As part of the opening ceremony of the Stone building and formalisation of the completion of construction works on the renovated part of the Kastel fortress, the exhibition ''On the Modernist Road: Misirlić, Simić, Ćurić, Štaljo'' was opened on the 19th of April. The exhibition was produced by the Museum of Contemporary Art of Republic of Srpska and the Cultural Center Banski Dvor.
The decision to open the renovated space of the Stone building in the Kastel fortress with the exhibition ''On the Modernist Road: Misirlić, Simić, Ćurić, Štaljo'', which is focused on the members of the famous Group of Four, represents a logical step in Banjaluka's effort to revive the space that was once an important place of exhibiting and gathering of Banjaluka's artists.
The Group of Four (1955-1961), which consisted of then young artists Misirlić, Simić, Ćurić and Štaljo, was the foundation for the development of Banjaluka's art scene, and the artists' contribution to pedagogic work and acquainting Banjaluka's primary and secondary school students with visual culture shall not be forgotten.
Important pedagogic activities such as these had created a demanding and profiled audience which not only visited exhibitions, but also started to create private collections. Besides that, the group had most certainly influenced the forming of numerous cultural institutions, such as the Cultural Center Banski Dvor and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Republic of Srpska.
Modernised space of the old Stone building which had been renovated in order to permanently localise the future Museum of the City of Banja Luka, with the intention to place Banjaluka's valuable cultural heritage into the space which belongs to this city, has once again hosted the works that had been exhibited there as part of the Group's first public exhibition.
Exhibition ''On the Modernist Road: Misirlić, Simić, Ćurić, Štaljo'' was conceived by the curators of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Republic of Srpska, and it consists of over 70 works of Banjaluka's artists. All of the works are part of the fundus of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Republic of Srpska, Cultural Center Banski Dvor and the City of Banja Luka.
The exhibition will be on view until the 19th of June 2016.