During May and June, the Heroines art programme will turn the European Capital of Culture into a centre of women’s creativity. This programme arch celebrates the heroines of art, breaks down prejudices and stereotypes, and shows the development and influences of emancipation and equality of women throughout Europe, and at the very beginning, between 18 and 25 May, opens as many as six exhibitions that connect various historical figures important to our culture. They are a sight to see, so we fully recommend visiting them. Partner of the Heroines art programme is Erste bank.

The Heroine is the First Lady of Yugoslavia

The widow of the former president of Yugoslavia, Jovanka Broz, was a woman who had a life that surpassed Hollywood scenarios. From the front lines in the People’s Liberation Struggle and the world of diplomacy and jet set to the thirty-year-long life in isolation, the first lady of SFRY, Jovanka Broz, over the decades became a kind of pop icon. As part of the Heroines programme, you will have a unique opportunity to see the exhibition The Partisan and Fragonard. Collection of Jovanka Broz in the Gallery of Matica Srpska, which will open on 18 May in collaboration with the Museum of Yugoslavia. On this occasion, works of art from the villa of Jovanka Broz will be presented to the public for the first time, introducing us to her intimate world and taste, but also to a reflection of time and historical circumstances in the works of art she chose as the decor of her living space. Guided tours of the exhibition are organized every first Friday of the month: on 20 May, 3 June, 1 July, and 5 August at 7.00 p.m., as well as the first Friday after the opening and every weekend at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

‘It seems to me that this collection primarily speaks of her past. I understand it as a collection of memories curated by Jovanka. After Tito’s death, she transferred all the things (as much as she could) that evoked certain memories and which she personally considered important from the Residence. This collection is basically a collection of memories with which she tried to get back the time she considered lost,’ says Nikola Ivanović, the curator of the Gallery of Matica Srpska.

Feminist Avantgarde

The international exhibition Feminist Avantgarde within the Heroines programme arch will also show how heroine artists can change the world. Visit the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina between 19 May and 26 June to see an exhibition that will present the works of 78 female artists from around the world, with special reference to the local scene that gave birth to artistic individuals whose influence was far-reaching. The exhibition primarily deals with the analysis of women’s personal identity in contemporary art practices and society, explores the processes of performativity, demateriality and transgression, as well as the idea of breaking through formal, media, and spatial boundaries. Do not miss it!

Heroines of the Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection

Pavle Beljanski, the passionate collector of artworks, paid special attention to the world of art, museums and galleries, possibly even more than he did to his own profession – diplomacy. He was one of the few men who helped women’s art at the time, so the Heroines programme was a great opportunity for the Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection to present female artists from his collection

for the first time ever, including interpretations from a feminist perspective, through a multimedia exhibition Heroines of the Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection, which will open on 20 May. A quarter of the total number of pieces from the collection is the work of seven heroines who will be presented on this occasion: Nadežda Petrović, Zora Petrović, Ljubica Sokić, Milica Zorić, Vidosava Kovačević, Liza Križanić and Leposava S. Pavlović.

Milana Kvas, the manager of the Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection, stated that Pavle Beljanski expanded his collection from the beginning of the 1920s until his death in 1965, adding: ‘In the period between the two world wars, when Beljanski collected works that will form the nucleus of today’s collection, collectors across Europe continued to mostly select works by male authors. Along with 46 works from Pavle Beljanski’s collection, the exhibition will also feature a selection of works by artists from the Museum’s Art Collection formed through purchases and gifts, in which drawings by Ljubica Sokić are exhibited for the first time, as well as photographs of heroines from the Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection.’

From a Female Perspective

The exhibition of the ‘Česká beseda’ association – From a Female Perspective, which enriches the panorama of preoccupations, activities and achievements of exceptional female artists in this part of the world between 1850 and 1950, shows that the influence of Pavle Beljanski exceeds the limits of his legacy and transcends time. Visit Sremski Karlovci next weekend and check out the exhibition opening on 21 May at the Cultural Centre Karlovci Art Worksho.

Women’s Shawl as a Cultural Code

It seems that women’s shawls have always been a part of everyday women’s culture, a part of work or formal clothes, an object of traditional craftsmanship and a fashion accessory. And maybe an expression of patriarchal oppression or female resistance? Don’t miss the great exhibition Shawl as a Cultural Signifier, created by the Association of Feminist Organizations ‘(Re)konekcija’ with an international team of six curators, which studies the culture of shawls on three continents (Europe, Africa, Asia) through various aspects of shawls as a cultural code. The exhibition will open at the Museum of Vojvodina on 18 May, so we suggest you visit it during a walk along Dunavska Street.

Feminine Thread

Another exhibition dedicated to women and tradition is the international exhibition Feminine Thread, which will open in the Creative District (Radionica) on 25 May in cooperation with the Tapestry Studio ‘Atelje 61’. On this occasion, ‘tapestries of dreams woven with desire and hemp’ will be put on display, and the exhibition will point out the issue of women’s creativity and heritage in a specific field of tapestry making, which has always been considered a woman’s job

Erste Bank is the partner of the Heroines programme arch.

Author: Marina Marić

Photo: Promo / ECOC