The VAM Centre for Research and Valorisation of Architectural Heritage is leading an ambitious cross-border project to research, document, and reinterpret the monumental heritage of architect Bogdan Bogdanović across Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Croatia, and Serbia.
Exhibition at the National Institute Museum and Institute Bitola and workshop for children
VEČITO exhibition opened at the Museum and Institute Bitola in November 2025. The response exceeded all expectations: over 2,000 visitors attended before the end of the year, prompting the exhibition to be extended through January 2026. The venue attracted domestic and international tourist groups, architectural associations, and local schools alike.
Alongside the Bitola exhibition, a full cycle of creative and educational workshops was delivered for 20 school groups — around 400 children and young people in total. Participants from eight primary schools and two high schools in Bitola engaged with Bogdanović’s monuments through drawing, clay modelling, plaster work, and printed materials. Workshops were inclusive in character, welcoming children with special needs. Museum professional Irena Ružin led all sessions.
Exhibition at the the National Museum in Leskovac and workhop for children
The second Regional Conference of Conservators on the Work of Bogdan Bogdanović was held in Leskovac on 27-28 February, at the National Museum. It bought together conservators, curators and Bogdanologists from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro, since his monumental works are located in these regions. The topic of the conference was the Memorial Park in Leskovac, which this year celebrates its 55th anniversary, which was the immediate reason for the realization of the retrospective exhibition “Eternally – Bogdan Bogdanović”.
The conference presented the latest findings on the condition of Bogdanović’s memorials, a study visit to the Memorial Park, and the opening of an exhibition of children’s works about Bogdan Bogdanović. Experts discussed experiences and ways of possible conservation and revitalization of this valuable segment of Yugoslav and Serbian cultural heritage. Given that Leskovac is a unique city that inherits two Bogdanović monuments, the conference also discussed the Monument to Roma and Serbs executed during World War II in Arapova Valley.
Research and digital documentation across the region
Fieldwork and archival exchange continued across multiple countries, with monuments in Štip, Prilep, Mostar, Jasenovac, Dudik (Vukovar), and Leskovac photographed, documented, and entered into the Bogdan Bogdanović Digital Museum database. This is the third of five planned documentation phases (2022–2027). Over 137 artefacts, historic photographs, and archival documents have been gathered from partner institutions.
VEČITO arrives in Vukovar — 18th stop on a regional journey
On 28 April 2026, the VEČITO exhibition opened simultaneously at two Vukovar locations: the City Museum Gallery (Orangery) and the Serbian Home. This was the 18th city on the exhibition’s regional tour and the first presentation of Bogdanović’s work in Vukovar in eleven years, since the 2015 exhibition “Ukleti neimar”.
Due to its scale, the Vukovar presentation was split across both venues. The Serbian Home hosted monographic panels on Bogdanović’s memorials, original tools from his stonemason’s workshop, and a specially created “Bogdan’s Digital Classroom”. The City Museum Orangery presented his literary work, digitised drawings, a gallery of symbols, and a multimedia section.
Curator Mare Janakova Grujić and fifteen co-curators from across all countries that share Bogdanović’s monumental heritage conceived the exhibition as a travelling research station — one that grows richer with each new city and monument it visits.
Scientific publication VEČITO No. 3 in preparation
Work on the third issue of the VEČITO proceedings is well underway, with 18 researchers registered to contribute and 6 texts already submitted. The publication will be accompanied by a large conference of Bogdanović scholars in Belgrade. Further contributions are expected ahead of the April 2026 deadline.