(Andrea
Saula)
Hello and welcome to UNMIK on AIR with Sputnik Kilambi
The official opening of the seventh annual art colony in Zvecan last Friday in the Churchyard of St. Georges church - the bells announcing the start of a ten day gathering of artists from Kosovo, many parts of former Yugoslavia and some European countries. And for the past week, the picturesque, hilly town has been transformed into a Mecca for painters, the entire town dedicated to the arts.
According to Caslav Milisavljevic, the president of Zvecan’s
Cultural association that organized the art colony, the cultural heritage of
Zvecan is very impressive. The colony, he says, is just one manifestation.
Caslav Milisavljevic: It is based on a tradition of
numerous cultural events that have been taking place here in Zvecan. The impact
of that lasts and every year in August we come together to fill this place with
spirituality and culture.
Ljiljana Micovic is an artist from Belgrade. Last year she was one of the participants and this
year she was the art curator.
Ljiljana Micovic: The idea of an art colony is for the artists who live in different parts of the same country or from the other countries to meet each other. That’s the first and the main concept of all the art colonies. The other criterion is to have professional artists for whom art is the main concern and who exhibit often. My personal idea was to gather people who would communicate amongst themselves and of course who would show this through their work.
19 artists are participating in the art colony this year. Zvecan is a muse in itself, says Ljiljana, it’s a very beautiful place, but the real inspiration comes from the people
Zvecan obviously does have that pull since some artists
come back year after year. Like Petar Ilic for example – a participant in last
year’s art colony, he’s back this year as well. But he admits, coming to Zvecan
was not easy.
Petar Ilic: I was here last year for the first time. I was a bit afraid because of all the stories that one hears in Belgrade about how dangerous it is. But I managed to overcome those fears and came anyway. I was very pleasantly surprised by the welcome and by the goodness of these people. The colony was also very well organized. I only have praise for the hospitality. Last year my exhibition opened the art colony. The reception of my pieces, of the icons that I paint was very good. Because of all of that I was very eager to come back, even before the official opening.
Uros Janjicijevic also came for the second time. An
11-year old guitar player from Zvecan, he is also amongst the youngest
participants.
Uros Janjicijevic: I play whenever they call me,
like for a book presentation I play. I play classical music. I’ve been playing
ever since I was in the third grade. Now I have finished the third grade of
Music School. I come here because of the beautiful exhibitions they organize.
The Zvecan meet is not just an art colony, says
Ljiljana Micovic. It is the celebration of culture.
Ljiljana Micovic: Given the size of Zvecan, it
is very rich in activities. Thanks to the enthusiasm of the people that started
this colony, it now more than an art colony. We have also poetry meetings. In
fact these ten days are the days of culture.
Concerts, children’s art colony, a poetry marathon and
a visit to Monastery Ravanica and Crna Reka are also on the agenda this
year. Art works of all the
participating artists will be exhibited in the Municipality building on August
31st, the final day of the Zvecan festival. And for those of you who
have just found about the annual art show you still have two days to see what’s
on display.
Thanks for tuning in and have a happy weekend - that
was this week’s UNMIK on AIR culture program. Thanks for listening.