Art Colony Sićevo 2026
The Art Colony Sićevo continues the tradition of the first Yugoslav art colony, founded at the beginning of the last century, in 1905, by the famous Serbian painter Nadežda Petrović with the support of colleagues and friends from her Munich school days, artists from Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia. Despite the enthusiasm and plans to maintain the colony and create in nature every year, due to historical circumstances, wars, mass suffering and poverty, this was the only recorded gathering of artists in southern Serbia. The colony was officially renewed under its current name in 1964, at the initiative of artists from Niš and cultural workers from all over the former Yugoslavia. Since then, it has been held annually. The work of the first few convocations was entrusted to the National Museum of Niš, and since 1970 the implementation work has been taken over by the SLU Gallery.
Thanks to this public city manifestation of an international character, the most valuable collection of our art of the second half of the century in the territory of Serbia proper has been formed, in terms of its historical, artistic and aesthetic characteristics. It is enriched year after year with new works that are preserved, protected, museologically processed, published and presented to the public as part of the GSLU collection.
This year’s colony will, as before, be held from 1 to 10 September in the village of Sićevo, 20 km from Niš. The 63rd edition will feature Svetlana Volic, Aleksandra Kokotović (Belgrade), Nina Marić (Italy), Albena Mihailova Manc (Bulgaria), Stevan Kitić, Mile Kocev (Niš), Enis Zaimi (Sarajevo) and Miloš Vučen (Prijedor).
In addition to the artists’ stay and work, the Program, which is decided by the Event Council, traditionally includes a more detailed introduction of participants to the rich heritage of this region, a tour of the Sićevačka Gorge, the surrounding monasteries and cultural and historical monuments of the city such as the Fortress, Mediana and Ćele-kula.
Artworks created during the Sićevo Art Colony 2026 will be exhibited at the Tvrđava Pavilion during November 2027.
The implementation of this year’s event was supported by the City of Niš.