The Festivity of Otherness was held in Paris

Eclectic of Otherness News

From January 9 to 11, 2025, the Festivity of Otherness was held in Paris. After the Zagreb version of the festival in November, when three plays created as part of the Eclectic of Otherness project co-financed by the European Union were shown on the theater stage of the Arterarij organization, Heartefact House hosted the Belgrade version of the festival in December last year. Lavoir Moderne Parisien hosted the Parisian version of the festival, rounding off the first three editions of the festival.

The Festivity of Otherness opened with the host’s play, “The Rabbit’s House,” produced by the Paris-based French-Argentinian company El Vaiven. Directed by Juan Miranda, the play depicts memories of growing up in Argentina during the military dictatorship, inspired by the novel of the same name by Laura Alcoba, who also attended the performance and post-performance discussion. Through the eyes of the girl, the audience experienced the emotional nuances of loss, migration and the search for identity, while questioning how past traumas shape the present and future. The performance was performed by actress Astrid Albiso.

On the second day of the festival, Heartefact’s immersive performance “They have already gone” was performed three times. Created according to the concept and directed by Andrej Nosov, this performance confronts the audience with the emptiness that remains behind those who are no longer there. The artistic event, rich in documentary materials and intimate soundscapes, created a space for reflection on collective memory and responsibility towards the past. The performance is performed for only 15 people per performance, who use special headphones to get a specific audio experience of this performance.

On the last day of the Festival of Otherness in Paris, the performance “Dog House” by Arterarij, Zagreb was performed. Director Romano Nikolić, in collaboration with authors Dorotea Šušak and Mario Mazić, presents an emotionally intense play that explores the impact of wartime rape on the individual and society as a whole, following the stories of two families. With a standing ovation for Anita Matić Delić, Dušan Gojić, Jelena Graovac Lučev, Nikola Nedić and Davor Tarbuk, the Paris Festival of Otherness ended.

The Festivity of Otherness is much more than a theater festival – it is an invitation to think, to face the invisible and the unspoken. It is part of the Eclectic of Otherness project, a partnership initiative of three cultural organizations: Heartefakct from Serbia, Arterarij from Croatia and El Vaïvén from France. The Eclectic of Otherness project, co-financed by the European Union, is dedicated to exploring the identity tensions between us and them, insiders and outsiders, those we think belong, and those who are not part of that privilege.

*The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of Heartefact and the project partners and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor other donors can be held responsible for them.

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Open call for youth participation in the regional VIBE project

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Voices from the Margins – Seminar for Human Rights Defenders in Serbia Held

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Open Call: Beldocs Festival (Kosovo-Serbia Visiting Program)

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Today, a press conference was held in the Sarajevo War Theater (SARTR) on the occasion of the start of the New Theatre Market project, the crown of which is the newly established Sarajevo Theatre Showcase, which will be held in the second week of September in Sarajevo. The leader of the project is the SARTR theater with partners: Heartefact from Serbia, Ulysses Theater from Croatia, Binario Vivo from Italy and Para Film & Theatre from Norway.

The Festivity of Otherness was held in Paris

From January 9 to 11, 2025, the Festivity of Otherness was held in Paris. After the Zagreb version of the festival in November, when three plays created as part of the Eclectic of Otherness project co-financed by the European Union were shown on the theater stage of the Arterarij organization, Heartefact House hosted the Belgrade version of the festival in December last year. Lavoir Moderne Parisien hosted the Parisian version of the festival, rounding off the first three editions of the festival.

Heartefact Fund is looking for the Financial and Administrative Grant Officer to support the implementation of the Culture for Development project in North Macedonia

Heartefact Fund is looking for the Financial and Administrative Grant Officer to support the implementation of the Culture for Development project in North Macedonia. Funded by the Swiss Agency for the Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Culture for Development project will be managed by the Heartefact Fund and is launching in January 2025 with a four-year duration.

Heartefact Fund is looking for the Program Grant Officer to support the implementation of the Culture for Development Project in North Macedonia

Heartefact Fund is looking for the Program Grant Officer to support the implementation of the Culture for Development Project in North Macedonia. Funded by the Swiss Agency for the Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Culture for Development Project will be managed by the Heartefact Fund and is set to launch in January 2025 with a four-year duration.

We Presented the Slavic Soundwalking Application to Senior Citizens

In Belgrade, we held an incredibly inspiring meeting with representatives of several civil sector organizations working with senior citizens and their quality of life.

The Festivity of Otherness was held in the Heartefact House in Belgrade

From December 5 to 7, 2024, the Festivity of Otherness was held in Belgrade. After the Zagreb version of the festivity in November, when three performances created as part of the Eclectic of Otherness project co-financed by the European Union were shown on the theater stage of the Arterarij organization, Heartefact House hosted the Belgrade version of the festival.

