170th Anniversary of Matica Srpska Gallery
In the jubilee year, the Matica Srpska Gallery, which has one of the most valuable collections of the national art of the 16th to the 20th century, has brought to an end the restoration of its building. The façade is now in a new guise and with decorative lights, whereas the Gallery space is again open for the public to visit it. There are two new sculptures on the green area in front of the edifice: Painter Milan Konjović and A Nude Figure of a Woman. That is the first step towards the goal that Novi Sad, as the European Capital of Culture 2021, aspires to achieve: the conquering of the Gallery Square and the building of the Sculpture Park.
By renewing the façade, the ten years of working on the reconstruction, modernization and transformation of the Gallery have been crowned. In a wish to show respect to its establishers and Founding Fathers, and to draw visitors’ attention to their contributions, its exhibition halls and ceremonial salons have been named after the significant persons from the history of the institution.
Pantheon of the establishers and outsanding persons
The Big Hall on the ground floor is named after Sava Tekelija – the first great benefactor and honorary president of Matica Srpska, who initiated the idea of establishing the Museum by having given eleven family portraits as a gift in 1842. The Small Salon is named after the first secretary of Matica Srpska Teodor Pavlović, whose efforts officially started the establishment of the Museum. The ground-floor Exhibition Halls are named after the first administrator – Milivoje Nikolajević, deserving for the relocation to today’s building, who also laid the foundations for the exhibition activity. Ultimately, the Big Salon is named after Leposava Šelmić – the administratress who succeeded in preserving and improving the work of the Gallery in the difficult years in the late 20th century.
Pantheon of artists
As an art temple, the Gallery formed the Pantheon of Artists within the framework of its permanent exhibition. The selected portraits of the Serbian painters and sculptors of the 19th and the 20th centuries testify to the artists who were creating their works, to the artists who were being portrayed and to the artists who gave their works as a gift, thus becoming a part of its history, too. The celebration of the jubilee has been shaped by the campaign entitled Experience Art – Works of Art Live Under the Roof of the Institution; the Gallery’s experts bring them back to life by applying their knowledge so as to make the audience gain an experience of those works during their visits, thus enabling the audience to become a part of the Gallery’s everyday life through their visits and participation in diverse programs.
170 reasons for you to come
In a wish to make it possible for the public to become more familiar with the Gallery’s collection and its works in the jubilee year, the program entitled “170 Years, Our 170 Stories, Your 170 Days” has also been initiated, within the framework of which the stories of the history of the Gallery, its collections, activities and the works exhibited in its permanent setting are presented to the audience on a daily basis from 12 to 6 p.m. Apart from the standard time – Friday, at 7 p.m. is reserved for professional interpretations, publication promotions and lectures – yet another, new time at weekends at 1 at 7 p.m. has also been scheduled for professional interpretations of the current exhibitions. Welcome!
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