Miljena Vučković is a Scenic & Spatial Designer, as well as Entertainment Industry Professional from Novi Sad, Serbia, with a background in Architecture. Her main interest and common topic of all work is Space, its performative qualities and mutual influence with humans, which she explores through various activities, approaches and methods.
During previous years, she gained significant professional experience, working on projects various in style and scale: theatre plays, performances, movies, music videos, corporate events, but also theoretical studies, spatial interventions and installations, exhibition design, commercial events organisation and sets, etc., which all equipped her with a diverse knowledge and skills set. As experiential designer, she successfully connects fields of set design and production, organisation and creativity. She is looking forward to exploring (modern) opera practices, ballet set designs and space for dance and movement, as well as light scenography and puppetry (for adults as well as children).
For almost a decade now, she serves as a vice president in “Scenatoria” – Organisation that deals with officially protected, in reality abandoned and neglected built heritage through “staging” (performative) arts in those spaces, education about these fields (walks, publications, workshops, etc.) and supporting efforts in renewing heritage. This work made her curious about site-specific productions, particularly mixed forms / performance, acting, dance, singing, video projections, VR, MR, and others. She believes that this topic and opportunity are not enough explored, which she intends to commit to more in the future.
Miljena is particularly interested and experienced in production of large scale cultural events and site-specific spatial interventions in urban and heritage locations, interdisciplinarity in programing. She offers expertise in the topics like presentation of space and space as context of presentation, mutual influence of people, space and stories, connecting past and present through cultural activities, historical locations / heritage activation and interpretation, improvement and interpretation of city through art in public / open spaces, and related; In the future, she hopes to reach proficiency in reclaiming and democratisation of the common space, involvement of local citizens, spatial politics and participatory urban planning. Consequently, she is interested in decentralisation of cultural offerings, spatially and socially, and empowering of the local scene and grassroot organisations.
The Culture of Crisis
This text / presentation intends to explore culture in almost permanent state of crisis – from its origins (at least in time, if not causes), to its normalisation and acceptance as regular condition to live and work in. Or (e)migrate and search for (professional) fulfilment somewhere else …
The presentation will glance over topics like current state of affairs – competitions and open calls for project funding that are always late and that gradually destroy both institutional and independent scene, cancelling manifestations, festivals, events, etc. with decades long tradition and creating (manufacturing) new traditions that are “more true, old and traditional” than existing, including huge events and one-time plays / performances / spectacles with task and aim to claim various importances throughout history: important role in Roman Empire history and heritage, crucial role in orthodox christianity, and many more.
National identity is being forged and adjusted, decorated and enriched through these projects, so no expense is too high, and no criticism allowed.
Media is ever more occupied and controlled, resulting in many problematic things, including fabricated artistic and cultural success supported by the government that overshines real and organic success on international scene.
Artists that publicly support the system and ruling party are being supported in their work, while others are ignored – in the best scenario, to being removed from their jobs and positions, all the way to being publicly targeted and proclaimed as traitors, making them possible victims of threats and violence.
This text will not try to answer the eternal questions – which influences are more dangerous and with stronger consequences: short and strong, intensive and violent, or long and slow, with almost permanent effects?! Degradation from within – “inside jobs” like political / party employment, removal of experts and cancelling export positions, lack of knowledge transmission through generations, etc., or attack from the outside – small budgets, discreditation of independent cultural workers and scene, changing places of culture into spaces of commerce, turning cultural programs into pure entertainment, etc.
In 2024, a legislation that requires a minimum of 20% of “high-quality” programs – meaning educational, scientific, cultural and program for children and youth – for TV stations with national coverage is abandoned, making the already present practice of kitsch and just commercial programs now legal. Cultural programs produced by national television are either historical and close to propaganda, or something that can not raise too many questions, not referring to the present in any (critical) way, and, thus, benign.
Instead of conclusion, this text will particularly look at the theatre and try to list some of the consequences. There is no space for experiment or mistake, due to lack of money, visible through very short processes and small teams, treatment of young artists as long-term
volunteers (or, otherwise, not true artists), fees only for performance and not rehearsals, etc. This allows for spending money on spectacles mentioned above, and for an illusion of cultural production – in fact hyperproduction of cheap projects with minimal costs.