SUMMER AT THE GALLERY SQUARE 202

The 2025 edition of the Summer at the Gallery Square brings a new season filled with cultural variety, inspiration, and artistic encounters, titled “A Blazing Summer of Art.” This year’s programme focuses on the cultures of Spain and South America – regions of intense emotion, rich history, and lavish artistic expression. Throughout June, July, and August, the Gallery Square will transform into a vibrant stage, taking us on a journey across the Atlantic—from Madrid and Barcelona, through Brazil, to Colombia.

This year’s programme includes a diverse range of activities to engage all generations and interests. Music lovers will enjoy musical evenings featuring performances by Novi Sad artists. The film segment offers a selection of contemporary and classic Spanish and Latin American films, in an open-air setting reminiscent of Mediterranean and Latin American summer cinema traditions. For those who enjoy interactive engagement and learning, there will be quizzes, as well as travelogue lectures and discussions with speakers who will bring closer the culture, art, and everyday life of these regions. “A Blazing Summer of Art” connects continents and opens new horizons using sound, images, and words.

As every year, the Gallery Square will be the heart of the summer in the city — a place for meeting, conversation, and cultural enjoyment. With a rich programme, warm atmosphere, and creative energy, we invite all art lovers and curious minds to be part of this unique cultural experience.

As part of the event, the audience will have the opportunity to see two exhibitions inspired by Spain – Prado in the Streets at the Gallery Square and Art Studios in the exhibition rooms of The Gallery of Matica Srpska, as well as Yugoslav Art in São Paulo at The Gallery of Fine Arts Gift Collection of Rajko Mamuzić.

For more than a decade, the 2025 edition of Summer at the Gallery Square has traditionally been organised by The Gallery of Matica Srpska, The Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection, and The Gallery of Fine Arts Gift Collection of Rajko Mamuzić, held in the gardens of the hosting museums, Gallery Square, and the Sculpture Park.

Join us for the festival events every Thursday at 9 p.m., from 26th June to 28th August. Admission to all events is free.

The 2025 edition of the Summer at the Gallery Square festival has been made possible thanks to the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Provincial Secretariat for Culture, Public Information and Relations with Religious Communities, and the City of Novi Sad’s Office for Culture.

PROGRAMME

26 June at 9 p.m.
Concert of Spanish music
The Aleksandar Dujin Orchestra

Keyboardist, composer, and arranger Aleksandar Dujin, whose career spans several decades, is a well-known and respected figure not only in Novi Sad and Serbia but also among fellow musicians across the former Yugoslavia. At the opening night of the Summer at the Gallery Square 2025 programme and the Prado in the Streets exhibition, the Aleksandar Dujin Orchestra will perform some of the most iconic compositions from Spain and the Spanish-speaking region, offering the audience a musical introduction to this year’s theme.

3 July at 9 p.m.
QUIZPAÑA
MSc Branimir Arsić

A team quiz in the style of popular “pub quizzes”, where participants can test their knowledge of Spanish film, music, sport, history, culture, and art. The experienced quizmaster, MSc Branimir Arsić, will prepare questions across several categories, and the winning team will receive exciting prizes. Show off your knowledge and discover something new about this Mediterranean country that attracts millions of tourists!

10 July at 9 p.m.
Lecture
The Golden Age of Spanish Painting: El Greco, Diego Velázquez, Francisco Goya
Milica Milošević, MSc Goran Vujkov, and MSc Jovana Simić

The pinnacle of painting in Spain is often referred to as the “Spanish Golden Age”, spanning from the mid-16th to the mid-17th century. This period was marked by the work of painters El Greco and Diego Velázquez, with another prominent artist, Francisco Goya, joining this renowned duo somewhat later. Museum educators Milica Milošević, MSc Goran Vujkov, and MSc Jovana Simić will introduce the lives and works of these three artists to the audience, tracing the development of Spanish painting from Mannerism to Romanticism.

17 July at 9 p.m.
Movie night
Salvador Dalí: In Search of Immortality

Salvador Dalí: In Search of Immortality is a 2018 documentary film that explores the life, work, and inner world of the famous Spanish artist. Through archival footage, photographs, and narration, the film portrays Dalí’s artistic development, his relationship with Gala, and his obsession with immortality. Special emphasis is placed on the construction of the Teatro-Museo Dalí in Figueres, which Dalí himself designed as a work of art. The film sheds light on his multifaceted personality — between genius, performer, and provocateur. This documentary is a visually rich portrait of an artist who lived to leave a timeless legacy.

