From September 25 to 27, 2025, a conference of the European Museum Academy (EMA) was held in Budapest, organized by the Money Museum. The event brought together leading European museums, whose projects were presented, and the most outstanding ones were awarded prestigious prizes at the closing ceremony.
The European Museum Academy is an organization composed of enthusiastic museum professionals from various countries, united by a shared mission: to advance knowledge in the field of museology. Under the slogan “In Search of Excellence,” the Academy is dedicated to identifying innovative museum projects that can serve as examples of good practice for other institutions.
For that goal, in cooperation with various institutions and foundations, the Academy presents several museum awards. Among the most notable are the Luigi Micheletti Award, given to museums for a visionary approach and compelling narrative; the DASA Award, which recognizes outstanding museum education projects; and the Art Museum Award (ASA), intended for projects that address art in an innovative and creative way while engaging with contemporary social issues.
This year, the Gallery of Matica Srpska applied for the Luigi Micheletti Award, a prestigious European prize that recognizes innovative museums distinguished by their ability to “tell history” through their permanent exhibitions and to transform content into a unique and convincing narrative. The jury, composed of museum professionals, evaluated the narrative structure, architectural features, integration of objects and media, as well as audience reception. The aim of the award is to highlight best practices in museology, encourage innovative approaches to presenting art, history, and science, and foster a critical understanding of the past in relation to contemporary society.
Among numerous candidate museums presented at the conference, the Gallery of Matica Srpska was selected as one of the five finalists for the Luigi Micheletti Award, alongside the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź (Poland), the Museum of Ethnography in Budapest (Hungary), the House of the Halubje Bell Ringers in Viškovo (Croatia), and the Obersalzberg Documentation Center in Berchtesgaden (Germany). On this occasion, the Gallery received a special recognition for its new permanent exhibition project Re-vision of the Collection of the Gallery of Matica Srpska.
“The innovative approach is particularly convincing: starting from the idea that museums are intended for diverse audiences – both individuals and groups – a modular and fluid structure has been created within the permanent exhibition. This means there is no single, comprehensive, linear approach to the collection, but rather a combination of smaller units that offer different experiences for visitors of all age groups, both local and international,” emphasized the judges.
Explaining their decision to grant the special award to the Gallery of Matica Srpska, the jury stated: “This gallery is a well-managed cultural institution with a highly professional curatorial team. Based on its collections from the 18th to the 20th century, it strives to present art as a universal language capable of responding to the challenges of contemporary society. Through its new permanent exhibition, the Gallery of Matica Srpska sends a strong message that Serbian art and culture are deeply and inseparably connected with the art and culture of Europe as a whole.”
This special recognition highlights the importance of the dedicated work and effort of the Gallery’s team in presenting and preserving the cultural heritage it holds. It also confirms the recognition and appreciation of the innovative concept of its new permanent exhibition by European museum professionals.
