Collective ŠKART | Artists in Residence | Kamov Residency

Collective ŠKART

The experimental design/art collective Škart (Dragan Protic and Djordje Balmazovic) was founded in 1990 at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade. The word škart in Serbian means trash; the name is a succinct allusion to this collective’s approach to making and distributing their creative endeavors. Using vernacular or intentionally humble media, Škart has infiltrated the most unconventional settings and engendered unorthodox community-based collaborations. Coming of age during the 1990s wars in Yugoslavia their work addressed traumatic social issues in compassionate and often self-deprecating ways. While experimenting through their work, they focus primarily between the medium of poetry and design "Architecture of the human relationships" is their main concept. Through the constant flux within the collective, present since its very beginning, members collaboratively work to develop new values. They are particularly capable through the process of making, to embrace 'beautiful' mistakes and tirelessly strive to combine work with pleasure.

Poetree, training in active poetry

11.07.-11.08.2011.

Poetree, atraining in active poetry – performance within the Hartera festival 2011. 

Poetree - training in active poetry, every month gathers poets that are outside of the main literary scene. The concept is based on self-regeneration – poets recommend other poets, that opens up an entire new gate towards unknown (un-shown) creativities and readiness for action and communication. Poetree has been performed in Vranja, Leskovac, Zagreb, Riga, London, Pančevo, Novi Sad, and last year it organized a workshop of poetry slam.

During each Poetree a new book of poems is handed out to the audience, as a part of the Poetree Editions that is designed and published by Škart. These books are financed with the money collected from tickets (a symbolical 100 dinars is approximately 1 Euro) from previous performances. Since 2012., in addition to regular Poetree events, Škart also organizes Poetree for children that gives the youngest poets and musicians an opportunity to express themselves. The programme itself starts with a starter-group that plays two songs. Then follow two rounds. In each round perform poets who have previously applied to read their poems, songwriters-performers and everyone that have something to say. The intermission is reserved for accidental poets – those who didn't apply in time or those who spontaneously walked in. In the end, after an hour - hour and a half long programme, a band performes 3 or 4 songs.

Besides poetry, Poetree welcomes various forms of expression: comic books, animations, short films, performances, music, … Established performers/authors, as well as up-and-coming illustrators are welcomed to cooperate and enrich Poetree performances. Poetree is a platform that gives the opportunity to established artists as well as (much more often) newcomers a chance to show their work. In addition to the performers on the stage, Poetree enters into dialogue with the audience, provokes reaction and engages the performers and the audience thus creating a common ground for creation and insight. 

Poetree is open towards a wide spectrum of individuals and social, age, attitudes and culture groups. Poetree represents a new mode of performing poetry that avoids the usual, academic, isolated and elitist approach. In its open approach, it goes beyond traditional framework and finds a way to reach hidden potentials far away from the mainstream, often not accessible and not attractive to most performers. Poetree opens up spaces for voices that would otherwise probably stay invisible and that are a huge potential for exchange, movement and impulse for creative shaping of reality by the strength of unpretentious thought.

The Other Sea

→ www.drugo-more.hr

The Other Sea / Drugo more is a nonprofit organization that works in the field of culture. Most of their programs are thematic and they try to explore certain topics of social interest, producing an artistic and theoretical program that gives further insight in the topic. Also, they are continually facilitating an exchange of information between local and international artists, experts, students, and audiences. In reality, that means their main activities are visual and performing arts production, promotion, implementing research in the field of culture, and organizing participatory and educational events such as conferences and seminars