Head of the EU Delegation and EU Special Representative to BiH, Ambassador Peter Sorensen, visited today Ars Aevi Collection Art Depot in Sarajevo. The visit was hosted by the founder and coordinator of the Ars Aevi Project, Enver Hadziomerspahic.
Mr. Hadziomerspahic presented the current and future activities under the Ars Aevi project, which include the construction of the Ars Aevi Museum in Sarajevo to the design of renowned architect Renzo Piano, and the placing of representative works of art in public venues in Sarajevo.
Ars Aevi is a museum of contemporary art, formed during the war in the 1990s as a “resistance of culture”. It has approximately 130 works by renowned world artists including Michelangelo Pistoletto, Jannis Kounellis, Joseph Beuys, and Joseph Kosuth.
The EU continues to make significant investments in culture and media in BiH. BiH participated till 2013 in related EU Programmes such as Media 2007 with the EU providing a contribution of 36,000 euro and in the Culture programme with a total EU contribution of 127,500 euro. As of 2014 BiH will participate in Creative Europe, an EU Programme covering both areas. The EU will contribute to this programme for BiH in 2014 with circa Euro 184,500 and in 2015 with circa Euro 174,250.
In the field of the preservation of 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. The EU also finances the reconstruction on the Kastel Fortress in Banja Luka in the amount of seven million KM which is expected to be finished in 2015.
