The festival of Slovak naïve painting in Serbia was opened for the second time in Babka Gallery in Kovačica. The exhibition “Reformers of Slavic literacy and language among the Slavic peoples in Europe”, author Veiroslava Svetlik, was opened in the presence of the Ambassador of the European Union to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Minister of Culture Maja Gojković, the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to Serbia Fedor Rosocha, as well as representatives of Kovačica Municipality and the Director of the Forum of Slavic Cultures Andreja Rihter. Naïve art in Kovačica has been nominated for the UNESCO list of cultural heritage.
During the opening ceremony, numerous guests, including artists of naïve painting, and citizens of Kovačica attended the presentation of the “Primer of Slovak naïve painting in Serbia” by Juraj Hamar.
At the opening of the festival, the Ambassador of the European Union to Serbia highlighted the exceptional cooperation between the European Union and Serbia in the field of cultural heritage preservation and recalled the support of the European Union during the reconstruction and preservation of important cultural centres such as Golubac, Fetislam Fortress, Bač Fortress and many others.
Naïve art in Kovačica has been nominated for inclusion in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Ambassador Giaufret expressed his delight on this occasion.
“The nomination once again confirms the importance of naïve painting in Kovačica. The European Union attaches great importance to cultural heritage, for us the protection and promotion of cultural heritage is a way to strengthen peace and development around the world. Cultural heritage fosters tolerance, mutual understanding, intercultural and interreligious dialogue”, emphasized the Ambassador of the European Union.
During the festival, a number of programs are held, including the promotion of digitized monographs on Zuzana Chalupova and Martin Jonas, as well as a conference on the topic of naïve painting of the Slovak national minority in Serbia as a subject of interest for young researchers in the fields of humanities in Slavic countries.
The European Union enthusiastically continues its cooperation with Serbia in the field of cultural heritage preservation, and one of the patrons of this festival is the Vice President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič.
