The 12th edition of the CEI Venice Forum for Contemporary Art Curators, promoted by the Trieste Contemporanea Committee with the support of the CEI, took place at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice on 8 May during the pre-opening days of the Venice Art Biennale.
Under the title "Criteria of Memoria. Navigating Memory and Preservation in Contemporary Art", curators, art historians, and researchers from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Slovenia and Ukraine discussed one of the most pressing topics in contemporary debate: the process of curating, conservation, and the shaping of cultural memory. Against the backdrop of ongoing conflicts, technological transformations, and shifting identities, the Forum reflected the role of archives and cultural institutions in selecting what is preserved for future generations.
The Forum was opened by Riccardo Caldura, Director of the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice, and Ivana Pejović, CEI Deputy Secretary General, followed by introductory remarks from Giuliana Carbi Jesurun, President of the Trieste Contemporanea Committee, and Janka Vukmir, curator of the 2026 edition of the Forum.
In her speech Pejović highlighted that "the Forum clearly reflects the CEI's core mission: to promote regional cooperation through collaborative efforts and the sharing of experience, while contributing to European integration. Culture lies at the heart of this endeavour, fostering mutual understanding and nurturing shared European values".
Among the main speakers were Konstantin Akinsha (Ukraine), Nataša Bodrožić (Croatia), Iara Boubnova (Bulgaria), Dejvi Dauti (Albania), Dessislava Dimova (Bulgaria), Irfan Hošić (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Adrianna Wiktoria Kowalik (Poland), Lilijana Stepančić (Slovenia), and Darko Šimičić (Croatia).
The discussion allowed for an in-depth exploration of key themes such as feminist and transnational archives, the modernist heritage of the Adriatic region, the relationship between memory and war, and the role of art in countering the erasure of minority narratives. The exchange highlighted the responsibility of art curation and contemporary art in building future archives designed to preserve cultural memory.
The CEI Venice Forum is one of the main international activities of Trieste Contemporanea carried out in cooperation with the CEI. Over more than twenty years, the Forum has given voice to hundreds of curators, museum directors, biennial commissioners, researchers, and young professionals from Central and Eastern Europe, establishing itself as a key event in the international curatorial landscape.
More info: fabro@cei.int
