The exhibition “Montenegro Today,” where works by over a hundred contemporary Montenegrin artists will be showcased across five locations in Podgorica, represents the image of an emancipated state that finally gets its evaluation system and museum treatment.

This was announced at a press conference of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro (MCAM) regarding the opening of the “Montenegro Today” exhibition, which will be open today from 5 PM to 8 PM at the Petrović Castle, House of The King’s Guard, the MCAM Gallery, the Association of Fine Artists of Montenegro, and the RTCG Gallery.

MCAM Director Vladislav Šćepanović recalled that the exhibition began with the idea of curators from this institution visiting studios across Montenegro.

“That idea was initially inspiring for all curators. We realized that this is a project that will last for several years and that we would not be able to realize it in one year because the mission of MCAM is to have a database of all artists,” said Šćepanović.

He stated that over a hundred artists are represented in the exhibition, which is spread across five spaces, making it one of the most important exhibitions of the contemporary Montenegrin scene today in terms of quantity.

“Our idea is to see what will happen after this exhibition in terms of how we will further promote contemporary Montenegrin art beyond Montenegro’s borders. This is the beginning from which a representation will emerge for various exhibitions that we will have worldwide and in the region,” said Šćepanović.

He announced that the exhibition will be presented in Brazil next year and that other destinations are planned.

“This exhibition was the most challenging for us, and we wanted to show the most,” said Šćepanović.

He announced that MCAM will start charging tickets from this exhibition.

“Tickets for MCAM will be five euros for visiting all five spaces within this exhibition, three euros for group visits, and two euros for students, high school students, and pensioners. We are starting to operate as a museum in every respect, so this is another novelty we have introduced for this and upcoming exhibitions,” said Šćepanović.

Minister of Culture and Media PhD Tamara Vujović said that the exhibition “Montenegro Today” is one of the rare ones that will enrich us and make us historical witnesses of Montenegrin contemporary art.

“This exhibition represents the image of an emancipated Montenegro that finally gets its evaluation system and museum treatment, from identification, collection, and preservation to presentation. Now we know who we have, who represents us, and who the actors of the contemporary Montenegrin scene are,” said Vujović.

She stated that contemporary Montenegrin art existed without a museum but with the risk of being evaluated beyond uncritical and non-artistic categories.

“Finally, in the national metropolis, Montenegro is recognized, evaluated, and given appropriate museum treatment today. Ignoring the relationship with modernity would mean neglecting the relationship with the future, which is why this exhibition is another proof that the transformation of the Center for Contemporary Art into MCAM was justified and that this is one of the successful projects we are witnessing,” said Vujović.

Project coordinator Maša Vlaović said that all MCAM curators participated in the project, tasked with researching phenomena in the visual arts in Montenegro.

“The research also included artists who originate from this area but live and create outside Montenegro, as well as those who are temporarily working or studying abroad. The research was conducted according to an established work methodology,” said Vlaović.

She stated that the activities planned by the project include exhibitions, publications, and presentations of contemporary Montenegrin art within our country and beyond its borders, as well as educational programs intended for both professionals and the general public.

“In addition to the mentioned activities, the project also includes forming a database of each Montenegrin artist and monitoring the entire art scene. This project is accompanied by a publication containing the names of the selected works and artists in this exhibition. Such publications will accompany exhibitions realized over five years (the project’s duration), while the final publication, registering all artists, will be prepared and rounded off at the end of the project,” said Vlaović.

She explained that the curators designed the exhibitions as a team.

“The concepts of the exhibitions and the selection of artists’ works that fit the given theme, within five exhibition spaces, were dictated by the curatorial vision based on the connection of artworks through theme, motive, composition, and idea of similarity,” said Vlaović.

She pointed out that works by authors not included in this exhibition will be presented in future exhibitions during the five-year project, in line with curatorial concepts.

Vlaović explained that each exhibition has its subtitle, namely: at the Petrović Castle, the title is “The Landscape That Watches Us,” at the House of The King’s Guard “Identity,” at the MCAM Gallery “Living Pictures,” at AFAM “Fragments of a Dream,” and at RTCG Gallery “Technostructure.”

Curator of the exhibition segment “The Landscape That Watches Us” Anita Ćulafić said that the landscape has always been one of the most popular motifs in Montenegrin art, due to its dynamism and splendor, symbolic and imaginative potentials, and its role in building identity.

“Perception has changed over time, as has the landscape itself, and the preoccupations of artists have ranged from purely visual in terms of composition, color, light, form, texture, to conceptual, dealing with various socially conditioned phenomena that inevitably include, change, and hybridize the landscape,” said Ćulafić.

She explained that the exhibition provides a view of this theme from different positions, emphasizing the role of humans and their responsibility towards nature.

“The exhibition ‘The Landscape That Watches Us’ depicts nature as a place of artistic inspiration and a center of ideas about freedom, beauty, imagination, coexistence, care, and responsibility from the perspective of Montenegrin artists of different generations, media, and conceptual approaches,” said Ćulafić.

Curator of the exhibition segment “Fragments of a Dream” Biljana Keković said that this exhibition represents a thematic hub related to intimate cosmologies, parallel worlds, and imaginary spaces.

“Together with Nikolina Zuber, we made a selection of 33 artists, covering paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, objects, and installations. Conceptual works intermingle and correspond on the level of language and values, creating a living flow of colors, lines, shapes, and rhythm,” said Keković.

She stated that the artists represented in this exhibition express their ideas and truths in a lucid way and clearly feel the pulse of the time they live in.

Curator of the exhibition segment “Identity” Natalija Đuranović said that this segment consists of works by ten authors, noting that they are united by the concept of identity as a broad notion and various themes related to it.

“The artists and works we selected reflect the spirit of the new era (the relationship between art and social reality). The works are in different media and interesting; the setting is harmonious and balanced, the works resonate with each other, and the authors are united by their topicality and originality of expression,” said Đuranović.

She believes that the theme of the “Identity” segment is relevant, contemporary, and interesting to the audience.

“The artists are preoccupied with social reality, processes, relations, everyday life, environment, and, through art as a social phenomenon, develop their artistic expressions based on their personal stories and experiential perspectives. The works point to the social content in which they are created, directing expression as a message to the observer placed within the phenomenon of contemporary art, which is based on the substitution of aesthetic social content with artistic work,” said Đuranović.

Curator of the exhibition segment “Living Pictures” Anja Marković said that engaged art, positioned within modern and contemporary art trends, continuously questions its foundations and purpose by reflecting the broader political reality within them.

“Through direct and living pictures (which include paintings, texts, and music), our views are opened or confirmed, but also united. This exhibition offers insight into the complexity of social and political issues in Montenegro and invites the audience to reflect and actively participate in these themes. Thus, artists continue to point fingers where it hurts. Not because engaged art is identified with harsh criticism, but because it reflects the desire to become better,” said Marković.

Curator of the exhibition segment “Technostructure” Vuk Vuković said that this exhibition presents six artists and is dedicated to technology and architecture.

“What we consider important is that there is no view (perception and knowledge) of technology that is not already greatly technologized, schematized, like the experience of space condensed in architecture as an expression of shaped externalization that has taken form, shape, expression,” said Vuković.

He stated that the artists in their works resist technology and return to tactile and experiential senses, “which are important to them and without which there is nothing.”