The Legat Ekmečić Foundation is the first private institution of its kind in Brčko, which aims to preserve the memory of the artists of the Ekmečić, Morić and Isaković families, who nurtured and passed on their artistic affection and giftedness through the generations. As expected, their influence is still felt today, considering that through their artistic contribution, they once became unique representatives of their city, and bearers of its cultural identity and importance.

Legat is an artistic endowment/inheritance that the Ekmečić family 5/12/2017. about 3,000 works of art were donated by the brothers Mevludin and Sead Ekmečić, and the related Mirza Morić.

The founder of the Foundation was Mevludin Ekmečić, the initiator of numerous artistic infrastructures (founder of galleries, art colonies, legates, biennials…), and the founder and long-term director of the Portrait Gallery in Tuzla. Together with the space in the city center, his very rich art collection, around 2,500 paintings and drawings, valuable art materials, correspondence with artists of his period, posters and catalogs and monographic editions were donated to the city. He gave Legatu several valuable gift collections of his artist friends, such as a valuable collection of Kristijan Kreković, our painter who lived and died in Argentina, and a collection of portraits of Jarko Jovanović Jagdin, a famous balalaika artist, author of the Roma anthem Opre Roma and the first minister of Roma culture.

Legat also houses the entire artistic legacy of sculptures and paintings by brother Sead Ekmečić, the first trained academic sculptor in Brčko. Sead Ekmečić is the author of ““Fountains of Youth-Ribice” , for which Brčko is widely known, and which, as a long-standing symbol of the city, recently got a new place, in the very center of the city.

In addition to works of art, there is also a rich family library in Legat, including a rare library of French editions about Bosnia, about 200 extremely valuable books in which Bosnia is described through romance. Fadil Ekmečić left behind a rich journalistic and scientific oeuvre, he is the author of a dozen books and numerous scientific essays related to the history and origin of Bosnians, seven of which are registered in the Bibliotheque National de France. The journalistic work of Osman Ekmečić, who wrote and researched the past of Brc, is also stored in Legat.

As part of the artistic legacy of Ekmečić, there is also a small collection of stone miniatures by a relative of Mirza Morić, an academic sculptor, who has lived and worked in Paris for over thirty years and is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions.

The Legat Ekmečić Foundation is open for all visits on Fridays and Saturdays: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. You can follow us on Instagram @legatekmecic where you can also arrange special visits outside of working hours.