Sremski Karlovci, Sremska Kamenica, Irig, Čerević, Banoštor and Novi Rakovac are the places that will be the centres of the artistic programmes of the European Capital of Culture and The Danube Sea programme arch throughout August.
The first stop is Banoštor, where the ‘Big Straw’ festival will be held. The festival will bring together visiting artists and students of the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, led by Osijek artist Nikola Faler. Monumental sculptures made of straw, three meters high, will represent birds, horses, flowers — the flora and fauna of the Danube Plain region. The sculptures will be created during six days of workshops, and the most attractive part of the programme awaits us on 7 August, when the sculptures will be burned according to the ancient ritual as a sign of gratitude for the harvest fruits.
The famous Slovenian singer-songwriter Robert Pešut, better known as Magnifico, DJ Killo Killo, the Istrian group Gustafi, the Hungarian Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra and the French La Caravane Passe will also sail the Danube Sea, within the Danube Culture Festival, which will take place for the first time on 13 August in the beautiful surroundings of the Ilion Palace courtyard. The emphasis will be on original, copyright music, which, with its mix of genres, entertaining character and virtuoso performance, has broken all boundaries and managed to turn these seemingly local heroes into world-renowned artists.
The highlight of The Danube Sea programme arch will be The Tamburitza Philharmonic Orchestra in the Liberty Square on 21 August. It will gather for the first time 200 participants from 11 countries and finally highlight the diversity of the Danube countries, with the tones by which the tamburitza is recognizable in Europe and the world.
The fact that we often see the Danube as a metaphor for contemporary creativity, contemporary art practice in the most beautiful areas around Novi Sad, will be confirmed by authors from the countries along the Danube, gathered around the ‘Outside the Centre’ project, which visitors will have the opportunity to experience through four exhibitions, three artistic events and a diverse educational programme.
Decentralized cultural content that deals with the heritage of the Danube region is reflected in projects such as ‘Open Village’, which deals with the intangible heritage of rural communities. This exhibition will be opened in the Serbian Reading Room in Irig and will include photos and video stories of 50 residents of Hopovo, who will present the past, as well as their personal experience of this place. Photos and video stories will highlight the advantages and disadvantages of living outside the city, in nature, and will also discuss beekeeping, fruit growing, and winemaking.
Until 20 August, Sremski Karlovci, Novi Sad, Irig, Kać and Futog, will delight the audience with ‘Green Cinema’, a new project of the ‘Free Zone’ film festival that will ‘green’ the parks and squares of these places.
The second half of August is also reserved for the ‘Karlovci Film Festival’, which will traditionally be held at Duškov vidikovac in Sremski Karlovci.
More than 620 artists, through almost 160 events that focus on environmental protection, will offer scenes of the experimental future of the Danube, right on its banks, through The Danube Sea programme arch until 21 August.
Photo: Jelena Ivanović, Tomo Brejc, Promo
