Wall newspapers
In order to study different forms of action in the public space KURS association started wall newspapers in 2013, artistic and informative form through which promotes collaboration of artists with professionals from other fields. Through the wall newspapers (textually and visually) KURS aims to handle current issues in a broader social context.
First two issues were created in collaboration with Kontekst collective.
- We are now in a place called "Oktober" in Belgrade,00:00:00.620
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- where the "Wall Newspapers" project exposition is being currently displayed,00:00:03.178
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- made by "Kontekst" and "Kurs" Collectives00:00:06.824
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- within the project “Culture in Protest” organized by00:00:10.986
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- the “Independent Cultural Scene of Serbia” association.00:00:14.884
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- The exhibition features the first two issues of "Wall newspapers".00:00:20.700
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- The first one pertains to the matters of precarious work,00:00:24.942
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- while focusing on notions, such as00:00:28.500
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- flexibilisation, precarious work, self-exploitation, and so on,00:00:33.193
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- but these notions are not explained solely and exclusively00:00:40.310
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- through the viewpoint of a cultural worker and artist,00:00:45.060
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- because we wanted to present these new ways of00:00:50.995
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- labor which are being imposed to cultural workers00:00:55.630
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- and to lay them out in a wider context00:01:00.383
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- that refers to present changes00:01:03.190
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- in labor legislation in Serbia,00:01:08.025
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- which will introduce and00:01:10.700
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- enforce those precarious positions00:01:12.917
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- on a much larger scale in the future.00:01:16.157
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- We think it's important, firstly, to address00:01:21.168
- the artists and cultural workers00:01:25.290
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- and to seek the explanation of these notions in some way,00:01:29.142
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- and likewise to invite them to join in some manner00:01:32.524
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- this widespread struggle,00:01:37.019
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- along with the union members against00:01:39.022
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- already mentioned changes in labor legislation.00:01:42.804
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- The second issue mainly refers to the00:01:48.050
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- material conditions of artists and cultural workers.00:01:54.477
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- We tried to connect modern situation regarding this issue,00:01:57.943
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- with the situation in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during 1930s,00:02:06.182
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- to be more precise, with two concrete examples of struggles00:02:11.488
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- carried out by the artists.00:02:16.967
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- First example relates to the exhibition of the artist Mirko Kujačić00:02:19.506
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- who has read his manifesto during the opening ceremony of his exhibition,00:02:25.500
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- which is displayed here as archive material,00:02:29.278
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- wherein he denounced bourgeoisie concepts of art00:02:33.014
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- and urged the artists to incorporate their work and00:02:36.501
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- achievements in this broad working class struggle,00:02:42.658
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- in order to enable for themselves a better position.00:02:49.687
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- Second situation depicts further continuation of Mirko Kujačić’s struggle.00:02:54.245
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- But, that second time in 1936,00:02:57.880
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- he was not acting alone, because he has initiated together with a group00:03:02.172
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- known in those days as “Independent artists”,00:03:05.580
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- a boycott against the private association00:03:08.577
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- which had the sole right to an exhibition room for modern art in Belgrade in that period.00:03:12.174
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- They started a boycott in which they00:03:19.129
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- clearly defined the problems of their material condition,00:03:22.547
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- and the manner of exploitation exerted over them by that private association00:03:27.420
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- and they have also demanded for their position to be improved,00:03:32.101
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- and to redefine their working conditions00:03:35.525
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- and relation with this private association.00:03:39.179
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- This struggle ended with00:03:42.076
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- overtaking of the management of Association of Fine Artists in Belgrade,00:03:47.445
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- and it has also marked the beginning of00:03:55.471
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- self-organizing of fine artists in Serbia.00:03:59.400
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- Further result was achieved when those artists00:04:07.439
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- joined the revolutionary fight in the Second World War00:04:10.986
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- after which they have significantly00:04:14.868
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- improved the material condition of artists and cultural workers00:04:19.304
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- based on positive law regulations.00:04:22.781
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- Relying on these two examples we tried to00:04:28.716
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- show modern situation and to somewhat explain00:04:31.643
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- that present issue of precariousness of material condition00:04:34.700
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- of artists and cultural workers00:04:38.289
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- can not be resolved solely by means of appeal.00:04:42.016
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- It will not be resolved by adopting certain ministerial decisions,00:04:46.104
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- or through work of some political structures.00:04:51.122
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- The said material conditions can be improved only00:04:53.631
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- by means of struggle that one has to carry out,00:04:57.888
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- and that the former benefits that artists and cultural workers both have had,00:05:03.045
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- concerning the working position,00:05:08.409
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- were not God given ones, but they rather represented a result00:05:10.281
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- of a long-term struggle,00:05:12.931
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- that evidently needs to be reinitiated once again.00:05:15.661