The Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro (MCAM) presented yesterday in Kruševac Park the catalogue accompanying the second edition of the major research and exhibition project “Montenegro Today”, which this year brought together 94 artists across four thematic sections presented at four exhibition venues.

The presentation featured Maša Vlaović, project coordinator, curators Natalija Đuranović, Biljana Keković, Natalija Vujošević and Vuk Vuković, as well as the publication’s designer, Denis Ćupić. Speaking about the publication and this year’s edition of the project, they discussed the research and curatorial process that preceded the exhibitions, the concepts behind the four thematic sections, and the significance of the catalogue as a lasting record of contemporary artistic production in Montenegro.

The publication features curatorial texts that provide a more detailed insight into the concepts of the exhibitions “Identity,” “Living Images,” “Dynamic Points and Invisible Lines,” and “Open Field / Artistic Practices and Ideas of Nature,” as well as presentations of the artists featured in each of the four sections. The introductory text is authored by Maša Vlaović and Marina Čelebić, while Maša Vlaović and Maja Dedić are the project coordinators.

Project coordinator Maša Vlaović recalled that “Montenegro Today” was launched as a long-term research and exhibition programme intended to provide systematic and continuous insight into Montenegro’s contemporary art scene.

“The ‘Montenegro Today’ project was launched by the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro in September 2023 as a multi-year process of researching, mapping and presenting Montenegro’s contemporary art scene. From the outset, it was important for us not merely to produce periodic surveys of artistic production, but to use continuous curatorial research to examine the connections, parallels, differences and potential of artistic practices that shape Montenegro’s contemporary visual culture. It is precisely the project’s multi-year character that enables us to follow the scene as it develops and to open up new readings from different perspectives,” Vlaović said.

She emphasised that the exhibition component of the project is underpinned by an extensive research process and the collaborative work of the Museum’s curatorial and project team.

’ Montenegro Today’ is, above all, the result of teamwork. The Museum’s curators researched developments in the visual arts according to a jointly defined methodology, which enabled us to systematically monitor and document the scene. One of the important outcomes of this process is a substantial database of artists and contemporary artistic production, which we plan to digitise and make available to the wider professional community in the coming period. In this way, the research is not limited to a single exhibition or one edition of the project, but provides a foundation for future work, new research and the presentation of Montenegrin art,” Vlaović noted.

Speaking about the project’s next stages, Vlaović stressed that its international dimension has been an important part of the development of “Montenegro Today” from the outset.

“One of our key objectives is not only to present the results of this research in Montenegro, but also to increase the visibility of contemporary Montenegrin art internationally. Part of the project was presented in Ljubljana last year, and we are now planning a presentation of the project in Strasbourg, while at the same time we are in discussions regarding opportunities to present it in the United States. For us, international presentations are not merely opportunities to showcase the work of Montenegrin artists abroad, but also a way to build long-term professional relationships, create opportunities for new collaborations and connect Montenegro’s art scene with broader regional, European and international currents,” Vlaović emphasised.

Speaking about the exhibition “Identity,” presented at Petrović Castle, curator Natalija Đuranović explained that the curatorial team’s point of departure was an understanding of identity as a process that is continuously changing and being redefined.

“We did not approach identity as a fixed and predetermined category, but as a complex and changing process that emerges through the relationship between the body, perception, memory, society and art. The different media and artistic poetics represented in the exhibition formed a network of relationships in which the works communicate with one another, while at the same time inviting viewers to participate actively in the creation of meaning and to recognise aspects of their own experience within them,” Đuranović said.

Curator Biljana Keković spoke about the exhibition “Dynamic Points and Invisible Lines,” presented at the MCAM Gallery, which took as its point of departure the concept of intimate cosmologies and the personal universes individuals construct from their experiences, memories, emotions and relationship with the world.

“We were interested in how artists construct their own cosmologies – dynamic systems of meaning shaped by memories, social relationships and internal processes. These personal universes are neither stable nor closed. They are constantly being reshaped, while the different artistic perspectives within the exhibition touch, intersect and diverge. The exhibition therefore does not offer a single definitive truth, but rather a space in which the audience can establish its own relationship with the works and discover its own meanings,” Keković noted.

Curator Natalija Vujošević discussed the concept of “Open Field / Artistic Practices and Ideas of Nature,” presented at the ULUCG Art Pavilion.

“We approached nature as an open field in which questions of identity, history, ecology, culture and social relations converge. Our intention was not to offer a single interpretation of nature, but to enable different artistic positions, generations and experiences to coexist. It is precisely this openness that allows us to see nature not as a backdrop to human activity, but as a space of interconnectedness, responsibility and a different understanding of the world to which we belong,” Vujošević said.

Curator Vuk Vuković presented the concept of “Living Images,” staged at Perjanički Dom and partly in Kruševac Park, which used diverse artistic practices to address questions of social relations, inequality, technology, the body and communication.

“Within this concept, we view contemporary art as an active participant in social processes rather than as a field that exists outside them. The works brought together in ‘Living Images’ address mechanisms of power and inequality, our relationship with the body, as well as the increasingly powerful influence of technology on our experience and communication. The artwork thus becomes a space for critical thought – it does not necessarily provide answers, but confronts us with the processes shaping contemporary reality,” Vuković said.

Publication designer Denis Ćupić spoke about the process of designing the catalogue and the challenge of bringing together four distinct curatorial concepts and a large number of artistic positions within a coherent publication.

“The design approach emerged from the very structure of the project – its multiplicity of voices and its four distinct thematic sections. It was important to establish a visual system that would bring the publication together as a whole, while at the same time allowing each curatorial concept and each featured artist to retain their own identity. The catalogue was therefore conceived as an extension of the exhibition experience, but also as an independent document of the project that remains accessible after the exhibitions have ended,” Ćupić said.

The Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro launched “Montenegro Today” in September 2023 as a multi-year research and exhibition platform dedicated to mapping, documenting and presenting Montenegro’s contemporary art scene. The research encompasses artists working in Montenegro, as well as artists of Montenegrin origin who live and work abroad.

This year’s edition, organised to mark the 20th anniversary of the restoration of Montenegro’s independence, presented 94 artists through four thematic exhibitions at Petrović Castle, Perjanički Dom, the MCAM Gallery and the ULUCG Art Pavilion.

The catalogue presentation brought this year’s exhibition cycle of “Montenegro Today” to a close, while the project’s research and international development continue through new curatorial perspectives, collaborations and presentations of contemporary Montenegrin art both in Montenegro and abroad.