Ceremonial Opening of the Exhibition The Art Collection of Matica srpska
In the year when Matica srpska, the oldest literary, cultural, and scientific society among the Serbs, celebrates the great jubilee of two centuries since its founding, the Gallery of Matica srpska is organizing the exhibition The Art Collection of Matica srpska, dedicated to presenting a unique artistic collection that has been continuously formed from 1826 to the present day.
The ceremonial opening of the exhibition will take place on Monday, February 16 at 12.00, on the day Matica srpska was founded. The audience will be addressed by Dr. Tijana Palkovljević Bugarski, Director of the Gallery of Matica srpska; Prof. Dr. Dragan Stanić, President of Matica srpska; and MA Stanislava Jovanović Mindić, the exhibition’s author.
This exhibition, through its carefully selected artworks, represents the complex history and exceptional value of the art collection of Matica srpska, which developed alongside the institution itself and its enduring mission – care for the culture, language, literature, artistic creativity, and science of the Serbian people. From its very beginnings, the founders of Matica srpska recognized the importance of art as one of the key bearers of cultural identity and historical memory.
Simultaneously, with its program and research activities, Matica srpska began systematically collecting portraits of its founders, presidents, secretaries, honorary members, and benefactors, as well as distinguished public figures, with the clear idea of forming a Pantheon of Distinguished Serbs. Through this special artistic ensemble, the visual identity of the Serbian people and their culture was shaped, and over time the collection grew into a rich and outstanding gallery of portraits, which continues to expand today through commissions of portraits of the presidents of Matica srpska, as well as other significant public figures.
In addition to the portraits, the art collection also includes numerous medals, plaques, diplomas, and decorations that Matica srpska has commissioned and received over two centuries of its existence, on the occasions of important anniversaries and recognitions for its contributions to the development of Serbian culture and society. A special section within the exhibition presents the Secretary’s Cabinet, with furniture and portraits illustrating the exceptional role that prominent secretaries – such as Teodor Pavlović, Jovan Đorđević, and Milan Savić – played in the development and activites of Matica srpska.
A significant part of the exhibition consists of a selection of the most important gifts and bequests that Matica srpska received after the Second World War, including donations from Lazar and Saveta Stojković, Olga and Kosta Milutinović, Sofija Šaškijević, as well as Suzana and Borivoj Samolovčev. A special place is also given to the recently realized testamentary bequest of the Novi Sad painter Miodrag Milhajlović, which once again confirms that the idea of donating and bequeathing works of art to one’s own people remains alive in the contemporary era.
At the same time, the exhibition testifies to Matica srpska’s readiness to adapt to the times and to contemporary artistic and social currents. On the occasion of important jubilees, in recent years Matica srpska has invited contemporary artists to respond to specific themes through their works and to donate those works to Matica srpska. Such projects were realized in 2016, marking 190 years of Matica srpska, through interpretations of the beehive motif as its symbol, as well as in 2024, when graphic artists responded to the bicentenary of the Letopis Matice srpske – the oldest literery periodicle with the longest press run in the whole world.
In the rooms of the Gallery of Matica srpska, selected worms from the Matica srpska Collection will be presented, while part of the collection housed in the Matica srpska building will be accessible to the public through new techologies and multimedia content. The exhibition is accompanied by a documentary film produced by the Gallery of Matica srpska, directed and written by Miroslav Stajić.
The exhibition The Art Collection of Matica srpska is founded on the deep and long-standing collaboration between the Gallery of Matica srpska and its founder, with a shared idea of the significance of preserving material testemonies of cultural continuity and the visual identity of the Serbian people. Despite numerous historical, social, and political challenges, the art collection of Matica srpska bears witness to the preserverance of Matica srpska’s visionary idea as a gathering center of Serbian culture and to the enduring value of art as its foundation.
The exhibition will be enriched by a diverse accompanying program on Fridays at 19.00, as well as curator-guided tours on weekends at 13.00 and 17.00. A family guide for parents with children will also accompany the exhibition, in order to introduce even the youngest visitors to the importance and role of Matica srpska.
The exhibition will be open to visitors until May 24, 2026.
The realization of the project was funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia.
