Ars Aevi Video Art is a project developed by the Museum of Contemporary Art Ars Aevi (part of the Sarajevo City Museums) with a special focus on its collection of video artworks. The project featured screenings of notable works such as So Much I Want to Say by Mona Hatoum, Promenade by Suzana Cerić and Anela Šabić, Ruins of Modernity by Aghasyan Vahram, and D399 by Alma Suljević. In addition to the screenings, the project included a workshop focused on museum scenography design.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Ars Aevi holds a significant collection of video art that highlights both international and Bosnian and Herzegovinian video art production from the 1980s to the present. This collection includes works by renowned artists such as Marina Abramović, Mona Hatoum, Bill Viola, Alma Suljević, and Damir Nikšić. However, due to space limitations in the Sarajevo City Hall, where the Ars Aevi collection is currently displayed, the art works in this medium are not part of the permanent exhibition. As a result, the collection remains largely inaccessible to both experts and the general public, leaving its educational and research potential largely untapped.

The project, supported by the Balkan Museum Network, was part of a broader effort to address this professional challenge. The artwork screenings were held over a two-day schedule and were accompanied by a workshop for students from the Faculty of Architecture, the Academy of Fine Arts and the Academy of Performing Arts. In order to foster this activity and secure its continuity, we partnered with LIFT, non-governmental organization focusing on contemporary architecture.

Since video art often requires specific spatial conditions for presentation—sometimes strictly dictated by the artist and other times open to the curator’s interpretation—the goal of this activity was to educate students of product design and architecture on the unique requirements of this art form. The first part of the workshop included a brief curatorial lecture on video art, followed by a Q&A session. Through discussions about the artists, their practices, and the artworks, students explored how spatial design can enhance the museum experience of both individual pieces and the medium as a whole.

The discussion also examined the concept of “artist’s intention,” looking at the boundaries of creative freedom in this context. The students were divided into four groups, each focusing on a different artwork and scenario related to museum activities, such as working with children, collaborating with a curator, or hosting a guest exhibition. Based on this workshop structure, four distinct museum scenography proposals were created, each based on unique creative process. During this intensive two-hour session, students created sketches and design concepts, culminating in a pop-up exhibition showcasing the students’ creativity and potential of educational programs within the museum environment.

A project brochure was produced, featuring a timeline of video works from the Ars Aevi Collection, interpretive texts for the selected artworks, and an overview of the program. This brochure is available to the general public.

Aida Bičakčić

Head of the Ars Aevi Collection, curator