In celebration of the event “Serbia Days in the Republic of Srpskaˮ, on 24 October 2019, an exhibition titled “European Phenomena from the Collection of the Matica Srpska Galleryˮ was opened at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Republic of Srpska.

The exhibition, first organised in 2018 to mark The European Year of Cultural Heritage, presents works by local and foreign artists, representative of different periods and executed in a range of techniques, brought together to inspire visitors to deliberate the phenomena and values forming the basis of European civilisation.

The works shown in the exhibition can be divided according to theme and form four different sections: Heritage, Freedom, Progress and Diversity.

Heritage is told through myths and religions as the foundations of European culture, showcases of the richness and diversity of local customs and traditions as illuminating human virtues and vices, by transposing them into well-known tales and images. The second theme is that of Freedom as the ideal of both nations and individuals, as well as artists, scientists and philosophers, as something that is won, protected and advocated. Progress is explained as the eternal aspiration of European nations towards prosperity in order to stay competitive and progressive; an aspiration based on education, science, inventiveness and creativity, with the aim of ensuring the prosperity of the continent as a whole. Finally, there is Diversity as Europe’s fundamental characteristic, which unites different peoples, languages, religions and affiliations, with the aim of making society more tolerant and sensible.

The works shown in the exhibition offer several possible ways of intepreting and analysing European values and phenomena, with the idea of encouraging visitors to cogitate on them.

Some of the most prominent names among the artists shown at the exhibition are Petar Dobrović, Paja Jovanović, Sava Šumanović, Milan Konjović, Petar Omčikus, Lazar Vujaklija, Danica Jovanović, Vasa Pomorišac, Bogdan Šuput, Uroš Predić, Špiro Bocarić, Anastas Jovanović, Dragutin Medenjak Inkiostri, Zaharije Orfelin, Stefan Tenecki, Hristofor Žefarović, and other important artists.

The exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Republic of Srpska was organised with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia.