We are closing the four-month program Encounters in the Centre by hosting our partner organization kuda.org from Novi Sad at two locations – Živi Atelje DK and Ribnjak Youth Centre.

The book Red Horizon: Avant-Garde and Revolution in Yugoslavia 1919-1932 by Dejan Sretenović is the first study of the Yugoslav avant-gardes from the perspective of the history of left-wing political ideas. Since the Yugoslav avant-gardes were politically affiliated with the radical left, they considered the aesthetic revolution to be an integral part of the social revolution. The book explores the ideas and reflections of Marxism and anarchism in avant-garde movements ranging from expressionism and zenitism to dadaism and surrealism.

It starts from the interpretation of the avant-garde and communism and two great epic narratives of the 20th century thematizing the rebellions, dreams, conflicts, victories and defeats of those who wanted to change the society and art of their epoch. A group of currently defeated, but resolutely rebellious artists, art historians and producers – children of the avant-garde and neo-avant-garde – will lead you towards the Red Horizon, the meeting place of art and revolution; the paths of detailed and impassioned polemics about tendency, autonomy, freedom and equality, struggle for human consciousness and a better future; the paths of words and thoughts that have seemingly lost their meaning in today’s reactionary democratization of opinions and attitudes, post-populist lethargy, and paranoia of alternative truths.

Dejan Sretenović‘s book licks the wounds of the children of the avant-garde, but these wounds reopen when faced with the world to which these references appear to be meaningless. The marching presentation of the group kuda.org – the book’s publisher – its author Dejan Sretenović, and associate member-friend Jelena Vesić aims to energize the audience both mentally and physically by using the content of the book and some of the questions that marginalize this content. 

The event is a part of the pilot program Encounters in the Centre which is supported by the City of Zagreb’s special funding scheme Culture and Art in the Community. They are also an integral part of the program implemented by Communities of Learning, a platform consisting of six organizations: What, How and for Whom (WHW) and Živi Atelje DK (Zagreb), kuda.org, (Novi Sad), Neue Nachbarschaft / Moabit e.V. (Berlin), State of Concept Athens, and Crvena Association for Culture and Art (Sarajevo), dedicated to the exchange of independent and contemporary artistic programs that emphasize informal artistic education.

The program is supported by:
Office for Culture, International Relations, and Civil Society of the City of Zagreb
Kultura Nova Foundation