The special program of the Belgrade International Week of Architecture “Good Urban Life / Dobar Urbani Život” is dedicated to urban interventions concerning pressing issues of city life.
The focus of our walk was not on the history of street art and graffiti in Belgrade, but we dealt with street art in the context of how the city develops, how political systems change, how the support or lack of support in some segments of culture and society is reflected in the manifestation of street art. art. We started from the cultural policy of the city, so we dealt with the protection of street art, as well as the way in which certain urban spaces are falling apart, and how they, with their condition, attract the attention of street artists to intervene in them.
The participants were addressed by Jasna Bratićević from the Center for Youth Integration, who pointed out: “At Kafe Bar 16, young people who work or have worked on the street got the opportunity to acquire some additional skills. There are a large number of cafes, bars, restaurants in Belgrade, so that there is a possibility for a large number of them to get a job. They start learning the trade here. Some stay here to work, and some go to other employers. With this, we got another safe place for them, like the hostels were until now”.
During a break in the walk, the participants had the opportunity to experience the innovative street food bites of chef Vanja Puškar, the founder of the New Balkan Cuisine concept – “Our climate has enormous potential when it comes to street food. We have a rich assortment of raw materials, and I think there is a huge field for improving the offer of street food, which is already progressing year by year. Casual dining is developing globally, including in our country. It is very important that we follow the pace of development of this way of consuming food. Trends change and people want to eat something fast, but on the other hand, also with quality, with certain foods that have their own proper origin,” explained Vanja.
Graffiti and street art as very recognizable artistic expressions happen in unity with the city. That is why this tour was not only about the aforementioned artistic expressions, but also about the coexistence of streets and people.
The implementation of the program was supported by the Austrian Cultural Forum.
Photographer: Vladimir Živojinović
