As the Zenith is the highest point that can be reached, so is the Zeniteum :: 2022 play, celebration and culmination of the double opening of the European Capital of Culture in Novi Sad and the culmination of the ‘Doček’ programme in which time and energy intersect to free up space of accumulated potential, a space of long anticipation, in which the power of diversity will spark Arc Voltage, creative lightning, which will illuminate the entire 2022 and all the programmes of the European Capital of Culture under the 4 New Bridges motto.
On 13 January, Novi Sad will officially open the title year of the European Capital of Culture with the Opening Ceremony play Zeniteum :: 2022. The opening ceremony will take place outside Banovina Palace. The programme starts at 8:22 p.m. (20:22).
Zeniteum :: 2022, the most complex production art project that has been implemented in Serbia in recent years, will be presented as a secular ceremony with selected content of the highest spiritual value of the Republic of Serbia. It will represent all its citizens with a special focus on the citizens of Novi Sad.
The title of the opening ceremony comes from the transnational art movement Zenitism, which was established by Ljubomir Micić (1895 – 1971), the artist and editor of the ‘Zenit’ magazine. He shaped modernist art between the two world wars in this international magazine, and the echoes of his work were felt in Belgrade, Zagreb, Paris, Berlin, Milan and Moscow.
Zeniteum :: 2022, whose author is one of the most significant figures of the Slovenian and regional art scene, renowned European director and post-gravity artist Dragan Živadinov, chose mathematicians Mileva Marić Einstein (1875 – 1948) and Milutin Milanković as protagonists of the optimal projection (1879 – 1958). Mathematics is the central theme of the Zeniteum :: 2022 scenario, mathematics as a tool and language that allows a person to describe their spiritual achievement. At the ceremony, we will sing the glory of science and art in the name of culture!
The third, aesthetic protagonist will be Ljubomir Micić with his idea of modernizing the Balkans, with 43 issues of the ‘Zenith’ magazine (László Moholy-Nagy, Tatlin, Gropius, Kandinsky, and Malevich) with special emphasis on the double Russian edition. The scenography (aesthetics) will be based on a post-gravitational reinterpretation of Constructivism and Suprematism.
The building is 180 meters long and 44 meters wide, in the shape of a two-story high elongated horseshoe, with a semicircular facade on the west and a high tower with a square crosssection on the east side. Banovina Palace, with its form as well as its position – being located along the boulevard that leads to the Danube bank – resembles a luxurious white boat that sails the Danube. At the
same time, its western tower resembles the towers of baroque churches, typical to Vojvodina regione. Dragiša Brašovan created Banovina Palace as an embodiment of mature modernism in the period from 1936-1939.
Two rare international awards speak volumes about the importance of Dragiša Brašovan’s opus. While he was elected an honorary member in of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1953, Phaidon, the premier global publisher in the field of art and architecture, ranked Banovina Palace
among the most important buildings of the twentieth century.
At the very beginning of the opening ceremony play, a well-known art duo Synspecies, made of Elías Merino and Tadej Droljc, will present us with their audio-visual performance Crevasse. This work presents a creation mythwhere the world is born out of a gap – a gap of existential nonsensethat we daily fill with our imagination and desires and call reality. Alongside them, a DJ duo consisting of Miloš Martinov Lag and Dejan Ilić will also be present on the stage.
Participants of the Opening Ceremony play of the European Capital of Culture Zeniteum :: 2022:
Director and Librettist:
Dragan Živadinov
Set and Costume Design:
Dunja Zupančič
Composer:
Dragana Jovanović
Dramaturg:
Svetislav Jovanov
Аssistant Director:
Maja Grgić
Digital Content Mapping:
Gregor Mesec
Digital Content Synchronization:
Miha Turšič
Kinteics:
Tadej Droljc i Elias Merino
Choreographer:
Ivan Peternelj
Executive Stage Design:
Željko Piškorić i Mladen Stojanović
Executive Costume Design:
Nataša Vranešević
Electronic Sound Production:
Miloš Martinov i Dejan Ilić
Graphic Design:
Ljiljana Kuzmanović i Mina Aleksić
Editor:
Saša Latinović
Sound Design:
Miloš Momirov
Lighting Design:
Žarko Lazić, Arsa Zlatković i Viktor Trifu
Television Director:
Darko Kamarit
Starring:
Mileva Marić Ajnštajn:
Anita Mančić
Milutin Milanković:
Boris Isaković
Host:
Lazar Jovanov
Solo Trumpets:
Laura Vukobratović i Nenad Marković
Actors (zenitists):
Tašana Đorđević
Vanja Halupa
Ana Milosavljević
Emilija Milosavljević
Jelena Đulvezan
Lea Jevtić
Marina Aratinović
Milica Šećerov
Nevena Kovačević
Neda Miljković
Slavica Vučetić
Marko Topalovački
Stefan Milivojević
Nikola Ivačkov
Đorđe Galić
Lazar Petrović
Peđa Marjanović
Vukašin Ranđelović
Avram Cvetković
Stefan Sabo
Branislav Ćalić
Miloš Lazić
Equilibrists:
Filip Kržišnik i Blaž Slanič
Dancers:
Anisja Gavrilović i Toma Križnar
Brass Orchestra
Trumpets:
Luka Kalezić
Dragan Tasić
Petar Popović
Petar Marković
Dejan Pandurović
Pavle Mihailović
Nenad Ninković
Jovan Savić
Zoran Kovačevski
Vladimir Mandić
Trombones:
Mladen Lukić
Nikola Petrović
Mihajlo Bogosavljević
Saška Veljović
Saxophones:
Dejan Trifunović
Duško Trnavac
Tenors:
Đorđe Antić
Dragan Milenković
Ivan Jovanović
Milovan Avramović
Nikola Živković
Filip Rakić
Tubas:
Dragan Lakićević
Irinej Radomirović
Tamboura:
Zoran Bugarski Brica
Vocal Studio Orfelin (Novi Sad):
Conductor:
Tamara Adamov Petijević
Producer:
Lado Leš
Singers:
Jasmina Mihajlović
Radmila Vladetić Ivanišević
Biljana Vasiljević
Marina Milošev
Katarina Kočiš
Dunja Deurić
Agneš Melegi
Ivana Govorčin
Višnja Dimitrijević
Aleksandar Tolimir
Bojan Zdravić
Marko Asurdžić
Jovan Pejić
Nikola Dorić
Milan Bugarin
Stevan Gez
Sava Ilija Brcanski
Aleksandar Novaković
Miloš Gašić
Milan Stančić
Anastasija Šemić
Organization and production management team
CEO:
Nemanja Milenković
Director of Program:
Sara Vuletić
Program Coordinator of Doček:
Dušan Vuković
Zeniteum :: 2022 Manager:
Srećko Milosavljević
Executive Producers:
Darko Flego i Jovan Marjanović
Logistics & Permits:
Biljana Tadić
Hosting Manager:
Milica Momić
Head of the Novi Sad Voluntary Service:
Vojislav Prkosovački
Head of Administration:
Jelena Stanković
Stage Managers:
Jelena Mijatović
Damir Mijatović
Srđan Stanković
SEE YOU OUTSIDE BANOVINA PALACE ON 13 JANUARY!
You can find the detailed programme you can expect on the eve of the European Capital of Culture Opening Ceremony on the following link.
Photo: Vlada Veličković
