** The exhibition opening is at 7 p.m.

The exhibition The Sun Is Burnt / The Archive of Cetinje Biennials is an overview of the legacy left by the event that took place between 1991 and 2004 in Cetinje, Montenegro.

The international event, which brought together around 700 artists, curators and cultural workers throughout its 14-year duration, was left unelaborated and without a systematic history of its activity following its last edition in 2004. Even though a renewal has often been alluded to, the Biennial was gradually erased from social memory and remained inaccessible to new generations of artists.

Arising from the great expectations of the pivotal year of 1989, the Biennial developed within the framework of local and global circumstances which shaped its trajectories and messages. Its initiator and founder was architect Nikola Petrović Njegoš, the grandson of Nikola I Petrović Njegoš, the last king of Montenegro. With documents, visual materials, media reflections and archival artefacts, the exhibition opens up the question of the relations between contemporary art and historical cruxes, from its first edition – opened on 7 June 1991, just before the dissolution of Yugoslavia – all the way to the fifth Biennial, placed within the context of “Balkan Trilogy.”

By questioning the visions, illusions, disillusions and outcomes formed throughout the years, the exhibition provides insight into the context of emergence and endurance of Cetinje Biennials and encourages reflection on its place in the wider narrative of cultural policy and artistic trends at the turn of the century.

The Archive of Cetinje Biennials (ACB) is a project dedicated to documenting, studying and reactivating the legacy of all editions of the event (1991–2004). The project’s team consists of Natalija Vujošević, Irena Lagator Pejović, and Jovan Milošević. The project has been made possible by the Institute of Contemporary Art Cetinje and the Petrović Njegoš Foundation.

The ACB operates as an active archive in which the past and the forthcoming intertwine, thereby forming new knowledge, ideas, and connections. With a research approach and with interdisciplinary programmes and collaborations, the Archive functions as a shared field of opinions and meetings of different generations of researchers, artists, and curators. Alongside the collection of materials, digitalisation and research, the ACB organises exhibition projects, research workshops, and lectures. In addition to documenting, studying and reactivating the legacy of all editions of the event (1991–2004), the project cultivates connections with the local community by means of its activities, which is one of the more important messages of Cetinje Biennials.

The project is made possible at the Room for Interdisciplinary Research and Meetings on the digital platform of the publicly accessible online archive, as well as in the public space of the city of Cetinje at the permanent exhibition The Archive of Cetinje Biennials In Situ.

Alongside the permanent collection, the development of the project in various stages was contributed to by Lenka Đorojević, Adrijana Gvozdenović, Ivana Vujošević, Vladimir Đurišić, Radisav Stijović, Milena Prelević, Balša Lazarević, Jovana Kujačić, and Jovo Radović.