Since the year began on March 21 Zrenjanina as the Capital of Culture in Serbia, the media have already reported three negative events to date.
The latest is the opening price of the event.
Puppet show
On the big stage of the "Toša Jovanović" theater, a double premiere (two evenings) of the Puppet scene "Andraci, Jepuri and the other most important monsters of Petrovgrad and Middle Banat" took place based on the novels of Vojislav Voja Despotov and directed and dramaturged by Nikola Zavišić.
It was also the beginning of the Theater Capital of Serbia, which is one of the main programs of the Zrenjanin - Capital of Culture of Serbia 2025 project.
According to "Voice of Šumadija", 60 million dinars were allocated from the city budget just for the opening of the Meander culture event lasting 29 minutes. For the sake of comparison, and to make it clear what money is involved, let us remind you that the City of Belgrade allocated 30 million dinars for this year's Bitef.
Without the Choir Festival
Before the information about the cost of the puppet show, an announcement was made about the cancellation of this year's Choir Festival "Slobodan Bursać", which was planned as part of the Year of Culture program.
The founder and artistic director of the Festival, Vladimir Coka Stojković, explained the decision by the situation "in which our homeland is located for more than four months, and when our city should be an elite cultural place in Serbia called the 'National Capital of Culture', a manifestation, financed by the government, which proved who and what it is, as the founder of the festival, I believe that we should not stand under the tent of the capital".
According to him, the other Zrenjanin conductors and choir singers, as well as choirs from Serbia, the region and abroad who were invited to the festival as guests, share the same opinion. He stated that he will hold the festival in some alternative form, most likely on June 1 in the "Alley of the Giants" near the bust of Slobodan Bursać.
Isidora Žebeljan
And the day after the ceremonial opening, the heirs of the composer, academician and university professor Isidore Žebeljan announced that they demand that her name, works, quotes, photos and her music be completely removed from the program of the Zrenjanin manifestation.
"We cannot allow the name and work of Isidore Žebeljan to be part of the Mephistopheles charade of this government, which attacks the people during peaceful protests, which compares actors, the torch of our conscience, to terrorists, which insults journalists, the guardians of our sanity, and which belittles and humiliates teachers, teachers and university professors, the nurturers of our souls, and all this at a time when the Belgrade Philharmonic, the most important institution of music in the country, is on strike. This is not Isidore's world," he states. was announced by Borislav Čičovački, who addressed the media on behalf of the composer's heirs.
By the way, the project "Zrenjanin - the capital of culture" foresees the improvement of cultural content, the strengthening of existing capacities and the creation of new ideas, as well as the revival and modern interpretation of the cultural-historical and architectural heritage of Zrenjanin, which will be presented as the Capital of Culture of Serbia with the program concept Meanders of the city - Flows of culture shaped through four program units Locus, Embassy of Culture, Architopia and Banat Abundance, through which various meanders, music, visual arts, significant personalities pass and intertwine Zrenjanina, sport, architecture.
