820.000 dinars were paid from the city budget for the organization of the ceremonial academy "National Capital of Culture in 2026" Leskovac, reports Jugpres. A little more than that was given for the renovation of the classrooms of a school, but that is another topic.
Academy
The formal academy was held on April 23 on the occasion of the official start of the year in which Leskovac will be the National Capital of Culture. It was held in the Cultural Center, in the presence of Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković, Mayor Goran Cvetanović, Metropolitan and Archbishop of Nis Arsenija, as well as numerous dignitaries from public and political life.
It was held without any lighting or other effects, it was a classic one-and-a-half-hour cultural and artistic program in which the actors of the National Theater Leskovac, the women's choir "Stars", the dance couple of the "Step" school, the male vocal ensemble "Libero" and the chamber quartet "Amorozo" with soloists participated. The city estimated that it costs RSD 820.000.
400 million for the Capital of Culture
Before declaring the Year of Culture open, Minister Selaković boasted to the academy's dignitaries that Leskovac would receive "almost 400 million dinars", of which the Ministry of Culture allocates about 300 million dinars through two-year co-financing, and the city of Leskovac a little more than 100 million dinars".
On the first week of May, the Capital of Culture Leskovac offered the following program: a free tour of the Caričin grad site, a table tennis tournament in the Grdelica House of Culture, National Museum Day, an exhibition of sculptures by Slobodan Popović Pop, a conversation with a writer in the Leskovac Cultural Center, and a play Second-hand cars at the National Theatre.
It is obvious that none of what was offered was done specifically for the Capital of Culture, that these are existing programs, and that there are some that have nothing to do with culture.
The Minister insults the people of Leskovac.
Nenad Zdravković, councilor of the Citizens' Group "Za Leskovac Zajedno" believes that the Minister of Culture insulted the people of Leskovac, who described the program of the event as "culture for all the senses", through the "smell of barbecue, ajvar and frying".
"Leskovac deserves to be represented by people who have credibility and respect its cultural traditions," said Zdravković, and that the team creating the Capital of Culture program has experience in culture. He emphasized that, apart from the director of the National Museum, Nebojša Dimitrijević, no one else has it, and listed that Bojan Marčić graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture, that Vlada Kostić is an engineer in landscape architecture, and that Brankica Stamenković is a geographer.
Plans
Leskovac is the fourth National Capital of Culture since Maja Gojković, former Minister of Culture, founded this event. Except Čačak, Uzice i Zrenjanin did not achieve a majority announced programs and they did not even explain whether they received the promised budget or what happened to it.
That is why it is not bad to state what is planned for Leskovac on the first day of the year in which it is the Capital of Culture.
Mayor Goran Cvetanović announced a rich cultural program, including guest appearances by world-renowned artists, a performance by Robbie Lakatoš, as well as a concert by Dave Wakel, he highlighted the exhibitions of works by the greats of Serbian art Paja Jovanović, Uroš Predić and Cuca Sokić, and as one of the most significant events, he announced the first exhibition of paintings Kosovar girl outside Belgrade.
In addition to cultural contents, significant investments in infrastructure were also announced - Minister Selaković spoke about them.
Future Music School
He announced the reconstruction and conversion of the Army House into a multifunctional concert hall into a modern center, equipped with the most modern stage and audio-visual equipment, in order to be the carrier of the cultural life of that part of Serbia. Then, the adaptation of the conference hall within the National Museum in Leskovac.
"Then digital projects such as the 'Line of Memory' with the aim of returning to the old Leskovac, imagined through a walk through its main street which was a victim of the Allied bombing in 1944 and the erection of a monument to King Milan Obrenović, the liberator on the occasion of the important jubilee of the 150th anniversary of the liberation of Leskovac and the return of these parts of Serbia to the protection of his mother," Selaković added.
Home of the Army
The repurposing of the Army House was planned earlier, independently of the Capital of Culture, so now it was convenient to use it.
Let us remind you that at the beginning of May 2024, the then Minister of Culture Maja Gojković and the then Minister for Public Investments Marko Blagojević signed an agreement with the leaders of Leskovac on the conversion of the Army House into a City Concert Hall and Music School.
Photo; Southern NewsSigning of the contract for the Army House
On that occasion, it was said that most of the works will be financed with loans from the Development Bank of the Council of Europe, around 2,5 million euros, while the City will invest 10 million dinars. Six months later, a tender for the execution of the works was announced. The estimated value of the documentation, without performing the works, is estimated at 1.833.333 dinars without VAT.
This February, the City Committee of Serbia Center Leskovac explained in detail the story of the Army House in a statement, including that "the project has not moved on."
And yet, the statement says, the facility is formally secured. "There is information that a few years ago, the City allocated over two million dinars annually for the security of this facility." There is a "contract, according to which until a year ago, the company of the president of the city assembly, Aleksandar Đurović, was engaged in security work for the Army House."
The contract exists, but not the guards, the statement says. Because, they say, no one guards the Army House.
Monument to King Milan
Of all the announcements made by Minister Selaković, it seems that the monument to King Milan will be the first to be realized.
Public procurement is in progress, and by May 22, it will be known whose and which conceptual solution has been chosen, as well as who will be the contractors.
The plan is for the sculpture to be a maximum of eight meters high, 2,2 x 4 meters wide, and for King Milan to be on horseback, to be unveiled in December, and to cost 340.000 euros.
The people of Leskov still think, with all due respect to the king, that there is no reason why his monument should be in their town.
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