kol
International exhibition of contemporary sacred art
THE LIGHT OF THE LOGOS
1 to 16 Sept. 2026
GALLERY
The Light of the Logos Exhibition, Supported by UNESCO: Belgrade to Host One of the World’s Largest Gatherings of Contemporary Iconographers
The Light of the Logos, an international juried exhibition of contemporary sacred art organised by the Kaleidoskop Cultural Centre with the support of UNESCO, will be held from 1 to 16 September at the Kolarac Endowment Gallery in Belgrade. The exhibition brings together 124 icons by 103 artists from 18 countries, while more than 20 international exhibitors, alongside guest lecturers, will travel to Belgrade to attend in person. The special guest is Professor George Kordis, PhD, from Greece, one of the world’s most influential contemporary iconographers. For the first time, audiences will also have an exclusive opportunity to see three icons from the renowned workshop of St Elisabeth Convent in Minsk.
The official opening of The Light of the Logos will take place on 1 September at 7 p.m. at the Gallery of the Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment in Belgrade. The exhibition is being held with the blessing of His Holiness Porfirije, Serbian Patriarch, and represents the first major public component of the two-year project The Light of the Logos: Digital Networking, Education and Inclusion for the Sustainable Development of Contemporary Sacred Art.
The author of the exhibition concept and the project as a whole is Luka Novaković, MA, a doctoral candidate at the University of Belgrade. The exhibition is curated by art historian Vera Vitorović.
The Kaleidoskop Cultural Centre project is supported by UNESCO through the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD). Of the 881 projects submitted from around the world, only 11 were selected for support, with The Light of the Logos ranked second in the final selection.
The record response to this year’s open call further attests to the scale and international standing of the exhibition. A total of 305 icons by 208 artists from 23 countries across four continents were submitted. Following the jury selection, the international Artistic Council selected 109 works by 91 artists, while a further 15 icons by 12 honorary exhibitors complete the exhibition. Audiences at the Kolarac Endowment Gallery will therefore be able to view 124 icons by 103 artists from 18 countries: Serbia, Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Montenegro, Republika Srpska, Latvia, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Lebanon, the United States of America, Peru, the Philippines and Cuba.
More than 20 international exhibitors, travelling from countries ranging from the United States to Lebanon, will attend the opening and accompanying programmes. Together with guest lecturers and Serbian artists, they will take part in one of the world’s largest international gatherings of iconographers, turning Belgrade into a global centre of contemporary icon painting.
George Kordis, One of the Leading Iconographers of Our Time
The arrival of Professor George Kordis, PhD, lends particular artistic distinction and international significance to this year’s programme. Kordis taught the theory of Byzantine painting and icon painting at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and is regarded as one of the world’s most influential contemporary iconographers.
His artistic and educational work has had a profound influence on the contemporary development of icon painting. International hands-on art symposia hold a particularly important place in his practice, providing opportunities for iconographers to create before an audience and exchange knowledge and experience directly.
Three Icons from the Renowned Minsk Workshop to Be Shown in Belgrade for the First Time
For the first time, audiences in Belgrade will have an opportunity to see three icons from the icon-painting workshop of St Elisabeth Convent in Minsk: The Most Holy Mother of God, Quick to Hear, Christ the Saviour and Saint Nicholas.
It is one of the most internationally recognised icon-painting workshops in the contemporary Orthodox world. Nuns and lay artists work together there, cultivating Byzantine and Old Russian icon-painting traditions and combining them with the exceptional craftsmanship of contemporary masters.
In addition to icon painting and mosaics, the convent’s art workshops are particularly renowned for their precious rizas, sumptuous decorative coverings placed over fully painted icons and crafted by hand from textiles, metal, pearls, beads, semi-precious stones and gilded threads. Through their combination of spiritual tradition, exceptional artistic quality and rare craftsmanship, the three icons from Minsk are among the most compelling and exclusive highlights of this year’s exhibition.
Six Artists, Three Techniques, Creating Live Before an Audience
The exhibition will be accompanied by a major international masterclass on 2 and 3 September, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Music Gallery of the Kolarac Endowment. Over the course of two days, six artists from Serbia, Greece and Romania will create works simultaneously before an audience and present three traditional sacred art techniques: icon painting on wooden panel, fresco painting on fresh plaster, and the creation of icons in stone.
The panel icon painting masterclass will be led by Professor George Kordis, PhD, and Professor Todor Mitrović, PhD. Traditional fresco painting will be presented by Professor Andrei Mușat from Romania and Luka Novaković, MA, a doctoral candidate at the University of Belgrade. Cristina and Andrei Răileanu will demonstrate two different approaches to creating icons in stone: painting and carving.
The audience will be able to follow the creation of the artworks directly, from the first strokes and preparation of materials through to the final stages. Works produced during the masterclass will be incorporated into the exhibition and remain on view until it closes on 16 September.
The exhibition marks the beginning of a broader UNESCO-supported project that will bring together artists, experts and institutions from 2026 to 2028 through international gatherings, masterclasses and the development of a specialised digital platform. The platform will provide artists with greater visibility, professional training, international networking, virtual exhibitions, access to educational resources and new opportunities for professional development.
The exhibition and The Light of the Logos project, organised by the Kaleidoskop Cultural Centre, are supported by UNESCO, the Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment, the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church, ComputerLand and Iviron, the Embassy of Greece in Belgrade, the Embassy of Romania in Serbia, the Romanian Cultural Institute in Bucharest, Štampar Makarije and Službeni glasnik.
Further information about the exhibition, accompanying programmes and the project is available on the official The Light of the Logos webpage.
Media contacts:
Miona Kovačević: +381 63 803 2831
Gordana Tadić: +381 65 360 0554