Museum of Naive and Marginal Art in Jagodina | Museums of Serbia

Former Gallery of Self-Taught Artists in Svetozarevo was renamed to Museum of Naive and Marginal Art in Jagodina in 2007.

This unique institution in the cultural milieu of not only Jagodina but also the whole of Serbia is synonymous with the preservation and promotion of naive painters.

The museum was founded in 1960 and since then has been engaged in promoting, exhibiting, and conserving Yugoslav and Serbian artworks of naive and marginal art, as well as international artworks since 1994.

The building of the Museum, dating back to 1929, gives a special touch to the cultural heritage of the city of Jagodina. It is under the protection of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments. This authentic building has been restored and adapted to the museum's needs.

Representative works of self-taught artists

From the 1930s to the present day, around 2,500 sculptures, paintings, graphics, and drawings have been preserved, representing the permanent exhibition of the Museum.

In its depots, the Museum preserves over 3,500 works created from the 1930s to the present day. These are representative works by self-taught Serbian artists, creators from the former SFRY republics, as well as classics of naive and marginal art from Sweden, Turkey, Brazil, Slovakia, Italy, Cyprus, Germany, France, Russia, the United States, Bulgaria, Hungary, and other countries.

Among the numerous works of our authors, Sava Sekulić, Ilija Bašičević Bosilj, Emerik Feješ, Bogosav Živković, Vojislav Jakić, and others stand out.

The Documentation Center of the Museum of Naive and Marginal Art is unique and consists of several sections:

• card index
• photo archive
• library
• inventory books
• hemetek
• author and exhibition files
• CD and DVD archive
• electronic documentation

Thanks to its rich documentation fund, it is possible to study the entirety and individual parts of naive and marginal art, as well as conduct professional research.

The founder of the so-called "Oparić School" of naive art, Janko Brašić, and many painters of the "Kovačica School" of naive art have exhibited their works in this museum in Jagodina.

Salon of the Museum of Naive and Marginal Art and Salon Oto Bihalji-Merin in Belgrade

As a kind of portal for the main institution, the Salon of the Museum of Naive and Marginal Art operates in Belgrade, where works of domestic and international artists are showcased. The Museum in Jagodina also includes the Salon Oto Bihalji-Merin, where this publicist, writer, and essayist spent the last decades of his life.

The Salon Oto Bihalji-Merin, located in Belgrade, was established as a small institute for study and represents a genuine documentation center. It is often a meeting place for collectors of naive art and artists from Serbia and abroad.

For all those who love or appreciate naive and marginal art, the Museum is open from Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 5 pm and on Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm. Pre-arranged group visits can be organized outside of working hours.