As part of the Programme of the official celebration of the Candlemas (Sretenje) holiday – the Statehood Day of Serbia, the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Aleksandar Martinović, PhD, has officially opened an exhibition of Sava Šumanović’s art in Šid today under the title “Sava Šumanović – at home for the holiday“.
Martinović has pointed out that in celebrating one of the biggest national holidays, Candlemas, when the foundations of modern Serbian statehood were laid, we remember vožd Karađorđe and his revolutionaries who raised the First Serbian Uprising in 1804, as well as the First Constitution from 1835.
Expressing his satisfaction due to his presence at the house of one of the greatest Serbian painters, Minister Martinović has stressed that all Serbian people, not only in Serbia, but also in the Republic of Srpska and Montenegro, have reason to be proud of the legacy of Sava Šumanović, who was tragically killed in August 1942 with 120 other citizens of Šid.
Martinović has recalled that Sava Šumanović made a decision not to sign his art during the Second World War when the Cyrillic alphabet was banned, and that all those who hold important state functions can learn a lot from that act. First of all, to remain free when hard times come knocking, not to bend their knee and to always remember that our ancestors paid for our freedom with their lives. The Statehood Day of Serbia obliges us to remember the high price that was paid for defending and winning the freedom of the Serbian people, and thus Candlemas must be kept alive and present in our society, education, life and actions.
He has added that he is convinced that all Serbian people, guided by the wise and responsible policy of the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, will emerge even stronger after facing all the challenges and difficulties at hand.
At today’s event, the President of the Municipality of Šid, Zoran Semenović, as well as the director of the Art Gallery “Sava Šumanović”, Jovana Lakić, have made their addresses.
Photo gallery – source: Municipality of Šid
