On Friday, December 15, a press conference was held at the ARTGET gallery of the Belgrade Cultural Centre to announce the 60th October Salon. The upcoming, jubilee edition of the October Salon will be held from October 20 to December 1, 2024, organized by the Belgrade Cultural Centre, and realized by three international curatorial teams.
Three different concepts should explore, through the exhibition and programme, how and to what extent contemporary art tries to reflect and respond to the various challenges and problems of the age we live in, but also what its internal crises say about us and our position in the present? What will the dialogue among the curatorial teams bring and how can different concepts coexist?
Zorana Đaković Minniti, Associate Director of Programmes at the Cultural Centre of Belgrade, Vuk Vidor, President of the October Salon Board, and members of the three international curatorial teams spoke at the conference. The teams include Lorenzo Balbi, the director of the Museum of Modern Art in Bologna – MAMbo, in collaboration with Dobrila Denegri, art historian and curator; Matthieu Lelievre, curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Lyon, in collaboration with Maja Kolarić, Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade and Lina Džuverović, professor at the Chelsea College of Art, University of London, in collaboration with Emilia Epštajn and Ana Knežević, curators at the Museum of African Art in Belgrade.
Zorana Đaković Minniti, Associate Director of Programmes at the Cultural Centre of Belgrade, organizer of the next edition of the October Salon, stated that KCB would coordinate the entire process and cooperation among the curatorial teams, and that the process of selecting exhibition locations is currently under way. “All three selected curatorial teams have recognized the themes and issues faced by artists and cultural workers, as well as the challenges faced by the large exhibition formats, namely, the need for more solidarity, the importance of cooperation and connecting, the lack of space for art, and the referentiality and power of the artistic work itself.”
“Following last year’s edition of the October Salon, which focused on questioning its own meaning and content and which included a large number of actors from the local art and curatorial scene, the Board considered it important that active reflection on the future of this event should be continued in the next edition as well”, said Vuk Vidor, President of the October Salon Board. “The Board considered all the themes and concepts presented by the selected curators equally important, judging that different curatorial approaches and experiences can contribute to a more active reflection on art and the creation of an international and local network of artists and institutions.”
THREE CONCEPTS FOR THE 60TH OCTOBER SALON
Lorenzo Balbi and Dobrila Denegri: Trace
What can an exhibition do to stimulate thinking about the work of artists, their future and the way to create a community of commitment? Is there anything significant that contemporary art biennials leave behind for the local community? This concept is based on the desire to create a possible new model for the upcoming edition of the October Salon, where the “trace” will continue to live and function even after two months – the official duration of the exhibition. The provocation on which this concept is based is to jointly confirm and conquer spaces for art and make them available to artists and the local Belgrade community.
Lina Džuverović, Ana Knežević and Emilia Epštajn (design: Rafaela Dražić): Hope Is a Discipline
The concept establishes hope as the central motif of the exhibition. To translate the name of the concept into practice, it involves activists and grassroots civic initiatives from different eras and different regions, and puts art in the foreground as a connective tissue in the creation of solidarity and mutually supportive networks. Artists and networks brought together within the exhibition and discursive programmes are invited to demonstrate the possibility of the parallel existence of numerous (artistic) worlds and to emphasize the potential for subtle micropolitical artistic initiatives to become real alternatives to current exploitative corporate takeovers, repressive and harmful political tendencies and environmental challenges.
Matthieu Lelievre and Maja Kolarić: The Aesthetics of Encounter
The concept will explore a wide range of themes and activities, engaging several pairs of artists who may not know each other, but – thanks to the October Salon – will be invited to put their art practices into mutual dialogue to create new spaces and new visions for art. In addition to exhibiting works, a forum for encounters and discussion will be formed, involving as many participants as possible, both in physical spaces, where the audience and professionals will explore the exhibition spaces in Belgrade, and on the Internet, in order to reach as wide an audience as possible.
