Kovacica: a ‘Real’ Ethno Village

The tag ‘ethno village’ is much over-used in Serbia and often promises little more than a run-down collection of log cabins and souvenir sellers. Kovacica, however is the real deal. Home to a Slovakian community that has managed to keep its identity alive for 200 years, the village is also home to a group of artists from the naive school.

Less than hour and roughly 50 km north of Belgrade, a trip to Kovacica takes you back to another age. The small painted houses with tidy gardens have plates with the name of family and the year they were built. Some homes are still painted in a traditional light blue and many of the women are dressed in colourful, long flowing woollen skirts with headscarves.

For fans of naive art, October is the right month to visit Kovacica, as for most of the month, the whole village becomes a gallery as almost every naive artist in Serbia comes to show their works on the streets and in the galleries. The October Salon will officially be opened at noon on October 2nd.

At other times,  the works of Kovacica’s painters are collected and exhibited in the Gallery of Naive Art. This gallery was founded in 1955 and it was the first gallery of naive art in the country. Just a few minutes away is the Ethno Centre Babka founded in 1991 where you can see artists working in their studios or buy paintings, handicrafts and souvenirs.

It is most likely that Almost everyone you meet  on the streets of Kovacica is in some way a part of an art world. Don’t hesitate to knock on doors, because most of the private homes are also used as galleries and the owners will usually be happy to introduce you with their work.

Of course in or out of salon time, most of the paintings are for sale and the price depends of the on technique, format, topic and the stature of the artist and above all just how much you really want that painting!

Naive painting has quite a long tradition in Kovacica, dating back to 1939 when two locals, Martin Paluska and Jan Soko started creating art in this style. The two painters, neither with any formal education, formed a club in the 1950’s and organised their first exhibition in 1952. Kovacica’s naive style become internationally recognised after a 1961 exhibition in London, where nine artists from Kovacica showed their work.

Since then, an output amounting to some 50,000 works has been produced in the village and examples are now found in some of the world’s best galleries and private collections, particularly those of Kovacevic’s famous sons and daughters, Martin Jonas, Jan Knazovic, Zuzana Chalupova and Katarina Djurisova.

Naive art is characterized by child-like drawings, strong use of patterns, bold colours and simple designs. Work from Kovacica is easily recognised by its main theme - everyday Slovakian village life, with farm animals and scenes from cornfields and home interiors using bright colours, similar to those found in traditional Slovak clothing.

Over the years many international celebrities have visited  to meet the artists and view their works, including Francois Mitterrand, Pele, actors Ursula Andres, Franco Nero, Alain Delon, King Juan Carlos, Mstislav Rostropovich and the Rolling Stones.

While others are looking the exhibits and bargaining for the pieces, the non-artists among you can get involved in a range of other activities scheduled over October including bike or rollerblade races for both parents and children or trying out the results of the Pasuljijada (this bean bake-off is taken very seriously!). Violin maker Jan Nemecek has a workshop in town and will happily show visitors around and give them and introduction to his craft.

Close by in the village of Uzdin is a cultural centre for the Romanian minority  where a host of cultural happenings are organised. Every room in the centre has its own theme, including a library with more than 4,000 books, a gallery, museum of sports, a collection of national costumes and a room decorated in traditional Uzdin style.

A little further afield, just 13km from Kovacica is the river Tamis, a perfect place for fishing, a picnic or a stroll. Probably the best time to drop by the riverbank is in the evening, on your way back from Kovacica, as the sun goes down.