Migrations – refugees – avant-garde of the 21. century

At the two-day symposium-situation, organized on 10 and 11 December by Projekt Atol in cooperation with the Slovenian Theater Institute and dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide, we contextualized social responses to current and past refugee crises. We held a conversation about the common destiny of current and future citizens of Europe and the new identities that are being established at critical moments in history.

The first day of the symposium-situation was dedicated to the historical continuation of the contemporary context; twenty years after the end of the wars in the former Yugoslavia we were again faced with a tragedy that some consider the worst exodus since World War II. We  shed light on the topic with contributions of representatives of pertinent institutions and engaged individuals, as well within moderated talks.

On the second day, the main guest Hasan Nuhanović, a former translator of the peacekeeping forces in Srebrenica and one of the genocide survivors, presented an autobiography entitled Zbijeg, which talks about three years of Srebrenica hell. The discussion of the book also served as a starting point for reflection on the place and role of the topic discussed within theater and performative practices. We dedicated ourselves to this the contributions of some prominent names of Slovenian theater, and also invited representatives of the younger generation to participate and present their own views.

Along with the symposium-situation we presented the installation Territory 1995 – Evidence (2006-2010) by Marko Peljhan and published a collection of articles by participating participants and other authors.

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Participants of the symposium-situation with their contributions, their proceedings or interventions: Aleš Debeljak, Nikolaj Jeffs, Lana Zdravković, Tanja Lesničar Pučko, Boris Vezjak, Tomaž Mastnak, Miha Blažič N’toko, Draga Potočnjak, Robert Bobnič, Aldo Milohnič, Zala Dobovšek, Goran Injac, Mitja Velikonja, Miha Andrić, Vlasta Jalušić, Nenad Jelesijević, Marko Bulc, Hasan Nuhanovič, Esad Babačič, Marcel Štefančič Jr., Boštjan Videmšek, Damjan Slabe, Ciril Jazbec, Žan Žveplan, Jan Krmelj, and AGRFT students.