When the city that holds the title of capital of culture, Zrenjanin, is left without funds for projects, and Belgrade suspends all competitions, it is not an administrative failure, but a political decision - assesses Jovana Karaulić, assistant professor at FDU, in an article for "Vreme".
Extinguishing competition for culture in Belgrade i Zrenjanin it does not testify to a crisis in the sector, but to the inability of the ruling structure to understand the basic role of cultural policies in modern society.
When the city that holds the title of capital of culture, Zrenjanin, is left without funds for projects, and Belgrade suspends all competitions, it is not an administrative failure, but a political decision. And the most dangerous one - the decision to erase the possibility of free thought by erasing culture.
Independent cultural scene
This decision particularly affects the independent art scene, which without institutional infrastructure and long-term systemic support functions in conditions of constant uncertainty. Otherwise, and especially today, it is under direct attack not only because it is unprotected, but because it is fundamentally opposed to the logic of control, centralization and party staffing that dominates cultural institutions.
On the other hand (and maybe that's why), the independent scene, with all its limitations, remains a rarely authentic space of public opinion and artistic integrity.
Symbolic and real: FEST was not even held this year. Bitef gets a selector with a huge delay. Contests are terminated or cancelled.
All this indicates that when problems arise, the management of the field of culture and art is simply suspended. This, in addition to the lack of knowledge and competence, is a product of the (many times proven) fact that when culture does not bring political points, it is simply abandoned to the periphery of social life and forgotten.
Society without culture
The abolition of the competition is not only a question of the budget, it is a message that in a society that builds an authoritarian framework, there is no place for art that raises questions.
And that's exactly what the independent culture sector does: ponders, questions, provokes. In this sense, attacking it is a strategic move by those who do not understand it or never communicate with it.
That's why it's clear: it's not culture in crisis. The crisis is in the institutions.
And while contests are closed, festivals are canceled, and artists are pushed to the margins, what remains as a cloud in the air is the question: will art in Serbia survive the next period of this government, which does not see its development as a public interest, understanding neither its purpose, its value, nor its language.
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