"It's nothing to me. See how I'm smiling" is the title of the charity exhibition in which the members Fine Arts Associations (ULUS) they want to help employees who haven't received their salary in the past few months.
The opening is on Wednesday, May 27, at the ULUS Gallery in Knez Mihailova, and the event, which includes a workshop and a forum, will last until May 30. ULUS members will exhibit more than 150 works, and all the money from the sale is intended for the employees.
Forced step
The information about this action says that this is a "forced step" that is not a "sustainable operating model." It also says that ULUS "after a full hundred years of existence, is facing the most difficult financial crisis".
Mirjana Odić, vice-president of the Management Board of this Association, tells "Vreme" that the employees have not received their salaries for several months "due to institutional negligence and lack of funds".
The auction of donated works is already underway online "and we have already collected funds for one salary", says Mirjana Odić.
The best thing happened.
"The best thing that could have happened from such a difficult situation - it happened. And that is solidarity. We all showed our gratitude to our colleagues who work for us, devotedly and selflessly. And that is indestructible," says Mirjana Odić.
ULUS member Vladan Jeremić, a visual artist and culturologist, believes that artists are also part of the punishment felt by the entire Serbian culture. "106 years ago ULUS was not founded by the state, it was founded by Branislav Nušić and intellectuals, after World War II it was maintained by artists. Fighters, above all Moša Pijade and Kun, after that ULUS lived with more or less support, but it was never like it is now, at the time of the current setup of the Ministry of Culture."
Vladan Jeremić says that "three years ago, the Youth Biennale received a million dinars, and now from the Secretariat for Culture - nothing! I think that comment is redundant".
He reminds that ULUS is the oldest art association in Serbia, that it has 2500 members and many exhibitions and programs throughout the year. "In December, we participated in the Beijing Biennale, we organized an exhibition in a space of 1200 square meters - it was the largest exhibition of our contemporary art. 19 artists participated with more than 50 works," says Jeremić, just one of the Association's many international successes.
"All our programs are the result of enthusiasm and volunteerism," he says.
He states that "many famous artists donated their works" for the charity exhibition, as well as that the work of Tanja Ostojić, who is currently having a retrospective exhibition at the Legacy of Milica Zorić and Rodoljub Čolaković, was sold online the same day it was installed.
Letter regarding the competition
"It's another proof that it's not true that people don't care about art, and that charity actions are doomed to failure," says Vladan Jeremić, noting that the situation imposed on culture is never more difficult, and at the same time extremely encouraging.
Five days ago, ULUS responded with a public letter to the results of the competition of the City Secretariat for financing and co-financing of projects in culture, in which, among other things, it says the following:
"This year, at the competition of the Secretariat for Culture of the City of Belgrade, ULUS was awarded only 830.000 dinars for the annual programs in both exhibition spaces - an amount that is not enough for the basic maintenance of the program or space, let alone for the development and preservation of an institution of national importance, which by its nature ULUS should be in any normally organized society.
We would like to point out that ULUS's Youth Biennial project was not even considered in this competition, 0 dinars were allocated to encourage the art and creativity of young people, which speaks volumes about the bizarre criteria for the distribution of funds.
The ULUS Visual Artist Base project, which is of national importance to be further developed and maintained, was also not allocated funds, as was the sculpture colony Kalemegdansko drvo, which has been successfully realized for years in the very surroundings of the UP "Cvijeta Zuzorić". All this indicates to us a lack of procedures and a serious lack of standards when allocating funds in this competition."
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