The EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina has supported this year’s European Museum Night activities taking place in the RS Contemporary Art Museum in Banja Luka on 21 May.
Since 2005, selected European museums have exceptionally opened for a night, free of charge, as part of European Museum Night. The event takes place on the closest Saturday to 18 May, simultaneously in many countries across Europe.
“This is the Europe-wide annual celebration of culture and the arts. We are glad to see the Banja Luka Museum on the map of thousands of cultural institutions across the continent that will open their doors this weekend, and offer a unique experience to visitors,” said Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, Head of EU Delegation and EU Special Representative. “Museums are key to preserving the cultural heritage and traditions, which will be inherited by future generations. This reaffirms what the EU stands for – promotion of cultural diversity, including the rich variety of languages, arts and heritage of Europe.”
Sarita Vujković, Director of the RS Contemporary Art Museum, said: “We are very proud that the EU Special Representative has recognised the importance and the quality of our institution and the importance of an international festivity that is the European Museum Night. For 11 years now, we have through our work contributed to promotion of the main EU values in the cultural sector – diversity and richness of culture and heritage in the European context. The RS Contemporary Art Museum is the first institution in BiH that had joined thousands of European museums in marking the European Museum Night. Featuring special programmes, the event is traditionally the most visited and popular. We are glad this has been recognised by the EU Special Representative, which gives us an impetus to strengthen our role in the local cultural environment.”
The EU continues to make significant investments in the preservation of the cultural heritage in BiH. From IPA 2009 and 2010 alone, the EU has invested 30 million KM in the preservation of the cultural heritage in BIH: 18 million KM was secured for the reconstruction of the City Hall/Vijecnica in Sarajevo, which is a part of the larger EU support to the cultural heritage in BiH. This support also included the reconstruction of the City Hall in Novi Grad in the amount of two million KM which was completed in May 2013. The EU also financed the reconstruction of cultural heritage sites in Stolac in the amount of three million KM, which was completed in September 2013, and the reconstruction of the Kastel Fortress in Banja Luka in the amount of seven million KM.
Learn more about the European Museum Night here http://www.msurs.net/index.php/sr/dogadjaji-2/aktuelno/554-2016-21-m-20asd19
