Being
a little disheartened by the art scene here in Sarajevo, my spirits were certainly
lifted – in fact they went through the
ceiling – on a visit to the Bosniak Institute - after which I ventured down
to the river bank for a wander through the very imposing Sarajevo City Hall.
The Bosniak Institute - the 16th C Hamam under the copper domes
The Bosniak Institute is a cultural centre in Sarajevo that focuses on Bosniak culture. ( Bosniak refers to a South Slavic nation and ethnic group inhabiting mainly the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina - traditionally adhering to Islam since the 15th and 16th centuries ) … The Centre was established in 2001 by one of the most prominent Bosniak intellectuals of the 20th-century, Adil ZulfikarpaÅ¡ić, and consists of a huge collection of both ancient and modern art that covers a wide spectrum of the Bosniak history and culture.
The Institute is housed in a renovated sixteenth century Turkish bath and an adjoining purpose-built building and includes a library, an auditorium used for concerts and an art centre.
Firstly you visit the old Hamam ( an ancient Islamic bath house ) that
dates back to the Ottoman times of the 16th century - but which has now
been converted into several small museum / galleries plus a huge auditorium that
is used for concerts etc. Of special note here is the wonderful collection of mixed
media paintings by Bosnian artist Mersad Berber ( 1940 – 2012 ) ...
Then
if that is not enough for any art lover - back out into reception and take the
lift to the 4th floor of a newly constructed art and cultural centre - and make
your way down, floor by floor viewing a very large and interesting collection of artworks by
more than 200 modern-day BiH artists.
No
photography is allowed inside - but I wanted to share my find, so I have downloaded just a few images from the Institute website.
Works by Mersad Berber ...
Other artworks included ...
Hakija Kulenovic
Izmet Rizvic
Vefik Hadsizmajovic
................................................................
…
then after a couple of hours being totally absorbed in the art at the Bosniak
Institute, I head off around the corner and down to the river bank to wander through the
outstanding Sarajevo City Hall …
The edifice was built in a stylistic blend of historical eclecticism, predominantly in the pseudo-Moorish expression, for which the stylistic sources were found in the Islamic art of Spain and North Africa.
On 25 August 1992, Serbian shelling during the Siege of Sarajevo caused the complete destruction of the library; among the losses were about 700 manuscripts and incunabula and a unique collection of Bosnian serial publications, some from the middle of the 19th century Bosnian cultural revival. Before the attack, the library held 1.5 million volumes and over 155,000 rare books and manuscripts. Some citizens and librarians tried to save some books while they were under sniper fire, at least one person died. The majority of the books could not be saved from the flames.
After
the Siege, the structural repair of the building was planned to be carried out
in four stages: 1996-1997 (financed by a donation from Republic of Austria),
and 2000-2004 (financed by a donation from the European Commission), and the
city of Barcelona among others. The third stage ended in September 2012, with
an estimated cost of KM 4.6 million (about €2.37 million) and returned the
city hall to its former grace.
Sarajevo
City Hall - known as Vijećnica - was designed in 1891 by the Czech architect
Karel PaÅ™Ãk. It was initially the largest and most representative building of
the Austro-Hungarian period in Sarajevo and served as the city hall.
The edifice was built in a stylistic blend of historical eclecticism, predominantly in the pseudo-Moorish expression, for which the stylistic sources were found in the Islamic art of Spain and North Africa.
Building
works began in 1892 and were completed in 1894, at a cost of 984,000 crowns,
with 32,000 crowns provided for fixtures and fittings. It was formally opened
20 April 1896, and handed over to the City Authority, which occupied the
property until 1949, when it was handed over to the National and University
Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On 25 August 1992, Serbian shelling during the Siege of Sarajevo caused the complete destruction of the library; among the losses were about 700 manuscripts and incunabula and a unique collection of Bosnian serial publications, some from the middle of the 19th century Bosnian cultural revival. Before the attack, the library held 1.5 million volumes and over 155,000 rare books and manuscripts. Some citizens and librarians tried to save some books while they were under sniper fire, at least one person died. The majority of the books could not be saved from the flames.
The
fourth stage began following the completion of the third stage and lasted about
20 months, finishing at the end of 2013 and cost of KM 14 million (about €7.23
million) which are secured through the IPA. In this stage the whole interior
was built and reconstructed (paintings, sculptures, books), meaning the
building is brought back to function. Everything that was possible to restore
has been done so, while those things that were not possible to save have been
made anew through special molds. The whole reconstruction and restore process
was predicted to cost about KM 25 million (about €13 million).
After
it was repaired, the building - now a national monument - is used for a wide variety
of events, including various protocol events for all levels of
government, concerts and exhibitions.
My
time here in Sarajevo is fast running out – just a few more days … In my next blog I shall endeavor to explain the
four year siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s …
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