The auditorium of the Cultural Center of Belgrade has been blocked since February 18. Information about the development of that action is insignificant.
It is known that the KCB Hall was blocked by the informal Culture in Blockade initiative, in which women and men workers in culture were blocked.
After the protest in front of the Ministry of Culture, attended by students of the Belgrade University of Arts and other faculties, artists and citizens, and with the banner "Freed KCB" they entered the Cultural Center of the city, in the cinema hall.
Students are not part of the action.
The media announced on the first evening that, in addition to the Culture initiative, students also participated in the blockade, because they were told so, but two days later this was denied. Therefore, only the Culture in Blockade initiative participates in the KC blockade.
Also, on the first evening, it was said that "the employees of KCB announced a strike and announced the suspension of work, because the students' demands were not met", and that the blockade of their space was a certain form of support and help to the employees.
As they stated in the announcement, this action of Culture in the Blockade was instigated by the catastrophically low allocation of the state for culture, which has been keeping artists, especially those from the independent scene and cultural workers, on the brink of existence for years. The initiative in the blockade requires an increase in funds to 1,5 percent at the republican level and 6 percent at the local level, and that they be distributed fairly, and not according to the principles of spokespersons and fans of the government.
After, it can be said, years of waiting for the Ministry of Culture to fulfill their always-the-same demands regarding the state's relationship to culture, and ignoring the state, they decided that "Liberated KCB" should be a warning sign.
KCB is not on strike.
The day after that, KCB employees announced that they were not on strike, and that they did not participate in the agreement and organization of the blockade of the Hall, but they emphasized that they remain open to further agreements.
Aware of the "social responsibility that comes with working in an institution, especially in these circumstances", the collective of the KCB stated that it "remains open to further agreements".
From Tuesday, plenums are held every day at 19 p.m., to which Culture in Blockade invites all interested parties.
Except for the Hall, all other areas of the KCB are open and accessible to the public.
That is about all that is known about the KCB blockade.
What is not known?
It is not known, and above all, why they chose to release the Cultural Center, which is probably the only, if not the only, institution in the City of Belgrade whose program has always been free from any party influence. After all, if it wasn't, would the "View of the World" Festival of auteur films be held here, or would Sophie Marceau and Andrzej Žulawski be guests right here after the October 5th changes, or would David Lynch talk to the audience of this very cinema?
Why not remind that the Cultural Center of Belgrade supported the demands of the students in January, stating that, as the students of the University of the Arts wrote in their letter, the values they stand for, namely justice, security and freedom, concern the common good of all citizens. Joining the joint struggle led by future colleagues and associates, KCB suspended work for one hour on January 23, and on January 24 completely, by unanimous decision of the collective, in accordance with the decision of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Serbia.
It is widely speculated that KCB was chosen to be blocked precisely because of this. That is because he has shown that he can be free and because he clearly and loudly decided to support the students. That he was chosen as a friendly place from which Culture in Blockade will fight for 1,5% of the budget and a life worthy of culture.
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