International Peace Center Sarajevo - IPC Sarajevo
City Festival – creative design of the city
Ibrahim Spahić, art director of the Grad International Festival, which takes place from August 29 to September 21, 2023. said that this year's festival is a sign of creative shaping of the city by artists and citizens of Sarajevo.
"This year's festival is a sign of creative tattooing of the city, citizens and artists of Sarajevo and marking the most significant parts of what we call neighbourhoods, mahals. This is how we pass through what is our environment. In the program, we have opened numerous exhibitions in different galleries so far. We also had a number of other activities. The most important activity is that in Gimnazijska Street and the Campus of the University of Sarajevo, on the World Day of Peace on September 21, we will create a Mediterranean environment and send a message for life, freedom, peace and of course for the survival of humanity in the circumstances in which the world is today. Mrs. Violeta Selimović Huart, our violinist, will play compositions for 'Ulica snova', Štrosmajerova next Thursday, and Adis Lukač has created a phenomenal piece about Europe and Zeus that will confront the experience and reflections of the students he works with at the school of applied arts. Also, there will be a big piano concert by Zlatan Božut, as well as many other art and music events," said Spahić.
Adis Lukač, sculptor and professor at the art school, said that it will be interesting to see the reflections of young people on the environment in which they live.
"The painting - the representation of Europa and Zeus is an ancient theme, and this year at this festival, the goal is to reflect on this painting of mine, which was done on canvas, by the students, who will observe that painting and make their own works, sketches on the given theme and see we will see how they perceive the topic of Europe and Zeus today. It will certainly be extraordinary to see young people looking at this topic considering that they are living in a time of turbulence," said Lukač.
Violeta Smajlović Huart, a violinist from Sarajevo with an address in Paris, said that she will hold a short performance in Štrosmajerova street in Sarajevo.
"When I was growing up in Štrosmajerova Street, that street was called 'Dream Street', it looked different then, there were no restaurants. Moreover, today there is extremely loud music, and in the era when I was a child, there was the same music but of a different genre. My father is a composer of classical music, and my brother, Vedran and my sisters, we are all professional musicians and classical music was heard there day and night. I am extremely busy and happen to be in Sarajevo and when Ibrahim asked me to play, I agreed. It will be a short performance that we will do on the balcony, symbolically, and I will play my father's music like I used to, and I would play a few more short compositions," said Smajlović Huart.
Retrieved from: Peacebuilding Network
