Numerous exhibitions, festivals and other events will mark July in Novi Sad, and if you plan to visit Novi Sad during this month, or simply stay in your city, we bring you a touch of culture that will be a real refreshment during hot days. July will be marked by two programme arches in the European Capital of Culture, the current Fortress of Peace, as well as The Danube Sea from the second half of the month. We highlight only some of the suggestions for you, and we invite you to regularly follow our calendar on the website to keep up to date with all the happenings in the city. As always, we have suggestions for all ages and for everyone’s taste.

Laibach: Wir sind das Volk

The legendary Slovenian avant-garde band Leibach is coming to the European Capital of Culture with the Wir sind das Volk (We Are the People) musical, and will perform at the Veterans’ Home on 2 July as part of the Fortress of Peace programme arch. The performance will be a real musical and stage experience inspired by the provocative postmodern dramaturgical works of Heiner Müller. The controversy of this band was recognized at the world level, especially when in 2015, despite media and political pressure, they performed in the capital of North Korea as the first western band in that country. Laibach later made a film, Liberation Day, about their experience in one of the most conservative countries in the world. With this move, they shook the world public once again. The English press declared them the most dangerous group in the world, while New York radio declared them the band that breaks countries and creates new ones. Since their founding in 1980, they have played more than 1,000 concerts all over the world, travelled and performed dressed in the uniforms of the Yugoslav army, and now they are coming to the European Capital of Culture to give us more than an hour and a half of ‘fresh, current and balanced German-Slovenian-Serbian patriotic satisfaction.’

Exhibitions in the European Capital of Culture

A respite during the hot summer days and a real cultural treat is a visit to the exhibitions in the European Capital of Culture, which are not lacking even during July. On the first day of July, the Svilara Cultural Station will be the centre of the Open Process, an exhibition that will last until 28 July, and will present the post-war East German reality, especially in the province of Saxony: the history of migration, the continuity of right-wing and racist violence, the National Socialist underground, but also resistance to repressive methods and policies. The following day, 2 July, the exhibition From Nosie to Sound, which is completely in the spirit of the Fortress of Peace programme, opens in the Museum of Vojvodina. Novi Sad sculptor Nikola Macura will exhibit his musical instruments, which are unique for being made of military waste. Thus, the exhibition takes a critical look at the past wars from these areas, the consequences we still feel. In this manner, the noise characteristic of war operations is translated into creation, into musical sound. After visiting the exhibition, we suggest you to visit the exhibition reCAPITULATION, which will be opened at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina on 3 July. Through the exhibition, we will look at three decades of Led art, through photos, videos and performances, and we will also try to find an answer to the question of how art has changed over the past 30 years.

Based on the belief that museums are a kind of fortress of peace and bridges that connect and unite us, the Gallery of Matica Srpska and the National Art Museum in Timișoara will implement a very unusual exhibition, combining their rich collections and drawing parallels between artists, topics, ideas and artistic visions of the former common cultural space. We will discover what unites Novi Sad and Timişoara through the Parallelsexhibition, which will be presented in the Gallery of Matica Srpska from 8 July as part of the Fortress of Peace programme arch. Use the first half of July to visit the In Search of Europe exhibition, which is open until 17 July at Belgrade Quay, Quay of the Victims of the Raid and Sunny Quay. During the Fortress of Peace programme arch, the European Capital of Culture invites you to other exhibitions that are well underway, and which you may not have had the opportunity to visit. Our recommendation is Partisan and Fragonard. Collection of Jovanka Broz’ in the Gallery of Matica Srpska, find out who were heroines of modern art at the exhibition ‘Heroines of the Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection’ which, extended, lasts until 15 July . On the way to Štrand, stop by the Creative District and visit the interesting interactive exhibition Media Labyrinth, as well as the exhibition in the Open Air Gallery at the Suba’s Plateau – Imaginary Borders.

The finale of the Fortress of Peace programme arch will also be marked by the archeological exhibition A Neolithic Night’s Dream, which, in partnership with the National Museum from Belgrade, will be opened in the Museum of Vojvodina on 15 July. The rich archaeological heritage of our country, which testifies to the life of people during the Neolithic period, will be presented at the exhibition. The authors of the exhibition are Lidija Balj, MA (Museum of Vojvodina) and Andrej Starović (National Museum).

In the Theatre… Mephisto

One of the most significant events within the Fortress of Peace programme, which will close this year’s theatre season of the oldest Serbian theatre – the Serbian National Theatre – is the Mephisto play, which will premiere on 12 July at 8 p.m. Returning to the repressive and totalitarian context of pre-war and wartime Germany, the play was based on the novel of the same name by the German writer Klaus Mann. The story of the actor Hendrik Höfgen (as Klaus called Gründgens in his novel), and the rise in life that is achieved at any cost, is staged for the first time at the Serbian National Theatre by director Haris Pašović. The play Mephisto will bring together over 40 actors and actresses, along with the greats of the Serbian theatre – Mirjana Karanović and Miodrag Krivokapić, who will be on the stage of this theatre again after 30 years, side by side with the young Aljoša Đidić in the lead role, the lead actress of this theatre, Gordan Đurđević Dimić, and many other members of the ensemble.

