BELGRADE 2007 / On Invisibility [Serbian text]

May 17 - June 1, 2007

Collaboration
Italian Cultural Institute [link]
Belgrade University of Arts [link]
Florence Academy of Fine Arts [link]
Kontekst Gallery [link]
District Cultural Center [link]
Society for support of persons with special needs "Stari grad" [link]
Cultural Center Stari grad [link]

Support
City of Belgrade [link]
Galleria Pack, Milano [link]
Coca Cola HBC, Belgrade [link]
Serbian Recycling Agency [link]
BiS Recycling [link]
Faculty of Art and Design Megatrend [link]

Thank you
Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade

INVISIBILITY: the theme of this year's Outside Project in Belgrade presented considerations on the life of social groups characterized by economic, cultural, mental or physical diversity. A variety of issues, such as environment, disability, architecture, urban utopias and advertising, connected into a complex two-week program, which included several public events, workshops, seminars and fieldtrips. The participants were 36 students from the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, along with their Belgrade colleagues, as well as numerous lecturers and artists from Italy and Serbia. This year, the guest artists were Robert Gligorov (Milan) and Kinkaleri (Florence) whose exhibitions and presentations were held as an official part of the program. Workshops were held by Tanja Ostojic (Belgrade/Berlin), Lorenzo Pezzatini (Florence), Angela Nocentini (Florence).

With the attempt to define what is it that constitutes a particular urban identity the program included a series of lectures by Irina Subotic, art historian, who addressed issues of Yugoslav utopias, obsreved through a relation between art, architecture and society. Nikola Suica, art historian, organized a fieldtrip to a location charged with many leyers of recent history, the Old Belgrade Fair. An observation of the relation between the city and its rivers was presented by Milan Prodanovic, architect and architecture theorist.

The program also included a participation of a group of young international artists, ETRAARTE, who took part in the final show and created their own Outside - blog page: beograde07.wordpress.com

Workshops
Tanja Ostojic: ALTERNATIVE BELGRADE
Lorenzo Pezzatini: WORKSHOP at the Society for support of persons with special needs
Angela Nocentini: MORPHOSIS / Recycle & Wear

Guest Artist Exhibitions & Events
Guest Artist Exhibitions & Events
Robert Gligorov: Termination Shock
Kinkaleri: West
Eruption + Guests, concert of electronic music

Lectures and seminars
Nikola Suica: Anatomy of a Fair
Irina Subotic: Urban Utopia
Maria Antonia Rinaldi: The construction of Urban and Cultural differences
Milan Prodanovic: Reinventing Belgrade as a city on crossroads and great rivers

Final Events
Morphosis / Recycle & Wear
On Invisibility - Students Exhibition at the Ex-Turkish Baths

ALTERNATIVE BELGRADE
Tanja Ostojic

A workshop held by Tanja Ostojic, Alternative Belgrade, (District Cultural Center, Kontekst Gallery) included meetings with representatives of social groups characterized by different forms of confrontation or contrast with the official culture, life style or economy.

Vera Erac, psychologist, took part in some of the meetings and talked about the position of the Roma people, cultural, social and legal problems, as well as about the lack of efficient state / communal policy that result in extreme poverty and cultural isolation of this ethnic group. The visit to the Roma settlement included, among other things, the realization of a project by a student who produced several cushion-like objects that were used as surfaces for paintings made by the children from the settlement.

Tanja also organized visits to locations characterized by conflict with urbanistic reality and presented examples of on-going civic disobedience and environmental activism. Students were invited to contribute by realizing actions, installations and communication projects in a public space.

A "Queer tea party" held with a group of activists included a talk on condition of sexual diversity in Belgrade and Serbia as well as examples of public projects for the promotion of gay rights.

Tanja Ostojic held her final meeting at the Kontekst Gallery, during which she presented the results of her workshop with examples of students' works that were developed in the process.

WORKSHOP at the Society for support of persons with special needs
Lorenzo Pezzatini

A collaboration with the Society for support of persons with special needs "Stari Grad" in Belgrade, consisted in a workshop held by the Florentine artist Lorenzo Pezzatini, as well as in meetings, visits and events that took place in various locations. The purpose of the workshop has been to indicate the cultural and institutional problems related to disability, the problems of "special" institutions and the way these prevent the integration of people with special needs in the society. Talks related to methods of inclusion through culture and state policy, the state of affairs regarding the condition of disability in Serbia, the projects of cultural and community activism including theater and art projects have been held at the Kontekst Gallery, Cultural Center Stari Grad. These meetings were organized thanks to Ms. Ljubica Beljanski Ristic, director of the Center. Talks were held by prof. Vera Rajovic, from the Belgrade's Faculty of philosophy, Dejan Kozic, director of the Society for support of people with special needs "Stari Grad, as well as by representatives of art groups and activists.

Suzanne Zach, a student from Florence Academy, accomplished a performance / communication project that consisted in an exchange of movements, a dialogue of bodies, which involved people with mental disabilities and other students. She associated these movements with a particular method of social therapy.

"Beovrt", a Belgrade company, donated 10 pine trees for the final event. Photographic portraits of the disabled, as well as of the students, were placed on the trees. The workshop, and all events related to the workshop, proved very clearly that an exchange with people with special needs is beneficial in both directions. While clearly opening opportunities for inclusion of the people with special needs in the regular society, it gives at the same time an opportunity for 'normal' people to develop deep emotions and the most particular sense of responsibility towards another diversely able, diversely intelligent, human being. It was an experience full of meaning and emotion.

Aleksandra Zdravkovic, a Belgrade artist, dedicated to the students plenty of time and patience as a workshop assistant and mediator.

Morphosis / Recycle & Wear
Angela Nocentini

Clothing made out of recyclable materials and industrial waste were presented at a fashion show Morphosis / Recycle & Wear, the final event at the ex-Turkish Baths. The show presented results of a workshop held by the Florentine professor Angela Nocentini. The main concept of this workshop, which already had some very successful outcomes in the recent past, has been to communicate the importance of the recycling processes in our societies and to indicate the presence of an enormous resource that our own waste represents. In other words: to demonstrate that there is no such thing as waste, only materials that with an intelligent use may obtain a new life.

The title of the show, Morphosis, indicated the relation between the environment and the human body, both of which are part of an ever-changing process, in which one changes and adapts the other. The materials that take part in this exchange represent a resource that, at the same time, transforms and is being transformed.  

Serbian Recycling Agency provided logistic support to the workshop by creating a network of contacts among the companies who are either professionally dedicated to recycling, or else produce some significant quantities of reusable industrial surplus.

A very kind expert support was given by professor Ingrid Huljev from the Belgrade's faculty of Applied Arts. Several Belgrade students also took part in this workshop.

Students used materials such as textile, leather, paper and plastic packaging, rubber, car tires, computer parts etc.

During the show, over 40 garments were presented. The large pool structure of the ex-Turkish Baths and the gallery above were used as the stage. Several students' installations were integrated in the show. A Belgrade art student performed as a DJ.

The workshop was given support by a number of companies who donated materials. Significant quantities of electronic waste have been provided by the BiS Recycling, while textile and leather has been provided by Mona, a fashion company. Rubber and car tires were provided by Centar Boban, nylon and plastic by Ekoservis. Financial support was also provided by the Coca Cola Company.

Models who wore the garments included professional and non-professional models. Among the models there were three young women with mental disabilities, whose participation was coordinated in collaboration with the Society for support of persons with special needs.