In a community where seven state-funded cultural institutions have unresolved legal and financial status, the idea of a Museum Quarter seems like a utopian vision. However, the fact that the Museum Quarter is to be constructed by building the long-awaited Museum Ars Aevi on site where the two (“orphan”) museums are putting up their fight against cultural decay, offers a certain amount of optimism. As the spatial density of cultural institutions, provided by such a Museum Quarter, could highlight the power and relevance of each, the transformative potential they carry becomes more evident. As the social necessity of those Museums becomes unavoidable, the potential need for investment in them becomes impossible to ignore.

The location of the future Museum Quarter in itself contributes to the development of urban landscape, by broadening what is considered to be “a city center”. Precisely this positions the Museum Quarter as a focal point of social inclusivity – a place equally accessible to all citizens, visitors and tourists.    

The lack of city squares, parks and outdoor gathering venues has influenced the use of public space, devaluing it to transport and transition functions only. Therefore, the Vilsonovo šetalište (Wilson’s promenade), located close to the future Museum Quarter, became a mere transit zone. The Museum Quarter opens a possibility for the collective generating of new symbolic and function-related values of Sarajevo public space. The Museum Quarter, as an architectural conglomerate, could be dominant enough to make the people in transit stop for a minute and wonder. Wonder about culture, heritage, space and the meanings around them, which might just be the first step needed for them to enter museums and other galleries.

Therefore, the quarter should not only be the physical space housing the three museums, but a vibrant area rich with closely curated cultural content created within the cooperation of museums, as well as other state and independent cultural institutions.

The participatory installation “If walls could tell” by artist Mischa Kuball is a great example of the content a Museum Quarter could and should be hosting. It is an installation that gives the people a space to express themselves, but even more, it gives them an opportunity to personalize the public space they use. In this way, people connect with spaces and they get a chance to inhabit them as their own. They might even feel that they are a part of something bigger than themselves. A community, perhaps.

Benjamin Čengić is a visual artist, muralist, and producer in the field of performing arts, with a particular focus on film production and contemporary art. He graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo in the Department of Production and Management. After completing his studies, he worked on some of the most significant film projects made in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but his first producer credit, the short film The Witness, directed by Alen Šimić, was completed in 2022. In 2016, he founded the association Obojena Klapa, which became a key driver for affirming street art in Sarajevo. Through this platform, Benjamin Čengić initiated and developed projects that redefined the artistic landscape of the city. One of these projects is the FASADA Festival, an international street art festival held in Sarajevo since 2021. Through the FASADA Festival, the Balkan network of festivals – BALKAN SAN – was initiated. In parallel, as the co-founder and director of the Gallery of Contemporary Arts Manifesto, established in 2021, Benjamin creates space and support for the development of contemporary artistic practices, including exhibitions, education, and advocacy. Today, he combines the roles of artist and producer, leading projects that connect creativity, innovation, and social impact.