Theater Festivity of Otherness in Belgrade from December 5 to 7

After two years of artistic research as part of the Eclectic of Otherness project co-financed by the European Union, we are proud to announce the “Festivity of Otherness”, a unique theatrical experience that will confront the audience with three poignant stories and reflections on the human experience, as well as personal stories that shape our world. The Festivity of Otherness is much more than a theater festival – it is an invitation to think, to face the invisible and the unspoken.

Final partners’ meeting and poetry performance in Ljubljana as part of the POT-VOT project

From November 25 to 27, 2024, in Ljubljana, in Pionirski dom, the last partners’ meeting was held as part of the Poets of Today, Voices of Tomorrow project. After more than two years of various activities dedicated to the promotion of contemporary poetry among young people and the general population, the last meeting of 5 partners from Slovenia, Serbia, Finland, Hungary and Poland was used to recapitulate and evaluate the project.

Sofija Dimitrijević at the Playground residency in Rome

At the beginning of November, playwright Sofija Dimitrijević participated in the first of 12 residencies within the Playground project, which Heartefact implements with partners from Italy, France and Romania. The innovativeness of the project lies in the fact that it was designed with the idea of establishing a more complex and comprehensive cooperation between the various professions involved in the theater process – playwrights, directors, translators and performers.

Billboard campaign “Poets of today, voices of tomorrow” in Belgrade

From November 11 to 17, Heartefact ran a billboard campaign in the main pedestrian street in Belgrade, in Knez Mihailova, with the aim of promoting the poetry of our young contemporary poets. The verses of Jelena Marinkov, Aleksa Krstić, Tihana Smiljanić, Milica Milosavljević and Marija Dragnić, in the design of Miroslav Živanov, were found in several locations along the entire street.

Second Slavic Soundwalk Through Belgrade

Starting at 12 PM, we gathered at the Main Post Office, the first location, and then continued walking while listening to the stories at different locations, including the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, the Hall of the Cultural Center of Belgrade, and finally concluded the walk at Atelje 212.

The first Festivity of Otherness as part of the Eclectic of Otherness project ended in Zagreb

From November 7 to 9, 2024, the first Festivity of Otherness was held in the theater venue of the Arterarij organization in Zagreb. As part of the festival, three performances from Serbia, France and Croatia premiered, and the festival is moving to Belgrade in December. The third location is Paris in January 2025.

The exhibition UKRAINE: LOVE + WAR (2014-2024) will be held in Belgrade from November 15 to 23

The Open Society Foundations – Western Balkans invites you to the opening of the exhibition UKRAINE: LOVE + WAR (2014-2024) which will take place on Friday, November 15, 2024 at 6 p.m. at the Europe House in Belgrade (Zmaj Jovina 8). The exhibition is inspired by the book of the same name published by FotoEvidence, which is a testimony of the devastating impact of Russian aggression on Ukrainian society, captured through the lenses of 95 international photojournalists.

We’ve developed toolkits for non-formal teaching about sound and light design and video operations in theatre!

During this year, we held three masterclasses for theatrical technicians in light and sound design and video operations within the Beyond Stage Mastery project. The masterclasses were led by experts Luigi Biondi, Alessandro Olla, Lazar Nikolić and Ivan Đurović. As a result of the masterclasses we’ve developed manuals as toolkits for non-formal teaching about sound and light design and video operations.

A three-day conference of the European network Fabulamundi – New Voices was held in the Heartefact House

From October 5 to 7, 2024, a three-day conference of the European network of playwrights Fabulamundi-New Voces was held in Heartefact House in Belgrade. After the meetings in Rome, Venice and Paris, Belgrade had the opportunity to host 19 playwrights from a dozen European countries and representatives of theaters and art organizations that are part of the network.

Showcase of the play “Doghouse” held in Zagreb as part of the EoO project

On Friday, September 27, 2024, at 8 PM, the showcase of the play “Doghouse” was held on the Arterarij stage in Zagreb. This was also the premiere of the play, performed by Anita Matić Delić, Dušan Gojić, Jelena Graovac Lučev, Nikola Nedić, and Davor Tarbuk, directed by Roman Nikolić. Around 40 people attended the premiere, making them the first audience to see the play, which is based on true stories of wartime sexual violence during the wars in the former Yugoslavia.

Showcase of the Play “They Have Already Gone” Held as Part of the EoO Project

On Sunday, September 29, 2024, a showcase of the play “They Have Already Gone” was held at the Heartefact House in Belgrade from 6 PM to 9 PM. The showcase was performed by actress Mirjana Karanović, actor Svetozar Cvetković, and Tara Manić. Around 30 people attended, including directors, actors, activists, dramaturges, and technicians, witnessing for the first time a unique audio experience and sound experiment that the director and authors have been testing during the months of rehearsals for the upcoming play.