RITAM GRADA / RHYTHM OF THE CITY
BELGRADE YOUTH CENTRE Cult venue of youth and culture Apart from that, it gives young peo- ple the opportunity to personally meet some of today’s most impor- tant artists, and to experience con- temporary artistic and education- al practises and trends first-hand. The most important Yugoslav
D uring the 57 years of its existence, Dom Om- ladine Beograda, the Belgrade Youth Cen- tre, is an institution that has fulfilled its mission, but which also continues that mission of dedication primarily to young peo- ple and everyone who feels young in spirit. And being young in spir- it means being focused on creativ- ity and that which is new and yet to come. In that sense, the Belgrade Youth Centre has immeasurable im- portance in its position as the driver of cultural events in Belgrade, Serbia and the region, as the stronghold of a different view of reality and the venue where our country’s creative potential comes together. Always on a quest for new limits, ready to take on the impossible and courageous in discovering new possibilities, Dom Omladine has successfully organised tens of thousands of valuable cul- tural programmes, the best of which have forever changed the face of our area. Even more importantly, how- ever, is the fact that it enables, sup- ports and assists the young people of Belgrade and Serbia in express- ing and exposing themselves, and realising themselves in the most cre- ative ways, which exude freedom. From the city’s top rock ‘n’ roll dances of the ‘60s, via the Belgrade Jazz Festival, the boldest, midnight screenings of FEST, Marina Abramović, who had her first exhibition here, and the best Yugoslav films, to unforgettable concerts by everyone from EKV to Džoni Štulić and the Belgrade blues scene…
and Serbian artists, thinkers and politicians took their first profes- sional steps at the Belgrade Youth Centre. The world's most impor- tant musicians, actors, philoso- phers, poets, writers, performance artists, politicians and sociologists have been among its guests over the course of a history that dates back more than half a century. It was right here that some of the key events of the more recent cultural and social history of Belgrade and Serbia took place. It hosted some of the city’s best rock ‘n’ roll dances during the 1960s, the 1971 found- ing of the Belgrade Jazz Festival, FEST’s boldest, midnight screen- ings from the very beginning, Ma- rina Abramović, who had her first exhibition there, the best Yugoslav films that were always presented at the Little Pula. It was here that im- portant domestic rock 'n' roll con- certs became more frequent dur- ing the ‘80s, from EKV to Džoni Štulić; where the Belgrade blues scene found its home, the first SOS tele-appeal for victims of domestic violence was supported, and assis- tance was provided for the estab- lishment of youth television chan- nel OK… This 21 st century is a time of reconstruction for Dom Omladine, resulting in most programme ini- tiatives being focused on internal modernisation and upgrades – from the 2005 relaunch of the Belgrade Jazz Festival, via numerous new fes- tivals of film, music and theatre, and free workshops, to incentive forum programmes that develop social di- alogue under new circumstances.
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