Last Monday, the Gallery Center in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, hosted the opening ceremony of an exhibition of photographs by Budislav Bulatovic: “Saudi Arabia Through My Lens.” Motivated by his hope to bring closer together the traditions and culture of the two nations and to enhance mutual understanding, the photographer presented an exhibition which showcased traditional Saudi Arabia and its culture and customs to the Montenegrin public. The sponsors of the exhibition, President Filip Vujanovic of Montenegro, and Branislav Micunovic, the Montenegrin Minister of Culture, Sports and Media were present at the opening ceremony. The impetus for the exhibition came from Budislav's wife Marina Bulatovic, a public relations' consultant and journalist, who lives with him in the Kingdom. “Although Saudi Arabia is now a modern country that rapidly modernized after the discovery of oil, their (the Kingdom's) efforts to preserve their heritage and tradition are significant and present at every step – in architecture, art, style of clothing and everyday life.Very few people from Montenegro and from the former Yugoslavia are living and working in Saudi Arabia. We wanted to share our knowledge and experience with the audience in Podgorica.The exhibition displayed 40 original photographs that reveal the new and exotic world of Saudi Arabia. A picture is worth a thousand words,” explained Marina. The photographs are presenting people at festivals, in cafes, and on the streets.They feature craftsmen and dancers; old fortresses as well as modern buildings made of steel and glass. Also included are traditional Saudi door frames, dates, fishing boats, and local coffee pots. “We had recently organized a similar photo exhibition, “Saudi ArabiaThrough My Lens”in Belgrade that ran from Sept. 30 to Nov. 15 last year. The exhibition was visited by approximately 30,000 people. More than 50 media outlets from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Canada and Serbia wrote about the exhibition. Our experience showed us that the time would come when there would be less talk about the differences, and instead the focus would be on the similarities between countries, religions and people, and would represent the new foundation for a more beautiful and happy future on Earth. Thanks to these types of cultural exchanges and cooperation, we can get to know various countries and nations we know little about and thus reduce the bias that we have towards each other,” added Marina. Since October 2007, the Bulatovics have been living in Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia. Budislav is a civil engineer with Bechtel Corporation, working closely with the Royal Commission. Born in Montenegro, he has enjoyed photography as a hobby from an early age. Marina is a journalist and a correspondent for daily newspapers and magazines in Montenegro, Serbia and Canada. She was born in Serbia.
