09/07/2026
🏗️ 29. juni 2026. — dan koji će ostati upisan u historiju Sarajeva.
Prije deset dana, na Vilsonovom šetalištu zvanično je počela izgradnja Muzeja savremene umjetnosti Ars Aevi — trenutak koji smo čekali trideset godina. I dok mašine već rade, a temelji polako izranjaju iz zemlje, želimo zastati i osvrnuti se na put koji nas je doveo dovde.
Sve je počelo jednim pozivom iz opkoljenog grada. Godine 1992., dok je Sarajevo živjelo svoje najteže dane, Enver Hadžiomerspahić pozvao je umjetnike svijeta da svojim djelima formiraju kolekcije budućeg muzeja. I svijet je odgovorio. Umjetnički direktori najznačajnijih evropskih muzeja prihvatili su poziv i u svojim institucijama okupljali umjetnike i umjetnice koji su Sarajevu darovali ono najvrjednije što imaju — svoja djela.
Anur Hadžiomerspahić osmislio je strategiju projekta, a Enver ju je realizirao — najprije u Italiji, koja je postala druga majka Ars Aevija i čija podrška nikada nije posustala. Od Milana i Prata, preko Ljubljane, Venecije i Beča, do Istanbula, Podgorice, Kijeva i Cunea — mreža solidarnosti rasla je od muzeja do muzeja, od srca do srca.
Pistoletto, Kounellis, Beuys, Abramović, Kosuth, Kapoor, Bajević, Hadžifejzović… Preko 170 umjetnika i umjetnica ugradilo je svoja djela u temelje ovog muzeja — mnogo prije nego što je položen i jedan kamen. Jer Ars Aevi nije nastao iz betona. Nastao je iz vjere da umjetnost može ono što rat ne može — da spaja, liječi i traje.
Renzo Piano darovao je Sarajevu projekat muzeja i mosta koji do njega vodi. Grad Sarajevo, Kanton Sarajevo i svi nivoi vlasti nosili su projekat kroz godine iskušenja i uz sredstva Evropske unije kroz projekat EU4Culture, uz Italiju, UNESCO, Francusku i Španiju, san je pretvoren u gradilište. U posljednjoj, presudnoj fazi, sve procese koji su doveli do početka izgradnje koordinirala je direktorica Muzeja Senka Ibrišimbegović, povezujući viziju rođenu 1992. s konkretnim koracima koji su je konačno učinili stvarnošću.
Poslije tri decenije nade, upornosti i vjere — gradimo.
Hvala svakom umjetniku i umjetnici, svakoj instituciji, svim saradnicima i saradnicama koji su godinama nosili ovaj projekat, te svim građanima i prijateljima projekta koji nikada nisu odustali — koji su vjerovali kada je bilo najteže vjerovati. Ovaj muzej je vaš. Ovaj muzej je naš. Ovaj muzej je Sarajevo. ❤️
Ars longa, vita brevis. Umjetnost vječna — Ars Aevi.
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🏗️ June 29, 2026 — a day that will be written into the history of Sarajevo.
Ten days ago, on Wilson's Promenade, construction officially began on the Ars Aevi Museum of Contemporary Art — a moment we have waited thirty years for. And as the machines are already at work and the foundations slowly rise from the ground, we want to pause and look back at the journey that brought us here.
It all began with a single call from a besieged city. In 1992, as Sarajevo lived through its darkest days, Enver Hadžiomerspahić invited the artists of the world to form the collections of the future museum with their works. And the world answered. The artistic directors of Europe's most prominent museums accepted the invitation and, within their institutions, gathered artists who gave Sarajevo the most precious thing they had — their art.
Anur Hadžiomerspahić conceived the project's strategy, and Enver brought it to life — first in Italy, which became the second mother of Ars Aevi and whose support never wavered. From Milan and Prato, through Ljubljana, Venice and Vienna, to Istanbul, Podgorica, Kyiv and Cuneo — a network of solidarity grew from museum to museum, from heart to heart.
Pistoletto, Kounellis, Beuys, Abramović, Kosuth, Kapoor, Bajević, Hadžifejzović… More than 170 artists built their works into the foundations of this museum — long before a single stone was laid. Because Ars Aevi was not born of concrete. It was born of the belief that art can do what war cannot — connect, heal, and endure.
Renzo Piano donated Sarajevo the design of the museum and the bridge that leads to it. The City of Sarajevo, Sarajevo Canton and all levels of government carried the project through years of trials, and with the funding of the European Union through the EU4Culture project, together with Italy, UNESCO, France and Spain, the dream was turned into a construction site. In the final, decisive phase, all the processes leading to the start of construction were coordinated by the Museum's director Senka Ibrišimbegović, connecting the vision born in 1992 with the concrete steps that finally made it a reality.
After three decades of hope, perseverance and faith — we are building.
Thank you to every artist, every institution, all the collaborators who carried this project over the years, and to all the citizens and friends of the project who never gave up — who believed when believing was hardest. This museum is yours. This museum is ours. This museum is Sarajevo. ❤️
Ars longa, vita brevis. Art eternal — Ars Aevi.
