UN)WANTED IDENTITIES:

POST-YUGOSLAV HERITAGE AND ARCHITECTURE

5/6 October 2018

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PROGRAMME

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Embassy of the Republic of Serbia
28 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8QB

 

Cultural Diplomacy and National Branding:
The Role of Arts, Literature and Creative Industries, Panel discussion

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Aleksandar Brkic, Lecturer, Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship, Goldsmiths University

Susan Curtis, Istros Books, Southeast European and Balkan literature

Moderator:

Ana Russell-Omaljev, Creative Director, Contemporary Balkan Art

 

 

RichMix, Shoreditch
35-47 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6LA

 

The Story of Yugoslavia and Its Cultural Heritage, Panel discussion

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Catherine Baker, Senior Lecturer in 20th Century History, University of Hull

Senija Causevic, Senior Lecturer in Critical Marketing Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies

Eric Gordy, Professor of Political and Cultural Sociology, University College London

Moderator: Svetlana Rakocevic, Westminster University

 

Since history museums in the region do not hold permanent exhibitions, there are numerous ways the story of Yugoslavia and its cultural heritage can be told. They range from the post-communist discourse, which paints a rather nasty image, to the Yugo-nostalgic and sentimental or even banal view of the past. Can we have a positive interpretation of Yugoslav identity, culture and architecture without erasing the Yugoslav wars? Is it possible to talk about positive emancipatory practices, anti-fascism and modernization without erasing the terror state and authoritarian politics?

 

 

Film screening

Unwanted Heritage (Irena Skoric)

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Discussion

Toward a Concrete Utopia (MoMA, NYC)

 

Following the exhibition Toward a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948–1980, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Southeast European Future Festival continues to focus on the post-Yugoslav cultural space. See the award-winning documentary Unwanted Heritage by the Croatian filmmaker Irena Skoric. The film considers thousands of WWII monuments that were built throughout the former Yugoslavia in the period 1945–1990. Many of these monuments were of a high artistic value, having been designed by some of Yugoslavia’s most prominent artists. Since the 1990s, half of them have been damaged or destroyed. The film charts the fate of the works of art laid to waste and also looks at a society that disowned both valuable art and a significant aspect of its history. The film screening was followeded by a panel discussion exploring questions of post-Yugoslav identity.

 

Speakers:

Marko Ilic, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, SSEES, UCL

Dragan Pavlovic, Visiting Lecturer, University of East London

Goran Vodicka, Lecturer in Architecture, Sheffield Hallam University

Moderator:

Ana Russell-Omaljev, Creative Director, Contemporary Balkan Art

 

Short film

Musical Traumas (Milos Tomic)

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Audio and video performance

Do Your Thing Storm (Ana Seferovic)

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Concerts

 

Jelena Petosevic, also known as Lady Jelena, performed the songs Nikola, Watermelon Love and Slatka Mala, that paved her way into the music scene of the Balkans. Her repertoire consists of Jazz-Pop rhythms and songs from old animated films, as well as her interpretations of other songs. While Lady Jelena keeps a simple rhythm on guitar or ukulele, Andrej Martinovicl backed it up with joyful solos and complicated keyboard harmonies.

Nina Romic, a pop singer from Zagreb, Croatia, also played live. She has recorded four albums, including Daljine and Stablo, and was nominated for the Impala European Independent Album of the Year, and Porin Award for Best Christmas Album. She is a spirited performer with powerful vocals. She has been joined on stage by an accordion player.

 

* Cover Photo: Milos Tomic, Precious Trash