Sarajevo, Marta Kos: EU and Italy join forces for the construction of the “Ars Aevi” Museum of Contemporary Art

The European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos - on a three-day official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina - attended today, 22 September, at Sarajevo City Hall, the signing ceremony of the contract between the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina and UNESCO, aimed at financing the construction of the Ars Aevi Museum of Contemporary Art.

The agreement was signed by Ambassador Luigi Soreca, Head of the EU Delegation and EU Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Siniša Šešum, UNESCO Representative in BiH. Also present at the ceremony were the Italian Ambassador, Sarah Castellani, the Mayor of Sarajevo, Samir Avdić, the Mayor of Novo Sarajevo, Benjamina Karić, representatives of cantonal institutions and the international community, including the Ambassadors of France and Spain, and the UN Resident Coordinator in BiH, Arnhild Spence.

The project is funded by the European Union, with contributions from the Government of the Italian Republic, the Canton of Sarajevo, the City of Sarajevo, and other institutional partners. Italy, in particular, has played a leading role since its inception. The Ars Aevi project was born in 1992 from an idea by Enver Hadžiomerspahić, as an act of cultural resistance during the siege of Sarajevo. The first galleries to donate works by internationally renowned artists were, in fact, Italian: the Spazio Umano Contemporary Art Center in Milan, the Luigi Pecci Center for Contemporary Art in Prato, and the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation in Venice.

During the difficult years of the conflict, over 150 works by international artists such as Marina Abramović, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Jannis Kounellis, and Joseph Beuys were collected, creating a unique collection, a symbol of solidarity and renaissance. Part of the collection is currently stored in the warehouse located within the City Hall itself, once the National Library, a symbol of war and siege.

Marta Kos said: "It is time for this collection to finally find a home, and this is exactly what we want to achieve: a museum of high international standing. I am proud that the European Union and its Member States support Ars Aevi. We want it to become a cultural reference point for Bosnia and Herzegovina, capable of attracting visitors from around the world. This is also what Europe is: cultural heritage and, above all, connection between people."

Over the years, Italy has continued to support and revive this project of exceptional artistic value. The museum building was designed by architect Renzo Piano, a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, who also designed the city bridge that will connect the two banks of the Miljacka River at the site of the museum. Between 2001 and 2007, Italy funded a project aimed at safeguarding the collection and renovating part of the Skenderija youth center to temporarily house the works. In 2021, following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the City and the Canton, Italy supported the drafting of the executive project and recently allocated additional funds through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) to support the start of the construction phase.

Ambassador Castellani stated: "It is a great emotion for me to attend this event, which is a new stage in the intense work we have undertaken together with local authorities, the European Union, and UNESCO, to revitalize the Ars Aevi project when it seemed hopeless. Thirty years after the Dayton Accords, Italian cultural diplomacy reaffirms its role as an important instrument in supporting peace and stability in the Balkans, fully consistent with Italy's efforts to promote the European integration prospects of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entire region. We hope that Ars Aevi will become an open, dynamic, and inclusive museum, and a symbol of a cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic Bosnia and Herzegovina firmly oriented toward the common European home."