Selakovic: Exhibition on endangered monasteries in Kosovo raises awareness of the importance of Serbia's cultural heritage

Serbian Minister of Culture Nikola Selakovic announced today that the exhibition "Serbian Medieval Monasteries at Risk" will open in Mexico City later this month, emphasizing that the multimedia exhibition is of exceptional importance because it helps build and sustain awareness of the significance of Serbia's cultural heritage in Kosovo.

Selakovic recalled that the exhibition first opened in Paris two years ago and has since been displayed in Bucharest, Timișoara, Bratislava, Budapest, and Moscow.

"Mrs. Tamara Vucic will officially open the exhibition in Mexico City on July 21. It will also open later this month in Vranje, after having already been presented in Leskovac and several other cities across Serbia. I invite everyone to visit it. This is an important exhibition presenting to the world our four most significant cultural monuments inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List: the Patriarchate of Pec, Gracanica Monastery, Visoki Decani Monastery, and the Church of Our Lady of Ljevis," Selakovic told RTS.

He pointed out that the exhibition has so far been hosted mainly in countries that support Serbia's position regarding the protection of its sovereignty over Kosovo, but noted that even in those countries many people are unfamiliar with why Kosovo is so important to Serbia.

"Through this exhibition, we are raising awareness of the importance of our cultural heritage in Kosovo and Metohija and of the extent to which it faces genuine threats. The events of March 17, 2004, are not so distant. In Kosovo and Metohija, 155 churches and monasteries were burned, destroyed, or damaged. We must continue telling this story—to ourselves and to others—and build awareness of the importance of our cultural heritage. A nation that does not preserve the memory of its great figures through culture will have no great figures in the future. By preserving our cultural heritage, we are building our future, and we know very well where we are headed," Selakovic said.

Speaking about the Ministry of Culture's Cities in Focus program, under which funding is allocated to support cultural projects throughout Serbia, Selakovic said that Zubin Potok was among the municipalities selected to receive financial assistance and would be provided with a new cinema projector.

"The process of signing grant agreements is currently under way, and I still have two municipalities left to visit. Unfortunately, I will not be able to visit Zubin Potok because I have been banned from entering Kosovo and Metohija for the past eight years. Nevertheless, I am confident that Zubin Potok will receive its new cinema projector, that its cinema will reopen, and that our brothers and sisters from the Ibar Kolasin region will once again be able to enjoy daily film screenings," Selakovic said.