Museum activities of Serbs in Canada

function – organizing interdisciplinary animation of visitors, active
participation in public life of community (smaller / more frequent ex-
hibitions), animating the public (children and foreigners, above all),
holding of thematic concerts, organizing lectures, art workshops, main-
tenance of great PR and active work on obtaining financial support.
The collection of museum objects is one whole, small or large in
scale, mainly related by material, processing, or purpose. Throughout
history, collections have changed as was changing the appetite of col-
lectors – they expanded the knowledge about items they own. Collec-
tions were becoming larger, more precious and more valuable.
Collections were increasingly formed by deliberate program of ac-
quisition and its systematic realization. In Europe in the XVII century
begins more serious formation of the collections. They are collected
because scientific and historical significance, information, and also
for of curiosity, a passion for the past, religious motives (cult objects),
pride (a desire for possession), markets (resale), etc. The so called Cab-
inets of Curiosities were a catchall, while wealthy people, patrons of the
arts, acquire the exquisite art collections.
Museum collections are defined by the thematic division into gen-
eral and specialized, and then by geographical, in terms of geographic-
al area they represent. Museums are further distinguished by the form
and status. Division of collections by form, in the classic sense mark
the artistic and historical museums. In contrast, many museums were
founded as a negation of that classical form. Museums in the open are
national parks and reconstructed the historic villages, such as the Old
Village on Zlatibor mountain, then there are fortresses and archaeo-
logical sites of towns, baths, monuments, such as are Lepenski Vir and
Gamzigrad, for example.
Classification by status should also be mentioned, because it clari-
fies the management of the collection and the museum itself as an
institution. Accordingly, the museum can be national (state owned)
and local (municipal) and the so-called organizational (association,
or even corporation) which can also partly be under the control of
regional authorities (for example, the Ontario Ministry of Culture,
Tourism and Recreation) in order to survive as a non-profit institution.
More recently the digital age allows for newer forms of museums and
dissolves, to some extent, strict distribution by status. Which means
that the birth of dozens of virtual museums in the last 10 years, allow
such an institution freedom in the choice of location, exposure, con-
tact with the public, form of research and storage of collections. Such
a form of the museum is still in its infancy, but it is very interesting.
In the coming years of intensified digitization of collections, one will
notice the increase in number of such virtual museums.

