The results of the competition of the Secretariat for Culture have been published Vojvodina for co-financing projects.
Until now, years ago, party affiliation and obedience to the regime were more important criteria than artistic ones, but at least there were both. However, this year, the commissions that decided on new plays, books, festivals... did not even bother to hide their intention to act according to the rules - my money and my choice to whom I will give it, and not to those who openly or indirectly supported the student and civil protests.
According to that criterion, this year the Province will not help with a single dinar Sterijino posorje, Exit, Academy of Arts, Shakespeare Festival and similar symbols of Serbian culture.
Sterijino posorje
So, for example, there is no more important festival of national drama in Serbia than Sterija's theater. It has just been held for the 70th time. Until this year, the Province was always his co-financier - last year, for example, they received 2,5 million.
The reason given by the current competition commission for not helping them is the following: "the funds required for the implementation of this type of project exceed the possibility of financing in this competition". It doesn't seem very convincing. Especially since before that, in the same explanation, the same commission writes that Pozorje "contributes to the affirmation of stage art because it represents the highest quality theater productions."
Would the Province have money for this festival this year if the ensemble of the play "Saint George Slays the Dragon" of the Yugoslav Drama Theater had not appeared with red palms at its opening? Or that Goran Marković's "Belgrade Trio" was not declared the best performance?
Then: there was no money for the 74th Festival of Professional Theaters of Vojvodina because "due to the limited funds of this competition, priority was given to other projects", the projects of the Academy of Arts were rejected because they did not have "a greater degree of influence and the quality of the cultural life of the community itself, for the New Fortress Theater there are not enough funds in the competition budget, as well as for the 12th Shakespeare Festival, the 31st Festival of Ecological Theater for Children in Bačka Palanka, the 11th Festival Theater without Borders in Senta, student theater, as well as for many awards, and not to mention more.
Vaudeville from the monastery
However, it was 950.000 dinars, which is one of this year's larger amounts, for the vaudeville show "Bad and Princess in the Monastery" with which the NGO Music and Harmony based in Milesevo, founded on January 15 this year, just before the competition was announced, competed. The commission assessed that "it has a greater degree of influence on the quality of the cultural life of the community."
For the sake of comparison, the 33rd Theater Marathon in Sombor, i.e. the festival, received only 600.000 dinars.
The highest amount this year was awarded to the Belgrade Dance Festival, five million dinars, although it is only partially held on the territory of Vojvodina - this year three performances were performed at the Serbian National Theater in Novi Sad.
The above examples were related to the contest intended for stage activities, and the same was the case with the results of the contest for other fields. Exit Festival, a European brand, did not receive support. The Commission recognizes that they are significant and important, but still there is no money for them.
Publishers
Not a single publisher and bookseller who responded to the student call for a general strike in January and March passed the competition for literary creativity.
The Province had the most money, 7,5 million, for Studio Bečkerek, for four photomonographies, among which is the "Photomonograph of Vojvodina" by the current adviser to the mayor of Novi Sad, Petar Đurđev.
It is followed by "Pravoslavna reč" with 7,1 million for two historical books and participation in the Belgrade Book Fair. It was, let's remember, a competition for literary creativity.
All the "Academic Book" projects were rejected, including the first volume of "Correspondence, Letters to Sonja" by Aleksandr Tišma, then Zoran Stojanović's publishing house, "Agora", "Partisan Book", "Nojzac", the magazine "Sveske", and so on. Maja Čeremidžić Šainović, a member of the City Council for Culture, was also in the three-member commission, although commissions should be politically neutral.
The Belgrade organization "Belezza Serbia" will receive 1,180.000 dinars from the provincial treasury. According to the Novi Sad portal 021, this is the daughter of the opera singer and MP of the Serbian Progressive Party Ljubica Vraneš.
