University of Belgrade – Faculty of Architecture
Belgrade, December 20, 2023
By exhibition The legacy of Serbia’s architectural export to African countries since 1960. to the present, organized on the occasion of the six-decade anniversary of the founding of the African Union and the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) and independent African countries, the authors of the exhibition wish to highlight the discovery, collection, documentation and research of the architectural and urban heritage of architects from Serbia created on the African continent in the past six decades, presenting a selection of architectural achievements that indicate the representation of different typologies, scopes and types of projects, as well as design approaches.
The cooperation that began under the auspices of the Non-Aligned Movement continued throughout the 1990s, with the engagement of architects from Serbia in the construction of numerous buildings that have not yet been fully researched and presented, but also through other activities and cooperation in the areas of urban planning and design, preservation of architectural heritage, technical assistance to governments, or through bilateral or multilateral cooperation, primarily under the auspices of the United Nations, and the education of architects.
The architectural and urban achievements presented in the exhibition, in addition to being significant for the societies and environments for which they were created, also represent notable achievements in the oeuvres of architects from Serbia. The continuous presence of architects from Serbia on the African continent over the last six decades is significant for the recent history of Serbian architecture and for culture in general. The concept of the exhibition determined the chronological presentation by decade of about 130 realized and unrealized projects.
Exhibition authors
Ilija Gubić
Dr. Nebojša Antešević
Catalog and exhibition panel design
Marina Dožaj
The exhibition, organized in cooperation with the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, was opened by Prof. Arch. Vladimir Lojanica, Dean of the Faculty.
On the day of the exhibition opening December 20, 2023 a panel was held about the work of Serbian architects in Africa.
Panel participants:
- Prof. Arch. Vladimir Lojanica, full professor, dean of the Faculty of Architecture
- Dr. Dušan Ignjatović, full professor at the Faculty of Architecture
- Dr. Natasa Ćuković Ignjatović, associate professor at the Faculty of Architecture
- Dr. Ksenija Lalović, associate professor at the Faculty of Architecture
- Jelica Jovanović, architect, architectural historian, Vienna University of Technology/Docomomo Serbia/Group of Architects
Moderator: Dr. Nebojša Antešević, architect, research associate, IAUS The exhibition lasted until January 15, 2024.
The conducted research was positively assessed by Prof. Dr. Aleksandar Kadijević in his review of the monographic catalogue, published in the Зборнику радова Академије уметности 12 (2024), in which he states that “their pioneering interpretation, which intertwines monographic and synthetic, political science and historiographic layers, will remain indispensable for a long time” (you can see the review here), while MA Dragica S. Jovanović emphasized in her review of the exhibition that with this exhibition the authors achieved a respectable overview of around 150 realized and unrealized projects by architects from Serbia in Africa from 1960 to the present day (you can see the review here).
Photo Gallery
Download the exhibition review by Prof. Dr. Aleksandar Kadijević
