VENICE.- On June 1st, Marina Abramovic and Branislav Micunovic, the Minister of Culture of Montenegro, hosted a breakfast and special presentation to announce plans to develop the Marina Abramovic Community Center Obod Cetinje.

Guests included Fabiola Beracasa, Klaus Biesenbach, Ginevra Caltagirone, Rem Koolhaas, Fiona Scarry, William Bell, Maria Bell, Chrissie Iles, Rosalie Goldberg, Anne Pasternak, Mike Starn, Doug Starn, Yvonne Force Villareal, Riccardo Tisci and Nicholas Logsdail.

On the occasion of the 54th Venice Biennale, Marina Abramovic announced plans for the development of the Marina Abramovic Community Center Obod Cetinje, a new institution in her home country of Montenegro dedicated to the cultivation of immaterial art such as dance, theater, opera, music, film and performance. Conceived in collaboration with Branislav Micunovic, the Minister of Culture of Montenegro, MACCOC was presented as part of the Pavilion of Montenegro, and featured a model of the Obod Factory Complex in which it will be housed, as well as an original narrative video presentation by Marina Abramovic.

“Montenegro is celebrating 5 years of independence and in our multicultural context, the creation of the Marina Abramovic Community Center Obod Cetinje represents an extraordinary contribution to positioning Montenegro on the international cultural scene,”said Professor Branislav Micunovic.

Built in the former Yugoslavia during the presidency of Josip Broz Tito, the Obod Factory Complex is situated on the edge of the city of Cetiinje, surrounded by limestone mountains. Offering over 140,000 square meters of space, the complex consists of 28 large industrial halls that were once used to produce refrigerators, as well as a reception hall, a large dining room and small screening auditorium. Within the factory, all of the machinery is still intact. With the introduction of MACCOC, the factory will be transformed into an international cultural center comprised of facilities to produce and present dance, theater, opera, music, film, video, art and performance.

“I believe the time has come to join forces to unfreeze Cetinje and I am ready to contribute personally. I want good ideas to take root in Montenegro and I want Cetinje to become a modern art center,”said Marina Abramovic.

Abramovic envisions a broad program for the proposed institution, including television radio and internet broadcast facilities; interdisciplinary public lectures on the cross-pollination of art, culture, science, technology, spirituality and architecture; a permanent collection of works produced in-house at the Obod location; an international exchange program for young artists; a vast video archive and library dedicated to performance art; rehearsal and theater spaces for international theater productions performances and rehearsals; an in-house press for books and journals; and a symbiotic relationship with her developing Marina Abramovic Institute in Hudson, New York.