Ars Sacra: Church Art from the Art Department Collections of the Regional Museum in Jagodina

Along with various activities in cabinets, depots and in the fieldwork, which often involve scientific research, one of the basic activities of a museum institution is to present results of its work through publications, conferences, lectures, media and, in particular, exhibitions of different concepts and contents, from permanent and temporary, to study and retrospective. The audience is now faced with the catalogue of a new, commemorative exhibition, made up of diverse material. The aim of this exhibition is to present to the expert and general public by exhibiting little-known and unknown exhibits the level of protection and study of the museum funds belonging to the sacred heritage, thus marking two important historical dates – the grand jubilee of the eighth anniversary of the autocephaly of the Serbian Orthodox Church and sixty-five years since the founding of the Regional Museum in Jagodina.

Ars sacra, sacred art, is a significant factor in both national and world cultural heritage, which is systematically studied in our country and presented to the public according to the highest standards. The exhibited material in the Gallery of the Regional Museum belongs to the collections of the Art Department of the Museum (manuscripts, old and rare books, cultic and religious objects, sculpture, icons, fresco fragments, copies of frescoes, epigraphy, architecture, photography, postcards), and the selection of exhibits sheds light on the complex circumstances of the collections’ creation and indicates their diversity and overall cultural and historical significance. In terms of its concept and structure, this exhibition builds on the exhibition titled Church Treasuries in Jagodina, which was staged at the Regional Museum during the 2018 commemoration of the two centuries of the Old Church in Jagodina.