MILICA BABIĆ ANDRIĆ WAS A PIONEER OF SERBIAN COSTUME DESIGN

The life and work of Nobel Prize-winning writer Ivo Andrić have traditionally been the central theme of numerous cultural events, but the 46th edition of the “Višegrad Path” festival also brought attention to the remarkable story of his wife, Milica Babić Andrić, through a special exhibition.

According to Milanka Blagojević, director of the Cultural Center Šamac and author of the exhibition, the institution has spent the past three years promoting the life and artistic legacy of their fellow citizen Milica Babić Andrić, the wife of Serbia’s only Nobel laureate.

“Milica worked for 30 years at the National Theatre in Belgrade, where she designed costumes for around 300 operas, theatre productions, and ballets. She was a pioneer of Serbian costume design and the first formally educated costume designer in the region. She collaborated with all major theatres operating at that time and, besides being a pioneer in theatre costume design, she also contributed to some of the first domestic films with her costume creations,” Blagojević said.

She added that the exhibition presents Milica’s life, artistic work, and her shared life with Andrić.

So far, the Cultural Center in Šamac has organized two festivals dedicated to Milica Babić Andrić, while, with the support of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Republika Srpska, a memorial house dedicated to Andrić’s wife — who was born in Šamac — has also been established and equipped.