April 21, 2022  - On Wednesday, April 20th, the Two Palaces complex in Zadar was officially inaugurated in the presence of the Ministries of Culture and the Regional Development and EU Funds. A new home for Croatian culture and Modern art has settled in the centre of Zadar.

Citizens and tourists of Zadar will finally get into the heart of the old town, a new space intended not only for culture but also for exciting events. The Zadar City Library is returning to the city’s heart, and the Zadar Concert Office and the Zadar National Museum will find their place in the Two Palaces complex.

The Main Entrance of the complex (Image: Total Croatia News)

With the slogan “Past and Future of Culture in Zadar”, the inauguration of the Two Palaces was held in the Great Hall with the participation and exhibition of the hosting organizations: Radio Zadar, Zadar Music School, Zadar Chamber Orchestra, Croatian Singing Music Society Zoranić, Zadar Dance Ensemble, Zadar City Music.

On the first and the second floor, the public can admire until June 20th the great exhibition “Make them face the truth” by the ironic and anti-conventional Croatian sculptor Ratko Petrić.

A Ratko Petric sculpture in the Two Palaces (Image: Total Croatia News)

In the exhibition halls of the Rector’s Palace (ground floor), the public will find a selection of exceptional works from the holdings of the Art Gallery of the National Museum of Zadar (NMZ) through the exhibition Modern – Postmodern (until June 4th).

One of the halls of the exhibition Modern – Postmodern (Image: Total Croatia News)

In the new Polyvalent Hall, through the lens of Ante Brkan, we will take a peek into the life of the Dešpalj family. Finally, in the Rector’s Palace, visitors will have the opportunity to go through a permanent exhibition entitled Six Salon Stories NMZ.

The main outdoor stage hosted the Split duo Banana Sound and Alejandro Buendia & Sons, a project by Saša Antić from TBF. Throughout the evening in the Rector’s Atrium, from 19:30 to midnight, there was an entertaining music program with a concert by Oridano Gipsy Jazz.

During the ten days of celebrating the grand opening of the Two Palaces, a series of concerts, film screenings, workshops, lectures, and literary gatherings are scheduled. Among these, we’d like to highlight the performance of the HRT Jazz Orchestra accompanied by American saxophonist Victor Goines, the screening of “Prova d’orchestra”, a discussion on literature with Julijan Matanović and Pavle Pavličić, and a lecture “On Pavle Dešpalj through the prism of musical contribution in Zadar”. You can find the full program here. 

Most of the space in the new complex is intended for exhibition and gallery activities. At the same time, a large Polyvalent Hall is reserved for music and film events, also thanks to the cooperation with the year-round cinema “Kino Zona”, an independent film association cooperating with Two Palaces since the beginning with its own screenings and programs. 

Find here the official Facebook page of Two Palaces.

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A special treat for this week's installment of our art series!