24 July at 9 p.m.
Lecture
Dancing Sardana with Gaudí in Barcelona
Assoc. Prof. Dr Milan Prosen, art historian

Antoni Gaudí is more than an architect and a brilliant creator — he is a national hero of Catalonia. He has become the colour and form of the Catalan spirit, perhaps the most vivid reflection of the joyful national dance, the Sardana, which, like a vibrant circle dance, weaves its way through his works across Barcelona. Immersed in Gaudí’s unrestrained imagination, told through thousands of shimmering, colourful mosaic pieces and carried by the rhythm of flowing organic forms he had never encountered before—yet felt intimately familiar with—the visitor to Barcelona is left spellbound by these marvels. For woven into them is the joy of life itself, like a fairytale song. These and other images of Gaudí’s Barcelona will be brought to life for the Summer at the Gallery Square audience by Dr Milan Prosen, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Applied Arts, University of Arts in Belgrade, and one of the laureates of The Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection Award.}

31 July at 9 p.m.
Live performance
Lazar Novkov & Frame Orchestra

Summer at the Gallery Square will be enriched by the performance of the acoustic ensemble founded in 2010 by Lazar Novkov, an instrumentalist and composer. Their musical repertoire is rooted in world music, but also draws on cabaret, postmodernism, crossover, post-jazz, and related genre fusions. Thanks to their extensive performance experience and distinctive musical style, the Frame Orchestra has appeared at a variety of festivals and cultural events in Novi Sad, Niš, and other cities across Serbia, winning over audiences in Ulm, Vienna, Zagreb, Brussels, Tolmin, and other European cities. The Frame Orchestra consists of: Lazar Novkov – composer, accordion; Vladimir Ćuković – violin; Siniša Mazalica – double bass; Nenad Patković – acoustic guitar; Ištvan Čik – drums, percussion.

7 August at 9 p.m.
Travelogue
Andalusia – The Soul of Spain
Slađana Velendečić

Spain – a land of rich culture, passionate music, passionate flamenco, bullfighting, tapas, and spirited people – is often viewed through the lens of familiar stereotypes. However, the real Spain is much more complex, made up of diverse traditions, languages, and customs that vary from region to region. Andalusia encompasses many of the archetypal symbols linked to Spanish identity, which is why it is often said that Andalusia is not just a region, but the heart and soul of Spain. Our guest, Slađana Velendečić, a museum curator and passionate traveller, believes that everyone who has visited southern Spain understands the words of the great poet Federico García Lorca, “Andalusia is not a place you visit. It is a place that stays with you forever”.

14 August at 9 p.m.
Travelogue Colombia – The Eldorado of the 21st Century
Dr Bojana Kovačević Petrović, Professor at the Department of Italian and Ibero-American Studies, University of Novi Sad

In her travelogue about two different cities, Medellín and Cartagena, Dr Bojana Kovačević Petrović will present two faces of Colombia — a country that preserves memories of its pre-Hispanic past through more than a hundred indigenous communities speaking 64 different languages. The lecture will highlight the colonial era during which most of the local cities were founded, as well as the dark period of crime and drug trafficking that the country has endured in the past. The audience will explore Medellín, the “City of Eternal Spring”, through its sculptures and paintings by Fernando Botero, Comuna 13, and the city’s treasured library. Cartagena will be presented through a glimpse into a precious part of Gabriel García Márquez’s life, the Caribbean Sea, and the handcrafted works of the indigenous peoples, the original creators of this vibrant culture. Today, Colombia embraces the modern world, education, culture, and the arts.

21 August at 9 p.m.
Live performance
Gerecki

Gerecki is an alt-rock band from Novi Sad whose music is infused with sounds from the past, mostly the 1970s, blending elements of mellow psychedelia and chamber pop, which the band bring to life in their contemporary arrangements. They are about to release their second album, while their debut album offers listeners pure rock ’n’ roll-inspired pleasure. In addition to their usual repertoire, for this occasion they will also perform a segment dedicated to the great Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucía. The band members are Dimitrije Jakovljević – electric guitar, keyboards, lead vocals; Nenad Patković – electric guitar and backing vocals; Marko Mojović – electric bass and backing vocals; Nikola Vučetić – drums, percussion, and backing vocals.

28 August at 9 p.m.
An Evening of Brazilian Documentary Film
Vik Muniz – Waste Land (2010)

The documentary Waste Land, follows the creation of an art series and exhibition by one of the most intriguing contemporary South American visual artists, Vik Muniz (São Paulo, 1961). Already known for his unconventional painting techniques (using sugar, food scraps, chocolate syrup, dust, toys, confetti), the artist sets out to create a new body of work by travelling to Jardim Gramacho — the world’s largest landfill, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro — where he creates portraits composed entirely from waste. There, he encounters the so-called Catadores – people who spend their days sorting through rubbish in search of recyclable materials to sell – who will not only become part of the artistic process, but also its very essence. Through the moving and powerful relationships that unfold during the three years of collaboration, the project evolves into a greater whole — a profoundly human story. The film was made in 2010 as a British-Brazilian co-production and directed by Lucy Walker.