On Friday, 27 August 2021, at 12 p.m., the MSURS held a press conference to announce it has received a major bequest from artist Željko Opačak. This generous donation will greatly enlarge the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Republic of Srpska in the year that marks its 50th anniversary.

The bequest contains works by the Slovenia-based visual artist Željko Opačak, originally from Banja Luka. The donation, which includes 1533 paintings and mixed-technique works on paper made in the 1980s, fulfills the artist’s desire to permanently leave a part of his oeuvre in the custody of his city of birth.

The MSURS held the press conference as a sign of gratitude to the artist for this rare and inspiring act of generosity, which will enrich its collection with works illustrating Banja Luka’s art scene back in the 1980s.

The event was attended by Željko Opačak, the donating artist, Tanja Đaković, assistant to the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Srpska, Sarita Vujković, PhD, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Republic of Srpska, and Žana Vukičević, senior curator at the MSURS Collection Department. A donation agreement between Mr Opačak and the MSURS was signed at the press conference.