12 May 2019 - President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović opened the Montenegrin Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale in Italy. Besides the President, the Honorary Consul of Montenegro in Italy, the Ambassador of Great Britain in Montenegro, Alison Kemp, numerous artists, benefactors and friends of Montenegro also attended the ceremony.
At this year's sixth independent participation at the Venice Biennale, Montenegro will be presented with the project "Odyssey (Flying Objects)", by artist Vesko Gagović. The curator Petrica Duletić made the decision, and the commissioner of the Montenegrin pavilion is Nenad Šoškić.
"Here in Venice, in the Montenegrin Pavilion at Malipiero Palace, in the year when with Italy we celebrate 140 years from establishing diplomatic relations, the opportunity is to recall the strong and fruitful cultural connection between our countries. And one curiosity. It was here in Venice, where at the First Art World Exhibition in 1895, Prince Victor Emmanuel and Princess Jelena Petrovic, the future respected Italian queen met, which made ties between Montenegro and Italy marked with a unique interstate friendship," said President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović.
He also added that Montenegro, as well as Venice and Italy, belong to the Mediterranean circle in which culture was born and where artistic heritage was created, on which Europe is based to a great extent.
"With the Renaissance, Montenegro has also entered a great cultural revival. On the borders of eastern and western civilization and their permeation, the then Montenegro was especially developing construction and church painting on frescoes and icons. Immediately after the invention of the press, with which the world stepped in the new era, our first printer on the Latin alphabet Andrija Paltasic man from Kotor was working in Venice. Already in 1494, in Cetinje, the Cyrillic printing press of Crnojevic family began to work with printing machines delivered from Venice," said Đukanović at 58th Venice Biennale.
Đukanović concluded by saying that Montenegro believes in the power and strength of artistic activity that defines the authentic Montenegrin mark of belonging to European cultural society of diversity, a society of freedom, peace, and progress.
The theme of this year's Biennale edition is "May you live in interesting times".
The Art Director of the 58th Venice Biennale, which will be open until November 24th, is Ralph Rugoff.
