The Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade proudly presents Personal Stories / Political Realities, a major international exhibition developed in collaboration with the Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon. Conceived as a two-part project and first presented in Lyon, France (in autumn 2025) , the exhibition now arrives in Belgrade, where it opens a new chapter in the dialogue between two museum collections shaped by distinct histories, cultural contexts, and institutional trajectories. Bringing together more than seventy works by artists from Serbia, the former Yugoslav region, and the international contemporary art scene, the exhibition explores the dynamic relationship between personal experience and the political realities that shape individual and collective lives. Rather than following a chronological or stylistic narrative, the exhibition proposes a thematic approach that highlights the ways in which artists transform memory, biography, identity, and lived experience into powerful reflections on broader social, historical, and political processes. The works presented reveal how personal stories can illuminate questions of power, ideology, belonging, resilience, and cultural transformation. Whether addressing the body as a site of vulnerability and agency, collective spaces as repositories of memory, interpersonal relations as frameworks of exchange and solidarity, or politics as a authority shaping everyday life, the artists demonstrate how the intimate and the public remain deeply interconnected. The exhibition unfolds through four thematic sections—Body, Collective Space, Relations, and Politics—creating a framework through which visitors can navigate the complex intersections of private experience and public history. Works by artists such as Marina Abramović, Steve McQueen, Neša Paripović, Raša Todosijević, Sophie Calle, Bruce Nauman, Claire Tabouret, Gordon Matta-Clark, and many others enter into dialogue across generations, geographies, and artistic languages. More than a presentation of two collections, Personal Stories / Political Realities reflects a shared commitment to international collaboration, cultural exchange, and the creation of new curatorial perspectives. By bringing together works from different historical and political contexts, the exhibition invites audiences to reflect on how art helps us understand the complexities of contemporary society and the ways personal narratives continue to shape our collective understanding of the world.
Exhibition is curated by: Isabelle Bertolotti, Director of macLYON, Maja Kolarić, Director of MoCAB, Miroslav Karić, Curator at MoCAB and Matthieu Lelièvre, Head of Collections at macLYON.
Artists presented at the exhibition: Anica Vučetić, Bruce Nauman, Claire Tabouret, Christine Rebet, Damir Radović, Dragan Petrović, Edi Dubien, Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Chourouk Hriech, Ivana Ivković, Jasmina Cibic, Jean Le Gac, Karim Kal, Katarina Zdjelar, Katalin Ladik, Marina Abramović and Ulay, Marina Marković, Mihael Milunović, Nam June Paik, Nazanin Pouyandeh, Nemanja Nikolić, Neša Paripović, Raša Todosijević, Phil Collins, Rodrigo Matheus, Sadko Hadžihasanović, Siniša Ilić, Sophie Calle, Steve McQueen, Sylvie Selig, Tanja Ostojić, Thameur Mejri, Thomas Ruff, Tuomo Manninen, Vesna Perunović, Vlada Veličković, Vito Acconci.
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Personal Stories / Political Realities
The Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade proudly presents Personal Stories / Political Realities, a major international exhibition developed in collaboration with the Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon. Conceived as a two-part project and first presented in Lyon, France (in autumn 2025) , the exhibition now arrives in Belgrade, where it opens a new chapter in the dialogue between two museum collections shaped by distinct histories, cultural contexts, and institutional trajectories. Bringing together more than seventy works by artists from Serbia, the former Yugoslav region, and the international contemporary art scene, the exhibition explores the dynamic relationship between personal experience and the political realities that shape individual and collective lives. Rather than following a chronological or stylistic narrative, the exhibition proposes a thematic approach that highlights the ways in which artists transform memory, biography, identity, and lived experience into powerful reflections on broader social, historical, and political processes. The works presented reveal how personal stories can illuminate questions of power, ideology, belonging, resilience, and cultural transformation. Whether addressing the body as a site of vulnerability and agency, collective spaces as repositories of memory, interpersonal relations as frameworks of exchange and solidarity, or politics as a authority shaping everyday life, the artists demonstrate how the intimate and the public remain deeply interconnected. The exhibition unfolds through four thematic sections—Body, Collective Space, Relations, and Politics—creating a framework through which visitors can navigate the complex intersections of private experience and public history. Works by artists such as Marina Abramović, Steve McQueen, Neša Paripović, Raša Todosijević, Sophie Calle, Bruce Nauman, Claire Tabouret, Gordon Matta-Clark, and many others enter into dialogue across generations, geographies, and artistic languages. More than a presentation of two collections, Personal Stories / Political Realities reflects a shared commitment to international collaboration, cultural exchange, and the creation of new curatorial perspectives. By bringing together works from different historical and political contexts, the exhibition invites audiences to reflect on how art helps us understand the complexities of contemporary society and the ways personal narratives continue to shape our collective understanding of the world.
Exhibition is curated by: Isabelle Bertolotti, Director of macLYON, Maja Kolarić, Director of MoCAB, Miroslav Karić, Curator at MoCAB and Matthieu Lelièvre, Head of Collections at macLYON.
Artists presented at the exhibition: Anica Vučetić, Bruce Nauman, Claire Tabouret, Christine Rebet, Damir Radović, Dragan Petrović, Edi Dubien, Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Chourouk Hriech, Ivana Ivković, Jasmina Cibic, Jean Le Gac, Karim Kal, Katarina Zdjelar, Katalin Ladik, Marina Abramović and Ulay, Marina Marković, Mihael Milunović, Nam June Paik, Nazanin Pouyandeh, Nemanja Nikolić, Neša Paripović, Raša Todosijević, Phil Collins, Rodrigo Matheus, Sadko Hadžihasanović, Siniša Ilić, Sophie Calle, Steve McQueen, Sylvie Selig, Tanja Ostojić, Thameur Mejri, Thomas Ruff, Tuomo Manninen, Vesna Perunović, Vlada Veličković, Vito Acconci.