"October salon will be held from October 30 to December 5 at several locations in the city, and the preparations are proceeding according to plan," Vuk Veličković Vidor, president of the board of this largest artistic manifestation in the country, told Vreme.
He emphasizes that its implementation is not in danger, as was the impression at the beginning of the summer.
The October Salon, known as Oktobarac, is a biennial event. This year is its 61st edition. The organizer of October is the Cultural Center of Belgrade (KCB).
Remarks from the Cultural Center
At the end of May, Program Department of the Cultural Center of Belgrade publicly warned that the 61st October Salon was called into question due to problems with organization, financing and the status of the artistic director. Vuk Vidor and Jelena Medakovic, secretary for culture of the City, immediately denied the remarks of KCB employees.
Since then, nothing has been heard about the October Salon. On the KCB website there is not a single letter about the 61st October Salon, the latest information is about the awards two years ago 60. Salon. The names of the members of the new Board have not been entered either, although they were elected in December last year.
Turning to the concept of beauty
Vuk Vidor now tells "Vreme" that he chose the curator of the 61st October Salon, because as "president of the Board, he is authorized to do so." The curator is Nima Hamboursin, director of the MOCO museum from Montpellier, France, "comprising two museums, three gallery spaces and an academy." Vidor emphasizes that Nima Hambursin "makes good exhibitions, brings changes in both the artistic and institutional sense, which is what he is known for in the world."
"He will be in Belgrade for the third time at the end of August, we toured the studio together. He clearly showed that with his selection he would try to influence the scene here, which is too focused on reacting to political and social events, he believes that in contemporary European art, some other aspirations are current, focused on the concept of beauty and not engagement," says Vuk Vidor.
He states that the title of this year's October Salon is "The Coincidence of the Universe", and that the subtitle is "Beauty / Sublimation / Masterpiece". It originated from a sentence by Andre Malraux: "Art is what tells us that man is not just an accident of the universe."
Vuk Vidor still does not want to reveal the names, but says that "among the foreign artists there are world famous ones", and that "the curator chose the works according to the concept defined in the title."
The intention of the curators is to present an equal number of works by artists from abroad and from Serbia at the 61st October Salon.
He also says that the text of the selection explanation is currently being translated.
The October Salon will be held at several locations in Belgrade, which will be announced soon.
Oktobarac is not with Expo.
Vidor also claims that the previously planned budget for the October Salon has so far been increased three times "thanks to the engagement of the Secretariat for Culture", which, he says, is "a great relief".
He denies that Oktobarac is connected with Expo, as is written on social networks. "It's an attempt to humiliate the October Salon," he says.
He does not deny that several artists refused the invitation to participate in the October Salon, which is heard in the public. "Yes, two or three artists refused the invitation and wrote to the curator about it. Their messages were unpleasant, they advised him to give up October so that the whole art scene would not turn against him," Vidor says.
"I don't understand the motive and need of people to demolish October Salon, Bitef, Fest just because there is no party in power that they like. This means that they don't think that art is more important than politics. I think that the attempt to demolish was started by a group that didn't see their interest in seeing Oktoberac realized, so they concluded that it shouldn't be held because of that."
By the way, Vuk Vidor emphasizes that giving up the October Salon would be a wrong move and that "art should be shown at all costs and in all circumstances."
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