The grand finale of the European Capital of Culture is the last programme arch, Other? Europe, which will deal with the questioning of dominant values in European culture and art, and within which some of the main programmes will bring inclusive events with an emphasis on the creativity of marginalized groups, present comics in new forms, and introduce the audience to the wealth of alternative, minority, avant-garde genres, languages and expressions. The programme arch lasts from 7 October to 27 November, with more than 430 artists from as many as 38 different countries participating.
‘Doubt, apprehension, I would even say prejudice followed Novi Sad from the candidacy process, all the way to the status of one of the best European Capitals of Culture. That is why we prepared everything that is different, under-prominent, alternative and independent for the end. Instead of a question mark and questions about whether this is other Europe, we offer you an exclamation – “You must not miss these programmes!”’, said Nemanja Milenković, CEO of the ‘Novi Sad – European Capital of Culture’ Foundation.
Some of the main programmes bring inclusive events with an emphasis on the creativity of marginalized groups, thus Other? Europe will be opened with a concert by a percussionist Evelyn Glennie who has been deaf since the age of twelve, as well as a performance by an energetic Viennese orchestra Black Page Orchestra, as well as the ‘Uroš Predić for Everyone’ exhibition which will be opened in the Gallery of Matica Srpska on 7 October, and whose partners are significant European museum institutions in terms of accessibility – Art and History Museum in Vienna and Typhlological Museum in Zagreb.
‘The exhibition “Uroš Predić for Everyone” will be adapted to visually impaired people through three-dimensional image models with audio descriptions. Furthermore, the exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue in Braille, as well as an audio recording of the catalogue text. The work and character of Uroš Predić will be brought closer to the youngest through a new educational programme, while comics workshops will be implemented for young people, as well as a special programme for people of the elderly. The ‘Uroš Predić for Everyone’ also includes inclusive workshops in cooperation with the Per.Art organisation, ‘ said Tijana Palkovljević Bugarski, the director of Gallery of Matica Srpska.
Other? Europe will dedicate an important segment to comics, therefore the most significant comic artists will gather in Novi Sad, and present the new forms of this art in the District from 21 to 30 October. During that period, comics will be the visual language of the exhibition dedicated to secondary waste collectors and those with the most deprived backgrounds and their stories will be presented by comic artists from Ljubljana, Prague, Amsterdam, Pančevo and Novi Sad. Furthermore, the exhibition ‘From Neven to Batman’ about the history of comics in Yugoslavia and Serbia will show visitors how fertile our country was and remains a fertile ground for the ninth art. On this occasion, the theatre adaptation of the first comic book heroine Cat Claw, written by Banet Kertac and directed by the famous Dutch director Michael Helmerhorst, will have its first performances at the Youth Theatre, with the use of innovative digital scenography.
‘Visually, this is a theatre representation of the comic book series that Kerac set in the bankrupt asphalt jungle of New York in the 1980s. In the script, which was written in English but later translated into Serbian, the emphasis is on comic book iconography that deals with ‘larger than life’ villains inspired by action films,’ says director Michael Helmerhorst.
The most important Roma artists of today, among them Zoran Tairović, Albanian artist Sead Kazanxhiu, then Nihad Nino Pušija and British artist Delaine La Bas, under the curatorial guidence of Vladan Jeremić, were invited to present their work through the ‘The Other Side of Image’ exhibition, while young Roma men and women will perform the musical ‘My Voice Travels’. In addition to this, the European Capital of Culture will pay a kind of tribute to one of the greatest Novi Sad artists who was ahead of his time, Mitar Subotić Suba. The emphasis is on the exhibition ‘Suba Room’, a remake of his composition and musical installation in co-production with Goran Vejvoda – The Dreambird, and on this occasion we will attend a concert by a popular Brazilian singer CéU, winner of three Latin Grammy Awards, who is also nominated for a Grammy in the world music category.
‘All the material that will be exhibited in ‘Suba Room’ forms the setting of a future permanent exhibition for which I hope we will be able to secure a space, because Novi Sad deserves it – a setting, the work of a great artist who is not recognized enough here, as far as in Brazil and Europe. I think that what remains after is very significant, because our city needs to get such a content,’ said Branka Parlić, the author of the project.
During the the Other? Europe programme arch, the audience will enjoy the World music festival ‘Pocket Globe’, which will host world artists such as the duo from Iran and Turkey, Kayhan Kalhor and Erdal Erzincan, as well as the Bab L’ Blues band, as well as numerous other programmes.
Photo: Vladimir Veličković, Erico Toscano
