Poets of Today – Voices of Tomorrow: Poetry Performance with Radmila Petrović and Four European Poets

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As part of this year’s event “World Poetry Day(s) 2023,” on Wednesday, March 29th, starting at 6 p.m. in the hall of the Cultural Center of Belgrade, a poetry performance will be held. Poet Radmila Petrović will perform some of her poems, accompanied by some of the best contemporary European poets: Anja Zag Golob from Slovenia, Małgorzata Lebda from Poland, Márton Simon from Hungary, and Harri Hertel from Finland.

The poetry performance at the Cultural Center of Belgrade serves as the culmination of an international meeting of poets, poetry, and artistic teams from countries involved in the project “Poets of Today – Voices of Tomorrow.” This is an innovative project that brings together organizations from Slovenia (Pionirski dom), Poland (ARTeria), Hungary (Pro Progressione), Finland (Association of Finnish Cultural Centers for Children), and Serbia (Heartefact), with the aim of bringing contemporary poetry closer to young people and the local community through a series of multi-year activities. Since September of last year, partners have been working together to explore various methods and approaches to presenting poetry to young people in a contemporary multidisciplinary context.

Each of the partner organizations implements the project with the help of an artistic, poetic, and teaching team, which through a series of activities and collaborative work strives to develop new methods and creative approaches to presenting poetry to young generations. The artistic team in Serbia consists of: Radmila Petrović as the main poet on this project in our country, theater director Andrej Nosov, composer Draško Adžić, and actress Vanja Ejdus. They have selected 10 young poets and 20 high school teachers from Serbia to work on devising creative methods of presenting poetry to students, all in preparation for the visit of young poets to high schools in early 2024 as part of the “Poetry Days” event.

The project “Poets of Today – Voices of Tomorrow” is supported by the European Union through the Creative Europe program.

Admission to the program is free.

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OPEN CALL: GRANTS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ON-THE-JOB TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING (REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA)

Public presentation of the play Doughnuts held as part of the New Voices workshop

On Sunday, July 6, a public presentation of the play Doughnuts (Buhtle) was held at Heartefact House, marking the conclusion of the four-day Playground for New Voices workshop. The workshop took place within the European project Fabulamundi: New Voices, which Heartefact implements with partners from nine European countries. It was led by director and playwright Patrik Lazić, in collaboration with emerging playwright Jelena Krdžavac, the acting ensemble, and translator Olja Petronić.

Exploring and developing contemporary drama through process: Doughnuts by Jelena Krdžavac in the spotlight of the Playground workshop

As part of the Fabulamundi project, implemented by Heartefact in collaboration with partners from nine European countries, the Playground workshop is taking place in Belgrade from July 3 to 6. Led by director and playwright Patrik Lazić, the workshop brings together a cast of actors and emerging playwright Jelena Krdžavac to explore and further develop her play Doughnuts (Buhtle), which was shortlisted in last year’s Heartefact Competition for Best Contemporary Socially Engaged Drama.

Culture for Democracy: Supported Projects within the Call for Cultural and Artistic Project Implementation in Serbia

An exceptional response—totaling 273 applications—reflects the critical position of the cultural sector in Serbia in the context of the current political and social climate. Based on the Commission’s evaluation, 22 projects have been selected for support, with a total budget of 21,500,000.00 RSD. Although this amount exceeds the originally planned budget for this call, we believe that, amid the ongoing crisis and with public calls for cultural funding either canceled or indefinitely postponed, such support is more necessary than ever.

Artistic Residency and Public Presentation of Gaelle Axelbrun’s Play Held as Part of the Playground Project

From June 22 to 28, 2025, an artistic residency of French playwright Gaelle Axelbrun took place at Heartefact House in Belgrade, as part of the European project Playground. During this intensive seven-day working period, Gaelle, together with director Tara Manić, translator Olja Petronić, and the acting ensemble—Nevena Kočović, Jana Bjelica, and Andrej Nježić—explored the dramaturgical and performative potential of her play Far from the Mud in Which We Sink into Sleep.

Residency of French Author Gaelle Axelbrun in Belgrade as Part of the Playground Project

From June 22 to 28, 2025, the Heartefact House in Belgrade will host a residency for French playwright Gaelle Axelbrun as part of the European project Playground. This intensive seven-day residency, organized by Heartefact, is part of an international collaboration focused on the development of contemporary dramatic texts by emerging European authors.

First Seminar for Youth from Serbia Held as Part of the Regional VIBE Program

From June 20 to 22, 2025, Heartefact organized a three-day seminar for young people from Serbia in Belgrade as part of the regional program VIBE – Connecting Young People. The program brings together youth from Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania with the aim of strengthening regional cooperation and exchange. Designed as a space for learning, dialogue, and connection, it focuses on human rights, regional cooperation, the shared history of the region, and reflections on the future that young people wish to shape through activism and civic engagement.