Rise of woman in culture in Western Balkans

Rise of woman in culture in Western Balkans

Project leader: Association Fenomena, Serbia

Association for Development of Culture and Ecology Sensus, North Macedonia

BeoArt Contemporary, Serbia

SPES, Montenegro

Association for Encouraging the Development of Human Potential and Creativity – Prizma, Croatia

Zavod Lokarjeva galerija, Slovenia

Maximum grant awarded: 307.171 €

Imagine what energy a woman carries in herself and what she can do in synergy with more women in a single place. We offer one part of the answer to this question through the project “Rise of woman in culture in Western Balkans”. In order to reach the share goal, emphasizing the role of women in creating reality through art, culture and other social spheres, we, women, artists, extra-institutional curators, experts in the field of digital marketing, research, cultural diplomacy, copyrights and feminist movement have gathered around different activities.

Contemporary age is the age of diversity to which art responds with diversity in expression and the media. Understanding and acceptance are key. Art connects, which will be presented in the visual sense through two exhibitions “A woman about a woman”, in the real and virtual space alike and in a documentary series. Through joint activity of curators and artists we are striving to encourage cooperation and raise awareness about the female point of view and reacting to reality.

Since the project is envisaged as a process, as the essence of creativity is in the process out of which a visible image of reality is born, so is the focus in activities included in the project to research, educate, communicate, collaborate, spend time together, and also adapt to modern digital technologies through VR technologies. Being aware of the necessity of youthful energy and with the desire to encourage it, we created the Residential programme which will gather 30 young artists from the territories of the Western Balkans and Europe, as well as encourage them to further cooperation and exchange. By connecting curators equally from the non-institutional and the institutional sectors, we open the field to connect and encourage future project with a similar topic. Wider visibility of the content we are dealing with, the identity of the woman in contemporary art, culture and society is offered on our website and through recording and broadcasting the documentary series and the final publication.

Great feminist contribution to the entirety of the project is given by the leader of the project Association Fenomena, which has been active in the field of improving human rights, i.e. gender equality, improving the position of women in Serbia, for the past fourteen years. As the project is based on activity and cooperation of NGOs in culture, apart from Fenomena, there are also associations BeoArt Contemporary, Spes, Sensus, Udruga Prizma and Lokrajeva galerija who support the artistic side of the project, and some of them are focused on younger generations.

Therefore, the project is based on 95% participation of women in culture, their gathering and connecting, with the aim of raising awareness of the role of women in culture in the Western Balkans. Project activities, in addition to a series of lectures, educational workshops and a panel with a focus on creativity and the role of the extra-institutional sector in culture, two exhibitions in real and virtual space, research, documentary series, establishing a network of curators and a publication which will encompass all activities in one place. We have chosen the notion of LOVE for our identity, including and linking all mentioned aspects.