COURAGE

savienojot kolekcijas

The exhibition BACK: Božidar Mandić and The Family of Clear Streams (1969 – 2015) (NATRAG – Božidar Mandić i Porodica bistrih potoka [1969 – 2015]) presented the life and work of Božidar Mandić, one of the most prominent representatives of avantgarde art practiced by members of Youth Tribune (Tribina Mladih) in Novi Sad during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The exhibition took place in the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina (Muzej savremene umetnosti Vojvodine) in Novi Sad from 17 September to 18 October 2015. Movies and artwork dating from Božidar’s Novi Sad period and photo-documentation were shown at the exhibition, as well as a range of artwork made from natural materials in the commune. In the words of Božidar Mandić “The Family of Clear Streams is a small utopia. The opportunity for humankind is in small, rather than big utopias.”

Having been sent to the provinces of Lithuania in 1966, the ex-Soviet political prisoner and Catholic priest Fr Stanislovas made Paberžė an attractive place for the intelligentsia and people who shared non-Soviet attitudes. Fr Stanislovas became widely known in Lithuania for his deep sermons and his ability to attract and engage people through various initiatives, like collecting, repairing and restoring old things, his philosophical attitude towards things (similar to that of Rainer Maria Rilke), and the importance of activity. The items (material objects) in the collection are a testimony to the environment in which the cultural opposition led by Fr Stanislovas discussed political, religious and social issues during Soviet times. 

Ferenc Fejtő was an original, democratic leftist thinker. His library is a unique trace of the criticism of Eastern European rightist, authoritarianist, socialist dictatorship, and Western European leftist romanticism. Fejtő, who maintained strong connections with European intellectual elites, left Hungary for France in 1938, yet remained deeply committed to the fate of freedom-lacking Eastern Europe.

The Nádosy bequest is an exceptional collection of materials documenting the daily work done by a Christian samizdat author and his efforts to establish a network of contacts. It also contains materials concerning the organization of the missionary working group, international communication, and the process of samizdat production.