Writer, musician, conceptualist, one of the initiators of avant-garde scene, not only in Novi Sad but also in the former Yugoslavia, winner of the “NIN” award … Slobodan Tišma in his article published in “NIN” commented on the announcement of Novi Sad for the European Capital of Culture 2021.
In the introduction Tišma says „it is not simply to say what constitutes a choice of Novi Sad for the European Capital of Culture“ and asks „whether to jump for joy or cry?“ He further assumes that „this choice is a message from Brussels that Serbia’s path to the European Union takes over from Novi Sad and Vojvodina,“ and points out that perhaps the most important moment in the whole thing is „that Novi Sad will be financially supported by the European Union and will be able to welcome 2021 as a real capital of culture.“ Emphasizing that he does not know the exact amount of money, Tišma thinks that „above all, the money should be invested in infrastructure projects that are directly related to culture and art.“ Tišma’s idea of reintroduction of trams, „not only for economic or environmental reasons, but also aesthetic” is very interested. Novi Sad lacks the distinctive urban noise made by tram that it had in the fifties of the twentieth century.”
However, Tišma further claims that Novi Sad mostly miss concert hall because „the more music, the less barking, the less noise,“ and that „the institution of the so –called classical music concert fundamentally important European phenomenon, it is a kind of religious gathering which is necessary for the sake of creation of joy, happiness and peace.“
Full version of the text of Slobodan Tišma on the European Capital of Culture you can read in the print edition of “NIN” or at:
