we have managed to completely revamp the old-new exhibition areas. What we have now is a museum with a modern concept, longer opening hours and a series of different activities. The reactions from our visitors have been excellent! And our visitors are growing in number too.

You have both been at the helm of your respective museums for years, and have been managing them under various political circumstances. How important is