The Theotokos of Ljevis, Prizren

For over two decades, BLAGO Fund has worked on recording, archiving, presenting and preserving the Serbian artistic, cultural and spiritual heritage in a systematic and professional manner, by using advanced photography and information technologies. In June of 2019, BLAGO went again to Kosovo and Metohija. This time our destination was the city of Prizren with its churches: “The Theotokos of Ljevis” (endowment of King Milutin), churches of Holy Salvation (endowment of Mladen Vladojevic) and St. Nicholas (endowment of Dragoslav Tutic), and the church of St. George (endowment of family Runovic).

As we were unable to rent a van (no rental agencies allowed their vehicles to cross into Kosovo), our personnel and equipment were somewhat limited to two passenger cars. One of them was provided by our sponsor in Serbia, Informatika from Belgrade.

BLAGO Team in Prizren

This year we have some special guests on the team: Prof. Dragan Vojvodic, Ph.D. (Art History, Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade) and Assistant Prof. Vladimir Peric (Photography, Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade). Together with its standard members - Nenad Vukicevic, Gordana Kelic, Ljubomir Medenica, Zoran Jovanovic, Ivana Ignjatovic, and Vladimir Acimovic - the BLAGO team left Belgrade early in the morning on June 17th and quickly arrived in Jagodina for additional equipment loading and adjustment.

A nation's cultural heritage, we are often told, is a pillar and mirror of its identity. It is also a treasure to be shared with others. As we freely enjoy the marvels of civilization created by other peoples, we also contribute the treasures of our own rich cultural history. We are taught to love our own and respect others. At the same time, we have an obligation to preserve our treasures and ensure their rightful place in the world. A living nation's culture is not an ossified relic, but a starting point and inspiration in the continuous process of creating new treasures.

The goal of the BLAGO Fund is to preserve and promote Serbian treasures in a way that ties together the past, present and future. It has two clear objectives. The first is to record, archive and conserve the most vulnerable products of our culture in a systematic and organized way and to disseminate this information to specialists and the general public alike. The second is to encourage and support the development of exceptional Serbian talent.