Since its foundation in 1965, the Museum of Contemporary Art has based its display policy on the representation of the most relevant artists, periods, movements and tendencies in Yugoslav, Serbian and international art of the 20th century.
Furthermore, the Museum held a respectable position on the map of European and international museums of modern and contemporary art, which enabled it to intensely cooperate with relevant foreign museums, galleries, collections, curators and critics.
The Museum also takes an active role in the promotion of local art abroad, and has often had the opportunity to organize the appearance of domestic artists at international biennials and triennials (Venice, Sao Paolo, Paris etc.).
Staying in sync with contemporary museological principles of the conservation of cultural heritage and the politics of display, the Museum today represents a dynamic institution which by the scope and diversity of its program, by its research and pedagogical work, its intensive international collaboration and openness to diverse modes of cultural activity and cooperation, stands for an important factor of the cultural and art life of Belgrade and Serbia.
Besides the building at Ušće, Museum of Contemporary Art comprises of the Salon of the MoCAB and the Milica Zorić and Rodoljub Čolaković Gallery-Legacy.
The Salon of the MoCAB
The Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade was inaugurated in the Spring of 1961 at 14 Pariska St. under the name of Modern Gallery. It started off four years before the Museum of Contemporary Art at Ušće was opened. It was the first gallery in Belgrade with permanent exhibition activity and clearly defined conception. The Salon’s exhibition practice was at all times centred on younger artists and the latest tendencies in the art-world, as well as on presenting the work of prominent foreign artists. Almost all major visual artists from former Yugoslavia had the opportunity to show their work to the Belgrade audience in a solo exhibition.
The concept behind the Salon of the MoCAB still revolves around presenting the most up-to-date currents in visual arts, most of all through solo exhibitions of contemporary artists, national and foreign, but also through organised presentations, panel discussions and lectures. Besides, the Salon is opened for theme-centred exhibitions authored by curators concerned with contemporary tendencies who are given the opportunity to have their projects realised. Thus, the Salon maintains its role of the most prestigious exhibiting space in Belgrade, and at the same time occupies a thriving position on the global scene.
The Milica Zorić and Rodoljub Čolaković Gallery-Legacy
The Gallery was opened for public in December 1980, and is situated at 2 Rodoljuba Čolakovića St., a building bequeathed by Milica Zorić and Rodoljub Čolaković to the city of Belgrade, which, in turn, conferred its management to the Museum. In the framework of the Legacy there is a collection of 92 works by the most renowned Yugoslav artists, and also a collection of antique furniture, oriental carpets, glassware and porcelain, which complements the overall interior setting. The catalogue of the Gallery’s collection was published in 1980. In 2010, the Gallery underwent adaptation and was turned into a multi-purpose space designed to host various events and activities. During the reconstruction of the building at Ušće this space operated as a micro-museum dedicated to the realisation of diverse programmes from the field of modern and contemporary art, design, architecture, and film.
