Mission
About us / Mission
Mission
Galerija Božidar Jakac – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art is an art museum that with its programme primarily covers the regions of Bela Krajina, Dolenjska and Posavje, but is also open to the wider Slovenian and international art scene. The museum focuses in exploring and showcasing modern and contemporary art of 20th and 21st century, in particular the period of early modernism after 1918, late modernism after 1945 and contemporary artistic practices of today. With permanent displays and permanent collections, the museum showcases movements and styles, such as expressionism, new objectivity, social realism and colour realism, as well as number post-war art movements, while its regular exhibition programme focuses on presenting modern and contemporary art from Slovenia and internationally. The Museum is the legal successor of Dolenjska Culture Festival, its activities and its assets, and is registered as a public institution in the Register of Authorised Museums and Galleries with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.
About the museum
Božidar Jakac Art Museum – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art was founded in 1974, when the permanent exhibitions of Tone Kralj and Božidar Jakac were opened to the public in the building of the former Cistercian monastery in Kostanjevica na Krki. The museum is based on a tradition of rich cultural activities that have been taking place since the mid-1950s. The establishment of a permanent exhibition of works of art at the Jože Gorjup Primary School (1956), the founding of the Dolenjska Festival of Culture (1957), which brought together a variety of cultural activities (theatre, music, visual arts), the opening of the Lamut Art Salon (1958) and the launch of the International Sculpture Symposium Forma viva (1961), all of which were held in Kostanjevica na Krki since the early 1950s.
Since its foundation, the museum’s programme has continuously expanded. The building of the former monastery has been gradually renovated and new spaces for permanent and temporary exhibitions have been opened. Today, the museum manages ten permanent exhibitions and three temporary exhibition spaces, with exhibitions and educational programmes running throughout the year. As one of the largest Slovenian museums in terms of exhibition space, exhibited material and art collection, it focuses on the treatment and presentation of 20th and 21st century art, particularly the early modernism after 1918, late modernism after 1945 and contemporary artistic practices. In its permanent exhibitions and permanent collections, it showcases works by expressionists, artists of new objectivity, social and colour realism, as well as post-war art movements.
The three galleries regularly host temporary exhibitions featuring artists from Slovenia and internationally. A significant part of the museum’s programme is based on cooperation with national and international institutions in the field of visual arts; therefore, the museum often organises visiting exhibitions in partner museums and galleries. Cooperation with art institutions from neighbouring Croatia, which has a tradition of several decades, is of particular importance.
The permanent displays at Galerija Božidar Jakac are divided into individual galleries of prominent artists, such as France Kralj, Božidar Jakac, France Gorše, Tone Kralj, Nande Vidmar, Jože Gorjup, Zoran Didek, Bogdan Borčić, Janez Boljka, as well as the Pleterje Collection of European Painters and Gorjup Gallery Collection (located in the primary school in Kostanjevica na Krki). In addition, in the immediate surrounding of the museum and in other locations across the town of Kostanjevica na Krki, the Forma Viva Sculpture Park is located, with over 100 sculptures made mostly of oak wood, created by international artists since 1961.
Temporary exhibitions at Galerija Božidar Jakac take place in four galleries: Former Monastery Church, Lapidarium, GBJ Grand Gallery and Lamut Art Salon [temporarily closed].
