---

 

---

 

MUSEUM OF NAÏVE
AND MARGINAL ART

Museum of Naïve and Marginal Art (MNMA), Jagodina, is a specialized institution, unique in our country, with a special programme of museum protection of the works of naïve and marginal art by collecting, studying, exhibiting, publishing and systematizing museum documentation. The Museum was founded in 1960 in Jagodina, firstly as Gallery of Self-Taught Artists; in 1985 it received the name Museum of Naïve Art to be renamed into Museum of Naïve and Marginal Art in 2007.

Museum has been systematically working on protection of the works of naïve art, primarily Serbian and Yugoslav, to which international works were added in 1994.

The mission of MNMA was to provide integral patronage over the works of naïve and marginal art, thus disseminating the true idea of its essence and real artistic value, separating it from other forms of non-academic work, the field of amateurism and dilettantism. The most significant result of long lasting efforts and activities of MNMA is the fact that many deep-rooted dilemmas and illusions about the specific field of naïve and marginal art have been explained. Nowadays, wider artistic audience is obviously more aware of the extraordinary artistic potentials, high artistic achievements and truly creative energy of its most valuable works while naïve and marginal art is properly viewed among the professional circles, and evaluated as a constituent of contemporary, equal to academic art.

In addition to representative permanent display, including the most significant works from the collection of MNMA, the exhibiting activity of the Museum includes numerous independent, retrospective, group, thematic, study and international exhibitions in the Museum, other cities of Serbia and abroad. Since its foundation, the Museum has organized more than 500 exhibitions. Within its rich international cooperation, the Museum has organized numerous representative exhibitions (Vienna, Lausanne, Martigny, Paris, Sofia, Budapest, Bratislava, Prague etc.). Museum also organizes significant international events, Biennial and Colony of Naïve and Marginal Art, as one of the best ways to follow up, study and promote the development of naïve and marginal art in wider, international scope.

 

In addition to accompanying elements of exhibiting activities such as bilingual catalogues and other advertising materials (posters, invitation cards, picture post cards etc.), the publishing activity of MNMA includes other publications: monographs, miscellaneous collections, graphic maps, calendars. Since 2000, the publishing activity has included electronic editions. MNMA web site is www.mnmu.rs. Web presentation of the Museum was edited in 1998.