Sarajevo, construction begins on the ‘Ars Aevi’ Museum

The symbolic handover of the building permit by the Mayor of the Municipality of Novo Sarajevo, Hasan Tanović, marks the beginning of the construction of the 'Ars Aevi' Museum of Contemporary Art. The event was organised by the City and Canton of Sarajevo in cooperation with the local European Delegation, UNESCO, and the Italian Embassy, thereby confirming Italy's major role Italy in relaunching and restarting a project of immense artistic value.

Designed by architect Renzo Piano in his capacity as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, the Ars Aevi (Latin for 'art of the time', but also a partial anagram of the word Sarajevo) museum project was conceived to offer a modern exhibition venue for the works of art from the collection of the same name. It consists of around 150 pieces donated to Sarajevo by prestigious international artists (including Michelangelo Pistoletto, Jannis Kounellis, Marina Abramovic, Joseph Kosuth, Maja Bajevic and many others) during the harsh years of the siege, as part of an evocative solidarity competition intended to promote the civil, ethical and cultural rebirth of the city.

Currently, works from the collection are mainly exhibited at the Vijećnica, the seat of the Municipality and former National Library. Italy has always been profoundly committed to the project, and after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the City and the Canton in November 2021, it has financed - through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) - the executive design study for the museum building, a fundamental junction for the construction of the work. Carried out by the architecture company 'NonStop' in close coordination with the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the study was presented in October last year at the second 'A vision becomes reality' Conference organised by the Italian Embassy in collaboration with AICS itself. On that occasion, a multi-donor trust fund was also launched - by UNESCO - with the aim of facilitating the collection of resources necessary for the construction of the museum building and the maintenance of the works in the collection.

The event, which virtually kick-started the construction work on the Museum, was attended by the likes of the Prime Minister of the Canton of Sarajevo, Nihad Uk, the Mayor of Sarajevo, Benjamina Karić, the Mayor of the Municipality of Novo Sarajevo, Hasan Tanović, the Head of the European Delegation, Ambassador Johann Sattler, the Ambassador of Italy to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Marco Di Ruzza, the UNESCO Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sinisa Šešum, the collection's founding historian, Enver Hadžiomerspahić, and the Director of the City Museum System, Senka Ibrišimbegović. Their respective speeches made it clear that the excellent teamwork between the local authorities and the international community had been instrumental in facilitating the project's rapid progress.

The ceremony saw the official handover of the building permit by Mayor Tanović to the UK Prime Minister, whose cantonal government is formally responsible for commissioning the work. Immediately beforehand, a flag was hoisted in front of the ground with the Museum's logo, which has long since been identified and is characterised by a line-up of coloured banners marking the boundaries of the future structure. Finally, at the end of the speeches, the local authorities symbolically signed the foundation stone that will be used in the construction of the building together with Amb. Di Ruzza, Amb. Sattler and Director Šešum.

"I am delighted to be present at this event, which is the crowning achievement of the intense work we have carried out together with the local authorities and partners from the international community, especially the European Union and UNESCO, to revitalise the Ars Aevi project when it seemed to have lost its outlets," said Ambassador Di Ruzza, also emphasising the strong idealistic component that has inspired Italy's action in continuing to believe in an initiative not only of great artistic value, but also conceived with clear aims of reconciliation after the tragic years of the war.

"Only a month ago," Di Ruzza continued, "we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the reopening of the Old Bridge in Mostar. Italy was among the guests of honour, as it was the first donor country for the reconstruction work. Today, we embark on the path that will transform the Ars Aevi dream into reality. All this testifies to the fact that Italian cultural diplomacy is a key instrument in support of pacification and stability in the Balkans, in full coherence with the action that Italy is taking in favour of the prospects of European integration of Bosnia Herzegovina and the entire region. We hope that Ars Aevi will become an open, dynamic and inclusive museum space, and the symbol of a cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic Bosnia Herzegovina, firmly projected towards the common European home."