Director of the Cultural Centre of Belgrade, professor Aleksandar Ilić, closed the 58th October Salon – Belgrade Biennal today, on 22nd August, with the festive proclamation of the awarded authors and the performance of the young artist and laureate Sonja Radaković.
This year’s October Salon was held under the thematic framework and slogan Dreamers, conceived by the Italian couple of curators Ilaria Marotta and Andrea Baccin.
Director of the Cultural Centre of Belgrade, prof. Aleksandar Ilić, stated for the media that the pandemic did not shake up the organisational team, which have been working on the preparation of the 58th October Salon – Belgrade Biennal for almost three years.
We were discouraged many times, the situation changed from day to day, as well as the plans, and the exhibition space was changed even twice, said Ilić, and emphasised that it meant rebuilding the exhibition rooms, as well as changes in the concept. We were persistent because it was important for us that the October Salon was realised in such a difficult period, because we know how much potential this exhibition has and what it can offer to the city and the region, said prof. Aleksandar Ilić, emphasising that this is an unavoidable and one of the most important manifestations in Belgrade and Serbia.
From 25th June to 22nd August this year, 64 works by artists from the country and abroad were presented in several exhibition and public spaces throughout Belgrade.
The artist Sonja Radaković was awarded the 58th October Salon Award – Belgrade Biennal for the performance Occupied by the expert jury that included art director, art critic and curator Jérôme Sans, independent curator Tevž Logar, and Mišela Blanuša who is the curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade.
Using the body as an artistic tool and artistic medium in her research and multimedia practice, this artist analyses the crisis of modern society in which we live, social morality, imposed norms and social condemnation, as well as the ubiquity of surveillance technology and contradictory control mechanisms, the expert jury pointed out in the explanation of the decision.
The award of the Cultural Centre of Belgrade at the October Salon was given to the artist Vuk Ćosić from Ljubljana, for the video work Unpacking the Dišan’s Box.
The artist Vuk Ćosić from Ljubljana was awarded by the Cultural Centre of Belgrade at this-year October Salon for his video art work called Unboxing Duchamp’s Boîte.