There is little information about the 61st October Salon. It is not known, for example, how the selected artists deserved to represent the current art world scene and how much it all costs
It has been held in Belgrade since November 7 61. October Salon, the biggest event on the capital's art scene, which the local media reports is unnoticeable, and they ask - did you know that October has started?
Namely, The organizers are silent about him.. Only one email was sent to the media, and that was the day before the start, with the information that Oktobarac was starting, an excerpt from the text of the curator Numa Hambursin, and brief descriptions of the settings in the five exhibition spaces. And, since then, no more words.
About the selector
First of all, there is no information about the artists that we have the opportunity to see in Belgrade, it is not known, for example, what they did to deserve to represent the current artistic world scene and because of that they were chosen as an October man. In the mentioned single text, their names and a sentence or two about what they present are listed. These explanations are possibly insufficiently understandable even to experts, and their names mean nothing to the ordinary world, ignorant of the events in art.
Chairman of the Board of the 61st October Salon Vuk Vidor in the middle of August, on the "Vremena" portal, he spoke extremely positively about the selector Numa Hambursin and his selection.
Photo: Promo/Cealine EscolanoCoach Numa Hambursin
He said that he chose him personally, because as "chairman of the Board he is authorized to do this", and stated that Hambursa is the director of the MOCO museum in Montpellier, France, which "comprises two museums, three gallery spaces and an academy", which indicates his expertise. Vidor then emphasized that Hambursin "makes good exhibitions, brings changes in both the artistic and institutional sense, which is what he is known for in the world."
"He clearly showed that with his selection he would try to influence the local scene, which is too focused on reacting to political and social events, he believes that some other aspirations are current in contemporary European art, focused on the concept of beauty and not engagement," Vuk Vidor announced at the time.
About artists
At the time, he did not want to reveal the names of the artists invited by Numa Hambursin to Belgrade, he only said that "among the foreign artists there are world-renowned ones", and that "the curator chose the works according to the concept defined in the title of the October Salon - The Randomness of the Universe."
He also announced that the curator intends to present an equal number of works by artists from abroad and from Serbia at the 61st October Salon.
Photo: Promo/Personal archive of the artistChiharu Shiota, Life Unknown
Let's start with that: out of 27 participants, only two contemporary artists are from Serbia (Veljko Vučković and Vladimir Milivojević Boogie), four of them live in France (Filip Mirazinović, Brankica Žilović, Davor Vrankić and Marko Velk), plus two legendary greats - Dado Đurić and Vladimir Veličković, who also lived in France.
In this place, it is impossible not to notice that Vuk is the son of Vidor Veličkovic and the brother of Marko Velko, so it should not be surprising that local artists say that this year we have "Oktobarac Veličković".
About the French October Revolution
They also say that this is a French October, not an international one, because it is dominated by artists who live in the country from which the curator comes.
There are 16 of them, including four originally from Serbia with an address in France.
Among them are five graduates who, it is possible to assume, are not among the world famous ones mentioned by Vidor. They come from the College of Fine Arts in Montpellier, which is, isn't it, part of the MOCO museum complex headed by curator Numa Hamboursin.
As it was explained in the organizer's email, they were chosen by the artist Barthelemy Toguo, "internationally recognized who, among other things, advocates for the affirmation of African artistic creativity. Their meeting was conceived as a tribute to young people, dialogue between different environments and artistic freedom".
Photo: Promo/Galerie Lelong & Co.B. Toguo
It is not said which countries the other artists come from. And two female artists come from China, but among the five graduates from the College of Fine Arts from Montpellier, then from Cameroon, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Romania, Sweden, Japan and Russia.
About the budget
It is not known how much the 61st October Salon costs. Neither the Board of the Salon nor the City Secretariat for Culture have commented on this.
At the end of May this year, employees of program sector of the Cultural Center of Belgrade sent an open letter in which they warned that the planned financial resources from the City's budget for this year's Salon were reduced four times compared to previous editions.
In the middle of August, Vuk Vidor declared that the originally cut budget was no longer an obstacle. He stated that the previously predicted (and reduced) amount had been increased three times by that moment thanks to the engagement of the city's Secretariat for Culture, which closed the financial structure for implementation.
Then several local artists protested because of, allegedly, unequal artistic fees, that is, because of the disparity between the budget intended for the foreign curatorial team and the fees offered to local artists.
About non-transparency
Jelena Medakovic, the Secretary for Culture of the City, stated that "fees are equal for everyone and will certainly be part of individual contracts." She added that the final monetary amount mostly depends on the complexity of the work's production and work technology, so she does not believe that it can be disputed by any artist.
And Vuk Vidor assessed the rebellion and boycott of a part of the stage as a political act: "The October Salon is being demolished by those whose interests are more important than art", adding that it is an "attempt to demolish" the theater on the model of how, in his opinion, it was done with Bitef and Fest.
Everything would have been different if the budget allocated for the October Salon had been transparent, and if all assumptions had been explained to the public in documents.
Elem, 61. The October salon is open, and experts will assess whether the money spent was worth the cost.
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