Presidents Milanović and Pahor Visit Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb

The President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović and the President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor, who is on a two-day state visit to the Republic of Croatia, visited on Monday evening the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb.

With a view to confirming the excellent cultural cooperation between the two countries, Presidents Milanović and Pahor attended with their associates a programme at the Museum of Contemporary Art, which was organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in the Republic of Croatia. The Director of the Museum Zdenka Badovina – who came to the post from Slovenia – and State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia Marko Rusjan spoke about the cultural ties between Croatia and Slovenia.

Recalling that since its inception the Museum of Contemporary Art has been an institution inclined towards advanced and avant-garde art, Museum Director Badovina emphasized that many notable Slovenian artists exhibited their works at the museum, such as the groups OHO and IRWIN, whose works the museum still boasts in its collection. “In previous years, in the 60s, 70s and 80s, depending on when they started working, these artists were first acclaimed in this museum. I am very proud that I also came from Slovenia half a year ago to run this institution with such a bold history and such a good collection. We have a lot of good, top Slovenian artists here, and we also have the exhibition ‘Novo vrijeme’ from Kostanjevica na Krki,” said the Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art.

She announced that the collaboration between Croatian and Slovenian artists will continue next year, as the Museum of Contemporary Art plans to bring to Zagreb three leading female artists from Slovenia – Jasmina Cibic, Nika Autor and Maja Smrekar – and this year, a selection of works from the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb will head to Slovenia to be showcased in Ljubljana’s Modern Gallery.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan