Academician Dušan Otašević awarded the SASA Medal for 2026

At its session held on 22 October 2026, members of the Presidency of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts approved the proposal of the SASA Medal Award Commission to confer the SASA Medal in literature and arts for 2026 upon Academician Dušan Otašević. The award recognises outstanding artistic achievements and honours laureates whose work has made a significant contribution to the development of their respective fields.

As the proposal for the award states: ‘Taken as a whole, Dušan Otašević’s contribution can be understood through three interconnected levels: his exceptional and distinctive artistic oeuvre; the international recognition his work has received; and his decades-long contribution to the cultural mission of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. His work represents an integral part of the history of Serbian and Yugoslav art in the second half of the 20th century, while its subsequent international reception confirms that its significance is not limited to a historical or national boundaries. At the same time, as a full member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the long-time director of the Gallery of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Otašević has devoted his knowledge, experience, and artistic authority to the service of the institution of which he is a member.’

The accompanying statement notes that through his work, Academician Dušan Otašević has made an outstanding contribution to Serbia’s visual arts and artistic identity. His work is an extraordinary synthesis of past traditions and the contemporary era, an exceptional ethical impulse that connects personalities, talents, words, images and objects in an almost melancholic way, offering the visual arts a possible map for navigating the 21st century.’

The SASA Medal will be presented at a ceremony held as part of the celebration of SASA Day on 19 November 2026.