The Museum Activity of Serbs in Diaspora
The guardians of the tangible heritage, in Serbian lands before the 19th
century, were the monasteries and, to a small extent, private collect-
ors. Formal museum activity in the Kingdom of Serbia started quite
late compared to Europe, with the opening of the National Museum
in Belgrade in 1844 by a decree of the Minister of Education Mr. Jovan
Sterija Popovic. The primary focus of the collection was archeology
and numismatics that over time has significantly evolved into a very
rich collection with over 500 inventory units that it counts today.
At first, the National Museum was more of a closed archive, and
only with the establishment of the museum guard position by the edict
of Prince Alexander Krađorđevic in 1853, the museum opened to the
public and began to exhibit the collection. To date there are 144 mu-
seums open to the public in Republic of Serbia which form a very nice
network of regional museums and legacies across the country.
The first museum with the distinction of a museum of Serbian cul-
tural heritage outside the borders of Serbia, opened in 1964 in Szen-
tendre, Hungary. The idea to establish the Museum of Serbian Orthodox
Diocese of Budapest was born between the two world wars. However,
its realization occurred only in 1964., when the first permanent exhib-
ition opened with artefacts that were transferred to the seat of Dio-
cese for their physical protection. Following years were dedicated to
extensive field research, under the direction of academician Mr. David
Dinka under the auspices of the Gallery of Matica Srpska, crowned by
the 1973 exhibition and book entitled “Icons Serbian churches in Hun-
gary”, which for the first time brought forth the most important works
of sacral art from the area Buda Diocese (http://www.galerijeimuzeji.
com/lat/izlozba/22/srpska-crkvena-umetnost-umadjarskoj).
This museum is very significant not only because it is the first
museum outside the boundaries of Serbia, but because it has a library
of about 9400 ancient and valuable books, and is also proud owner of
extensive archive documenting life of the Serbian community in Szen-
tendre and other parts of Hungary. The museum is primarily concep-
tualised as a museum Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Buda concentrated
on the sacral artistic treasure of Serbs in Hungary, but it is not passive
in its activities. Exhibits rotate, and travel not only to the National
Museum of Serbia in 1990, but also to Brussels in 2011. Extremely valu-
able and mostly religious collection is still trying to depict centuries
of life of Serbs in Szentendre, their social achievements and the legacy
they left behind. An art historian, Mr. Kosta Vukovic, is the current
curator of the museum and is an amazing guardian of the collection.
In recent years, Serbian cultural organizations in Budapest were
finally gaining visibility on Internet. They have invested in the con-
struction of representative websites where you can keep track of crea-
tivity and efforts of keeping an extremely rich Serbian cultural heritage
in Hungary.
Another amassing example of the museum Serbian heritage outside
the current borders of Serbia, worthy of note because of the incredibly
long struggle for its existence and the priceless treasures that it holds, is
the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church within the city walls of
old Dubrovnik. It is also the building of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Parish Dubrovnik, close to the Serbian Cathedral of the Annunciation.
The church was built in 1877, in the address Od Pucha St. 8, on the pur-
chased land. The museum is small, but spacious enough to hold a very
important library of old and rare books, and a substantial collection of
icons, mostly of Boka Kotorska fresco painting school. Finally, it kept
documents about the Serbian community, which existed in Dubrovnik
and around it, and stubbornly persisted for centuries. (http://www.bo-
kokotorskaslikarskaskola.rs/dubrovnik-muzej-spc/dubrovnik-muzej-
spc-muzej/).
The first Orthodox chapel was opened in 1790, in a town house of
Petrovic family, the descendants of Count Savo Vladisavljevic at the
top of the Posat St, just outside the city walls. Literary historian of Du-
brovnik Dr. Irena Arsic tells us that the house had a beautiful garden
which was used as a small cemetery, but was not allowed to have any
religious symbols. This house is still in good condition. The priest was
coming from monastery Duzi near Trebinje. With the fall of the Re-
public in 1808, the French authorities recognized the Orthodox faith
as an equal to the Catholic, and so rich Serbs had purchased Boninovo
land for their new cemetery, and later in 1837. Have built a new church
of St. Archangel Michael. Why is this example of a museum, import-
ant? Because even though it is a museum of the Serbian Orthodox
Church, it is actually more important as an archive of history of the
Serbian community in Dubrovnik, and is independent from the state
run Dubrovnik Archives.
There is a number of treasure troves of Serbian material heritage, in
the form of museums, archives and libraries in Australia, America and
Canada. Museum of Sydney, Australia, under the name of the First
Serbian Museum and Library, was founded in the late 1970. It is very
small and mostly heritage character, in terms of documentation of his-
tory of the Serbian community of Sydney. The collection is small, and
in recent years the museum is less active, but community elders have
plans for revitalization.
In United States there exists a Hilandar Research Library (HRL)
which, although not registered as a museum, houses the largest collec-
tion of medieval Slavic manuscripts on microfilm in the world: mil-
lions of pages of manuscripts in micro format from more than 100 dif-
ferent private, museum and library collections from many countries,
is used by scientists from around the world. The collection includes
several thousand Cyrillic manuscripts on microfilm, with more than
1,200 manuscripts from several monasteries on holy Mount Athos, in
Greece, including the entire collection of manuscripts from the Serb-
ian monastery Hilandar. The Hilandar Research Library also contains
a large collection of specialized reference collection, in print and micro
format, as well as a growing collection of original manuscripts and
artifacts from the medieval Slavic countries.
Hilandar Research Library (HRL) is located in the Thompson Li-
brary, of the Ohio State University and shares space with the Research
Center for Medieval Slavic Studies (RCSS). Archpriest stavrofor, prof.
dr. Mateja Matejić, is the founder of this library and its treasures of
Cyrillic handwriting. He was also a professor of Slavonic studies at the
State University of Ohio, from 1968 to his retirement. Dr. Matejić is a
renowned translator, anthologist of the medieval poetry and poetry in
foreign languages, and an author of several books on medieval Serbian
literature. His son, dr. Predrag Matejić, following the footsteps of his
father, received his doctorate in Slavic languages and literature at the
same university. For many years, Dr. Predrag Matejić is the director of
the Research Center for Medieval Slavic Studies (RCMSS) and curator
of the Hilandar Research Library (https://rcmss.osu.edu/). Although
this institution is not a museum but a library, it is immensely valuable
collection is a superb example of collection building in the Diaspora.
There is another notable example of museum collections on North
American soil that many, at least in Canada, do not know about. Serb-
ian National Federation of Pittsburgh, as an institution with a long his-
tory, had its own large collection. It grew and nurtured the immigrant
history of the Serbs in the United States. The collection contained rare
books, printed in English and Serbian, at the beginning of the 20th
century, flags, records of numerous branches of the Federation, artistic
works in oil, busts of prominent Serbs etc. However, for various rea-
sons SNF has gifted the entire collection Senator John Heinz History
Centre in Pittsburgh. One part of the collection belongs to Mr. Leland
Anderson, who was a long time admirer of Nikola Tesla and who col-
lected a very large number of files, correspondence and information
about our scientist. The collection is in good hands, although, unfortu-
nately, no longer in Serbian.

Serbian Heritage Museum of Windsor (Canada)
Serbian Heritage Museum in Windsor is the only such registered Serb-
ian museum in Canada that is still actively working. It was founded in
1987, when the expansion of the Serbian Centre was completed, and
from then until now occupies seven rooms in the same building.
The history of this museum is very dynamic, as is the history of the
Serbian community in Windsor, which has been around since the early
1920s. Stories about the origin of the museum and the Serbian Herit-
age Women Association are inseparable. The Association commenced
its operations on July 3. 1972. Initially, it consisted only of five ladies,
under the leadership of Mrs. Stanislava Marković (former deputy dir-
ector of the City Public Library in Windsor). The Association initially
considered the possibilities of its organization and then has set its per-
formance targets. Members of this society first started with organizing
an elegant annual Saint Sava Ball, which continues to this day, followed
by concerts of Serbian classical music performed by the Philharmonic
Orchestra of Windsor, the same year. Finally, the Association initiated
the Serbian classics of theatre, performed by the Academy of Drama
at the University of Windsor (in English language) in 1974. All their
projects were very successful and well attended. Encouraged by this
success, the Association initiated the idea of Serbian heritage museum
in 1975. Serbian community has responded quickly and generously
donated a large number of artifacts, documents, photographs, hand-
crafted traditional costumes, rare books and newspapers from private