Exhibition of photographs by Milomir Kovačević Strašni 'Culture in War: Sarajevo 1992-1995' opened

(Patria) - The exhibition of photographs by Milomir Kovačević Strašni "Culture in War: Sarajevo 1992-1995" was opened tonight at the Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The focus of the exhibition, which runs until May 23, is on cultural production in wartime circumstances, created despite daily violence, destruction, and isolation.

During the siege of Sarajevo, cultural activities were part of public life, but at the same time, they shaped the way the city was perceived outside its borders.

The work of Milomir Kovačević Strašni remains one of the key visual records of that period.

- Everything that was done, was done to be the best because there was no choice. You don't know if you'll be alive tomorrow or not, and when you experience that bottom, you can appreciate this much more.

I think we have created a great exhibition that truly reflects that Sarajevo spirit, resistance to that evil time - says the author of the exhibition.

Art may not have the power to change the world, but what has always been in the hands of cultural workers - and what artists from the 90s proved - is the ability to point fingers at the reality surrounding them without compromise.

- War is war, the snake wags its tail. You never know when your head will be lost, but you reckon that your honor is in your hands and that there is some incredible energy, some incredible inner drive to, like in Andrić's story 'Aska and the Wolf', confront the beast with what is most noble and beautiful within us - emphasizes the director of the Art Gallery of BiH, Strajo Krsmanović.

More than 3,000 works of art, dozens of concerts and exhibitions were created as an act of resistance.

This exhibition therefore represents a necessary reminder that culture is not mere aesthetics that we consume in our free time, but a crucial tool by which society, despite destruction, preserves and confirms its integrity.