EXIT Festival

The world famous Exit festival, one of the symbols of this city, will be held from 7 to 10 July, for the 22nd time in the European Capital of Culture, and as before, some of the world’s most important artists will arrive in Novi Sad. Reserve the second weekend of July for a collision of good energy and sound that will ‘rock’ from the Petrovaradin Fortress. On some of the 40 stages that will be set up at ‘Đava’, the first to set foot are Calvin Harris, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Iggy Azalea, James Arthur, Masked Wolf, ZHU and others, as well as a strong regional line-up led by Konstrakta, Senidah, Prti Bee Gee, Marčelo, Bojana Vunturišević, etc. Find the programme and ticket info on the festival’s official website..

Concerts

The first weekend of July will also be marked by a great concert by the regional singer-songwriter Petar Grašo, who is coming to Novi Sad again to entertain the audience with his hits ‘Ako te pitaju’, ‘Voli me’ and others. Don’t miss his performance on 3 July starting at 9 p.m. at Prague Resto Bar at Spens. The legendary rock group Riblja Čorba also missed socializing with the Novi Sad audience, so their concert awaits us on 16 July at 8:30 p.m. on the roof terrace of TC Promenada. Lovers of rock sound will enjoy a musical spectacle to remember, and at this performance Riblja Čorba will play songs from the upcoming, yet untitled album.

Novi Sad, the city of classical music, during the month of July, and as the finale of the Fortress of Peace, brings us two fantastic concerts that you should not miss. First, we will listen to the philharmonic orchestra For New Bridges, which will perform Overture for Peace – a composition specially made for this occasion, together with musicians from Austria, Hungary, Italy, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The concerts is scheduled for 16 July at 8:22 p.m. In this manner, we will mark the Treaty of Karlowitz and express hope for the peace of the new millennium and send a message of peace to future Europe. This unique international philharmonic will then introduce us to the ‘new world’ by performing Dvořák’s ‘Symphony no. 9’ in E minor. Afterwards we move to the Creative District, where we will listen to the Piano Trinity: Vasil Hadžimanov – Bojan Zulfikarpašić – Matija Dedić concert implemented by the Music Youth of Novi Sad, starting at 10:20 p.m. We will enjoy the music of these three artists of brilliant performing abilities and careers. Through music that unites the incompatible, knows no borders, rejoices in differences and accepts them as an opportunity for mutual growth, these three musicians will promote the values of intercultural dialogue, togetherness, understanding and reconciliation.

Movie Saga about Novi Sad

The finale of the Fortress of Peace programme arch will also be marked by an epic film saga that defines Vojvodina and the city of Novi Sad as a place where Serbian culture and tradition are most closely intertwined with European ideals and challenges of the time – Liberta – The Birth of a City, which will be premiered at the Petrovaradin Fortress on 17 July at 9 p.m. For the first time in history, Novi Sad is getting a film that talks about the origin and birth of the city, as well as the relationships that were established among the residents, and remain a model of behaviour even today – above all, togetherness, coexistence and tolerance. Screenwriter and director Žanko Tomić describes the film as a political thriller that talks about the circumstances that led to the creation of the Liberation Charter. An event you definitely shouldn’t miss!

It’s Time for Acrobatics!

The renowned French acrobatic ensemble Les Voyages will hold two circus performances as part of The Danube Sea programme, and we strongly recommend that you mark 22 July and (or) 23 July in your calendar and take the children to Štrand, where you will enjoy the amazing performances of talented acrobats who defy gravity.

Novi Sad Children’s Summer

The city of culture brings to the little ones another Novi Sad BIG Children’s Summer, implemented by the Novi Sad Children’s Cultural Centre. The event held in more than 20 locations throughout the city, under the slogan ‘Pannonian Symphony’. Don’t miss to give your loved ones a memorable experience and take them to some of the numerous cultural and artistic events – workshops, shows, performances by children’s choirs, etc. During the next two months, the youngest citizens of Novi Sad, aged 4 to 14, will have the opportunity to spend their summer vacation having fun and creative way, and we suggest you to read the detailed programme on this link.

Summer in the Gallery Square

Fill the summer months with a dose of culture at Gallery Square, because every Thursday in the evenings, during July and August, you can expect attractive events that show the diversity of world and national cultural heritage and the importance of its preservation. Museum institutions in GallerySquare – Gallery of Matica Srpska, Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection and Rajko Mamuzić Gift Collection will revive the core of Novi Sad with their rich programme, and we recommend that you follow the calendar of events on the websites of the mentioned cultural institutions.

Author : Marina Marić

Photo: Jelena Ivanović, promo ECoC