The exhibition “Dreams about the Past and Tradition: Olga Benson” was opened on November 5th, in the City Administration building in Pančevo in order for the SASA Institute of Ethnography to mark the 130th anniversary of the birth of the folklore painter Olga Benson, who worked in the SASA Institute of Ethnography from when it was founded in 1947 until 1950, when she emigrated to the USA. The author of the exhibition, Professor Ljiljana Gavrilović, PhD, spoke at the opening about this ethnographic-folkloric collection, which has more than 500 drawings and watercolor paintings that capture in detail the elements of the material culture of Serbs (with an emphasis on houses, households and national clothing). She also spoke about the way in which those things considered to be important aspects of tradition were systematically preserved within ethnology in the middle of the 20th century, before the wide availability of color photography. The exhibition, which is of exceptional documentary and historical value, is open to visitors until November 15th 2020.

The collection of the folklore painter Olga Benson is also available online: http://www.serbia-forum.org/sf/olga_benson