With the support of numerous individuals and partners, this year our association continued to develop 3D model projects and VR exhibitions and launched new long-term projects, all with the aim of promoting street art and graffiti.
Our desire is to show that a strong community, once naive enthusiasm and love for the field we deal with can overcome challenges and make progress that is extremely valuable.
Art in passing
As part of the Art in Passing 2023 project, we started in Vienna with the presentation of the 3D model project in Vienna. As part of the cooperation with the Zero Project Foundation, we made three models of murals that were installed in the very center of Vienna in the Karl-Farkas Park at the beginning of this year. These models were also included in Austria’s first inclusive museum guide. Also, as a unique performance during the three days of the conference in the atrium of the UN building, artist Jana Danilović painted a mural called Inclusion. A 3D model was created for this mural, which contains a description in Braille. The mural and 3D model were presented at the closing ceremony of the conference, after which they went on a tour of galleries and events throughout Austria.
As a result of being a guest at the conference, we collaborated with the artist Jill Wells from America, for whose work we made a 3D model, which was presented at the end of 2023.
We installed two more models in Serbia – the tenth model in Serbia was installed on the wall of the House of Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Čačak, where the artist Maja Stojanović – Zmaja painted a mural. The mural and the model were created as part of the Capital of Culture of Serbia 2023 – Čačany, and the project was supported by the Embassy of Spain. The eleventh model of the mural was made for the work of the artist Jana Danilović, which is located on the wall in Kafe bar 16. The artist hand-painted the model (representing a bird), which became an integral part of the mural and an inclusive work of art when installed. Next to the model there is also a plaque with a description in Braille.
The goal of the Art in Passing project is to bring street art closer to blind and partially sighted people through the installation of models made with 3D technology. Along with the works, there are Braille descriptions that can rarely be found in the public space. The first 3D models of murals for the blind and partially sighted were installed in 2021, and the Street Art Belgrade organization has installed a total of sixteen models since then – ten in Belgrade, one in Čačak, four in Vienna (Austria) and one in Iowa (America).
VR exhibitions
In 2023, we created a new VR exhibition with the support of the Ministry of Culture and the VR-All-Art platform for presentation at the Cultural Center of Serbia in Paris. The exhibition TRACES: Street Art of Serbia and France 1995 – 2022 follows the development of street art in the relationship between Serbia and France and the influence of France and French artists on the domestic scene from 1995 to 2022. In the virtual space on the VR-All-Art platform, over seventy works created in Serbia and France are displayed, showing the relations between these two countries in the field of street art. The goal of the exhibition is to make the first comprehensive presentation of the impact of French creativity in the field of graffiti and street art on the domestic art scene, as well as the creation of Serbian artists in France, through innovative and new technologies made possible by virtual spaces. In addition to this exhibition, the virtual exhibition Loving Street art Belgrade from 2020, translated into French, was presented to the audience in Paris, where there are over forty works created by local and foreign authors on the streets of Belgrade.
During the year, the exhibition was presented at one of the largest IT conferences, Heapcon, as well as at the French Institute during the Digital November event.
Projects within the Creative Europe program
Last year we had the opportunity to participate in several Creative Europe competitions and we are very happy that we managed to get support for two very important projects – BSBSA and Collab 4 HY Sustain CCI.
BSBSA (Bucharest, Sofia, Belgrade Street Art) project brings together organizations from Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia, it will last four years and the main idea of this regional project is to humanize public spaces in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia through art. Together with partners from organizations from Romania Save or Cancel and a representative from the organization Mnogo Deinosti from Bulgaria and a street artist from the Sunshiners team – Nikolay Nikolaev Bozhinov, we defined artistic interventions, workshops for children and adults, talks with artists, a book, a map of street art and multidisciplinary exhibitions which will be implemented in the next four years. The project will involve a wide range of individuals, including forty artists and art professionals. The expected results are the transformation of neglected public spaces, the increase of cultural exchanges and the mobility of works of art, the transfer of knowledge and the regeneration of public spaces. This project is co-financed through the Creative Europe program of the European Union.
We are very happy to be selected to be one of 15 European organizations that will have the opportunity to develop their projects within the Collab 4 HY Sustain CCI project. Supported by Creative Europe, the Collab 4 HY Sustain project aims to support cultural and creative organizations on their way to growth, innovation and collaboration. In Serbia, Nova Iskra is responsible for the implementation and organization of the project. Selected participants will receive mentoring support from experienced experts, a comprehensive training program, a €3,000 project development grant, visibility opportunities at hybrid events and access to the SEE regional network and EU collaboration opportunities. As part of the project, our organization, through work with mentor Vera Lloyd Thomas, will work on the development of the concept of Art in Passing.
Collaboration with artists
In 2023, we collaborated with fantastic artists from Serbia and Austria, who enriched all our agreed projects, were wonderful to work with, creative and professional. We collaborated with Jan on several projects, from presentation and painting in Vienna, namely in the United Nations building, painting a mural in Šabac to making a bird for a mural in Šesnaestica. Käthe Löffelmann and Aleksandra Petković – TKV also worked on the mural in Šabac. They painted a mural of about 100 square meters on the wall of the elementary school, which presented playful motifs of learning and personal strength that is developed and gained through knowledge.
Zmaja and the DUK festival team from Čačak supported us within the Art in Passing project. Zmaja, in the middle of all her travels and paintings around the region and the world, painted the beautiful Ferdinand at the Home for the Blind in Čačak, for which we made a 3D model.
P.S. How was the year for our members: Srđan Tunić is in America for his doctoral studies, where he achieves exceptional results and continues to participate in SABG projects, Ljiljana Radošević added new tours to her list and, together with Srđan, is preparing an issue of the Kultura magazine dedicated to graffiti and street art. Aleksandar Đorđević started the preparation of a new book, on which he is working with Srki and Ljilja, and Jelena, as always, “softly” commands the whole parade and organizes new actions.
Thanks again to everyone who was with us this year on the streets!
How can you support us?
You can support us in different ways, all of them are valuable and mean that we are continuously developing our programs. Follow us on social networks, when you have the opportunity recommend your friends and colleagues to follow us or join our activities. As a more concrete action, you can support us by buying the book Street art Belgrade, participating in street art tours and workshops. There are possibilities of combining all our “products” for the needs of organizing team building, birthdays and creative get-togethers.