An important anniversary of one of the longest-running exhibitions in Croatia celebrated ceremoniously in Bale
60th Castrum Vallis Opening, This Year's Laureate is Visual Artist Naser Hamza
The 60th collective exhibition Castrum Vallis was ceremoniously opened on Saturday evening in Bale in front of a large audience of artists, residents, and their guests. The opening ceremony of this traditional exhibition, one of the longest-running in Croatia where academic and self-taught artists have exhibited together since 1964, was held at La Musa Square. This year’s works, created by artists on the theme "Love," were exposed at La Musa Square and the Ulika Gallery in Bale.
The curator of the 60th Castrum Vallis, art historian Kristina Tamara Franić Koulen, highlighted that 111 works by 82 authors were submitted for this year's exhibition call. The jury, consisting of Kristina Tamara Franić Koulen (as the exhibition curator) and academic painters and professors Fulvio Juričić and Borut Skok, selected 68 works for this year’s jubilee exhibition and singled out three best ones. Last night, the winners of this year's awards were announced, and the laureate of the 60th Castrum Vallis is Naser Hamza, an artist from Bale with a long-standing presence at the prestigious Bale exhibition, awarded for his work "Untitled" in mixed media. The second prize went to the Italian academic artist Alessandra D'Agnolo from Venice for her work "L'attesa" in mixed media on canvas, while the third prize was awarded to the Slovenian painter Klaudija Marušić for her painting titled "Agape" in acrylic technique.
In his inspired welcome speech at last night's ceremony at La Musa Square, co-organizer of the exhibition and long-time employee of the Tourist Board of the municipality of Bale – Valle responsible for culture, Ennio Malusà, emphasized that the opening of the jubilee 60th Castrum Vallis is an extremely emotional moment for him.
"When I opened the 40th Castrum Vallis, I did not believe it would last so long. Over all these years, Bale has changed and grown, and the exhibition has grown together with Bale. Today, we have many long-term exhibitors, exhibition participants, and many people to whom I want to express my gratitude, especially the artists and our mayor of the municipality of Bale – Valle, who 20 years ago helped us hang paintings for the exhibition and still does today. He hasn’t changed; the will to work has remained the same," said Ennio Malusà in his welcome speech.
The mayor of the municipality of Bale – Valle, Edi Pastrovicchio, also recalled the opening of the exhibition 20 years ago at the square near the Bale bell tower and stated that the successful path of growth of the Castrum Vallis exhibition is evidenced by La Musa Square full of artists and visitors at this year’s jubilee 60th Castrum Vallis.
"I thank the artists who make our exhibition endure, and I am convinced that this cultural tradition will not be lost," said Edi Pastrovicchio.
The curator of the 60th Castrum Vallis, art historian Kristina Tamara Franić Koulen, reminded the audience of the rich history of the exhibition and said that it all started in 1964 with the initiative of artists Vasilije Jordan, Dragica Cvek Jordan, Milan Crnelić, and Bora Stanojčić, who "after many informal summer gatherings and exhibitions of paintings in open urban spaces," then as the Art Group of the town of Bale, opened the first official exhibition of independent works in Bembo Castle in 1967, thereby formally founding Castrum Vallis and starting a systematic practice of art exhibitions.
"The small art group eventually grew into an art colony, then into an art manifestation that today gathers around 70 artists or more. The main mission of the group was to enable academic and self-taught artists to jointly exhibit their artistic works, without set frameworks in terms of style and set themes. Quality and a sincere approach to creation were sought. The mission has remained the same until today, only that - due to the increasing number of submitted works and the variability of quality - a professional selection with a curator's theme for the exhibition has been introduced," highlighted curator Kristina Tamara Franić Koulen in the catalog accompanying the exhibition. She also explained why "Love" was chosen as this year's exhibition theme, emphasizing that it is very important today. "Reflecting on love and creating an artwork on this theme, artists create the strongest force in the universe, and all those who come to see and feel these artworks create the same energy in their hearts. Try to imagine how many united, noble energies we have here that will become a counterbalance to negativities. Therefore, let us be loving, and let our thoughts be directed towards peace and good," said Kristina Tamara Franić Koulen. She emphasized that the professional jury selected "the works of artists who demonstrated excellent mastery of artistic techniques, also proving their ability to respect and understand the given competition theme, and who immersed their hearts, intellect, and instinct into the symbolism of love" from the submitted works. The exhibition curator concluded that this year's exhibition proves that Castrum Vallis has a future and concluded: "People love and need art. Therefore, let Castrum Vallis continue to travel towards the future, participating in the past, with the aim of sharing experiences of fine art and good intentions."
The following artists are presenting their works in various techniques at this year's Castrum Vallis exhibition: Carry Lee Hent, Sonja Milotić-Šesto, Robert Hrelja, Mladen Boljkovac, Darija Stipanić, Sanja Simeunović Bajec, Petar Hranuelli, Ivan Tanković – Kićo, Zoran Gashi, Chris Co, Karin Kustner – Poll, Claudia Marverti, Franko Tončinić, Roberta Weissman Nagy, Vlastimir Lončar, Ivan Martihović, Irena Gorenc, Elm Avdić, Špela Magister, Nejka Terglav, Helena Testen, Karmen Korošec, Martina Kozamernik, Andrea Verdelago, Klaudija Marušić, Monika Petrović, Vesna Paladin, Marija Peti-Božić, Mirta Savani Profeta, Aleksandra Rotar, Branko Gulin, Adrijana Šuran, Anton Meden, Blaž Mario Kontošić, Divna Kontošić, Radoslav Putnik, Ljiljana Lazičić Putnik, Marija Sršen, Staša Doblanović Randall, Filić Drago, Amina Konate Visintin, Slavica Oplanić, Maria Klarić, Jasenka Korlević, Silvija Knežević, Slavica Ezgeta, Mario Rosanda, Vjekoslava Sošić, Silvia Golja, Željko Kranjčević Winter, Dušan Tatalović, Radojka Kramar, Naser Hamza, Nadia Golob, Wolfgang Baur, Ines Saina, Igor Drandić, Ermano Bančić, Branislav Buh-Bato, Alessandra D'Agnolo, Renne Rajčević, Jadranka Primožić-Maurić, Dalibora Sirotić Milotić, Gracijela Sirotić, Mirjana Tomašević Dančević, Daniela Battisti, and Dario Jurjević.
The opening ceremony of the 60th Castrum Vallis was complemented by a reception at La Musa Square, and the beautiful evening in Bale, dedicated to art and socializing, was enriched by the musical performance of the Sunset Duo, consisting of Aleksandar Lukić and Angelica Zacchigna.
The exhibition can be visited at the Ulika Gallery until August 22 every day except Sunday from 8 AM to 9 PM. On the last day of the exhibition, a promotion of the monograph "Castrum Vallis: Una Mostra Senza Tempo / Izložba vječne inspiracije“ is planned to mark the jubilee edition.
