The year’s first exhibition by the Dubrovnik Association of Artists (DULU), opened by the CHF’s Maja Mozara, is staged in collaboration with the Festa organisers, the Dubrovnik Art Gallery, the Marin Držić House, and the Croatian Heritage Foundation.
The 21st Festa Dubrovnik kicked off with the opening of “The City is St Blasius” exhibition in the foyer of the Marin Držić Theatre. This is the year’s first exhibition by the Dubrovnik Association of Artists (DULU), staged in collaboration with the Festa organisers, the Dubrovnik Art Gallery, the Marin Držić House, and the Croatian Heritage Foundation.
Participating in the exhibition are Andrea Vukoja, Josip Škerlj, Luce Đuraš, Marijan Fragić, Marijana Hure, Maro Kriste, Marta Baće, Mirica Dubčić, Mišo Baričević, Nino Dubčić, Robert Kralj, Silvija Sikavica and Valter Kožul. Speaking at the opening on behalf of the Festa Dubrovnik association were Darija Mikulandra Žanetić and Slobodan Nano Vlašić.
Mr Vlašić noted that, “All the events of the 21st Festa Dubrovnik will be staged at the Marin Držić Theatre, and we wish to thank the theatre for the wonderful help they have always provided. As you can see the artists have certainly fully encapsulated our moniker ‘The City is St Blasius’ in their work. I wish to thank all of you from the Dubrovnik Association of Artists—you will always be in our hearts; for however long your interest endures, we will always be here for you. When speaking of the Croatian Heritage Foundation and our dear Maja, it has often been the case, and may perhaps be again this year, that the exhibition will later move on to the Petilovrijenci venue, which is very nice.”
Addressing everyone on hand for the exhibition opening, Ms Žanetić thanked all the artists, “who have been so inspired in depicting St Blasius and our city, which is, I trust, an eternal inspiration to all. I was delighted when Valter [Kožul] showed me the catalogue a few days ago, and truly wish to congratulate you on this exhibition, which will be brilliant, and will be open here over the coming two weeks, available for viewing to all who take part in the other Festa events and all those who come to the theatre otherwise. The Dubrovnik Association of Artists, as Nano [Vlašić] has said, will be your eternal partner; you really are all so wonderful, and you have so many exhibitions in the course of the year, you work hard, that is evident, and I wish you continued success in the coming years and plenty of inspiration for the many themes to paint and see through your own eyes. This year’s Festa,” Žanetić continued, “has a humanitarian aspect, there is also the karaoke show of the Kolarin theatre troupe, the klapa music festival, and the gala concert on Friday. This year a part of the proceeds will go to the Olive House, a part to the St Blasius church, and a part to the Covid unit at the Dubrovnik general hospital. We are still, unfortunately, in pandemic times; there are restrictions on the number of people, as you can see, but I hope that we will be back in full splendour in the coming year, with regard to exhibitors and artists and the people that can come to see, hear, and view us.”
The exhibition catalogue was penned by art historian and the exhibition’s curator Andrea Batinić Ivanković. “As we all known,” she said, “the St Blasius festival has been celebrated for a thousand years by Dubrovnik and its inhabitants as their way of honouring and paying their respects to our patron saint. The city, namely, has no cultural identity without St Blasius, every pore of the city is imbued with his legacy, and we can thereby not imagine Dubrovnik without St Blasius, nor indeed St Blasius without Dubrovnik. Along with the abundance of events that are part of the St Blasius festival I would say that ‘The City is St Blasius’ exhibition by the Dubrovnik Association of Artists is one more event contributing to the celebration of the festival. This year the artists have brought forth on their canvases the image of St Blasius and all the aspects of St Blasius and of our city.”
Dubrovnik Association of Artists president Valter Kožul noted that this exhibition, staged by DULU in association with the Festa Dubrovnik organisers and the Dubrovnik branch office of the Croatian Heritage Foundation, has become a traditional feature of the festival. “This year,” he added, “we see fewer artists involved; thirteen artists presenting thirteen works, while last year there were fifteen. But we keep contemplating, and keep working out a way, working together to create our exhibitions, always endeavouring to make a small step forward, offering something new each time, and here you can see our contemplations on the patron saint, the festival, and the city,” Kožul said, thanking everyone.
Maja Mozara, the head of the Dubrovnik branch office of the Croatian Heritage Foundation, declared the exhibition officially open. “I am delighted that we continue to organise these kinds of events from year to year ahead of the St Blasius feast day, and am honoured to be a part of this exhibition with the Festa Association, and wish to thank them in particular for that. We are all well aware to what extent Croatians abroad are keepers of our culture, traditions, heritage, and our mother tongue, and our Dubrovnians abroad and people from nearby towns and villages are the keepers of the St Blasius festival. We will once again this year read in the media about all the places around the world where St Blasius is celebrated, and truly with great care and pride. We are witness to this and will be witness to the many greetings coming to our city during the festival and we can rightly say that Dubrovnians outside the city and outside the homeland measure time from one festival to the next. In closing,” Ms Mozara, added, “I extend my thanks to all the artists for these wonderful works. I have studied them all carefully and can say that you are making progress and I will be very proud to see them on the walls of the Croatian Heritage Foundation after this showing in our theatre. You know, of course, that the doors of the CHF gallery are always open to you, and I will be delighted to see you there.”
The exhibition is open through to 7 February.
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