neighbourhood dialogues

All I do revolves around Space. Various projects - theatre plays, performances, movies, music videos, corporate events, theoretical studies, spatial interventions and installations, photography, exhibition design, etc., equipped me with a diverse knowledge and skills set. As an experiential designer and an entertainment industry professional, I connect fields of set design and (creative) production. I am vice president of “Scenatoria” - Organisation that deals with officially protected, but abandoned and neglected built heritage through “staging” arts in those spaces and education about these fields - walks, publications, workshops, etc. This sparked curiosity about mixed forms - performance with video projections, VR and MR in site-specific productions. My particular interest and experience is in production of large scale cultural events and site-specific spatial interventions in urban and heritage locations, and in the topics like presentation of space and space as context of presentation, mutual influence of people, space and stories, connecting past and present through cultural activities, historical locations / heritage activation and interpretation, improvement and interpretation of city through art in public / open spaces, and related; Enjoy working manually and exploring materials, finding new and unexpected uses for existing objects. I work as an independent professional, cooperating with a multitude of collaborators on ongoing and development of future projects.

Lines of residential buildings, with good and bad days behind, and the last attempt to improve condition - as seen on the facades. Street level doesn’t show unity as floors above - interventions, added staircases, divided spaces that used to be communal and atomic shelters adapted into small shops and offices - together with graffiti and ”obituary” murals creates cacophony of “styles” and spatial expressions, aesthetics of temporary. Greenery partially covers conditions on all heights and levels, but dilapidation of space and infrastructure between buildings - playgrounds, benches, parkings - shows the accurate state. Paris Commune - quarter of strong identity - turned towards inside, oneself, with clear borders both in the street names and architecture; near train station and expo complex, between several important roads, decades of questionable reputation that becomes an brand through time, and abundance of criminal, delinquency and drug abuse .. but also connected (then destroyed) community and strong local identity. Built for now non-existing working class, with buildings designed according to regulations, and paying attention to ventilation and light, communications and common spaces - terraces (meanwhile heavily changed and adjusted) that are at the same time (often blocked) fire escape. Needs and demands of residential space have changed immensely since, as well as demographics of the cities, but also criteria for building quality and rules for designing. Photographs show current needs and attitudes towards these buildings and life within, but also condition of these objects, and attempt to improve conditions. By placing isolation outside, one saves the interior intact, and, ideally, improves thermal situation. On the second look, the serial shows maintenance and investment as signs that life is now beyond survival, looking towards better quality. Also, agreement to mimic the existing look of the buildings, and consistency in implementation throughout the whole quarter is more of a precedent and incident, after decades of improvisation, ignoring of surrounding or direct and deliberate destruction of existing structures. Although the same treatment of all block buildings has to do with professional building managers and companies for maintenance that shared Novi Sad built fund among themselves, it is still noteworthy attempt and implementation, deserving to be praised as an example of possible and finished - even if also naive - experiment.