Local art scene again this year at the Festival of Street Musicians
PARTICIPANTS CHOSEN FROM THE COMPETITION
The Festival of Street Musicians, which is going to be held for the 14th time in Novi Sad, from the 4th to the 6th September, in this edition as well, has remained open for presenting young and unestablished artists from the local and regional scene. After the competition for participation on the Festival, which was announced and realized this spring, the Art Council of the Festival chose ten art programs which will present the base for this years event, it was announced today at the press conference, held at the City Hall in Novi Sad.
Instead of the announced member of the City Council for Culture, Vanja Vučenović, the press were first addressed by the assistant director of the Tourist Organization of Novi Sad (TONS) for cultural tourism, Radovan Jokić, who emphasized the importance of the Festival of Street Musicians for tourism, but for the culture of the city as well.
– The Festival of Street Musicians has over these 14 years grown into a serious cultural event, with different forms of artistic expression, even with some contemporary forms of modern artistic concepts, which Novi Sad currently lacks – emphasized Jokic, adding that the Festival has considerably added to the cultural appeal of the city, but also the efforts of TONS to present it as a tourist offer.
During the competition for participants, which was announced via the Festival’s website and lasted from the 30th April to 15th June, applied again a great deal of artists and art programs from all over Serbia and the countries in the region. That kind of feedback is the effect of the affirmation which the artists usually achieve after performing on the Festival of Street Musicians, as some earlier performers did – Stereo Banana, Stray Dog or Zaa. The Art Council of the Festival considered all the submitted applications and chose the best art troupes, who will present their achievements on this years event, which is dominated by music.
Among the selected artists is the charming Belgrade violinist Jelena Urošević, who attracted media attention with her performance in the program “Ja imam talenat”. From the country’s capitol also comes the band Barka Dilo, withan ethno-cabaret musical performance. The colors of rhythm and blues will be defended by the ensemble – Jam Station, while also arriving from the South of Serbia is the reggae-ska band Proces, whereas one of the attractions of the assembly will also be the hip-hopers from Vršac, the Hoods. Modern crossover reggae and other music genres will arrive from Banja Luka with the performance of the band Sopot. The local Novi Sad scene will be presented by two quality bands: authentic street musicians Zabod Jam, who, along with guitars, use samplers, as well as the quartet of renowned musicians – the Acoustic Sharks, who nourish the high-art vocal and instrumental expression with a guitar, cello and percussions, led by the charismatic frontman Jovan Matić. Also, the Festival atmosphere will be completed with an interesting project of the Embassy of Indonesia in Serbia, project Bidadari, a mix of dance and song from this Far East people, while the visitors will also be able to see the illusionist show of the association Magical World from Belgrade.
The participants of the conference reminded of the previously announced Irish Night, dedicated to the traditional music and culture of Ireland, which will be held on the upcoming The Festival of Street Musicians on Friday, 5th September, in the Catholic courtyard in Novi Sad. That special program, as all the other events on the Festival of Street Musicians, will be, as before – free for all visitors, emphasized executive director of the Art Association “Inbox”, the organizer of the Festival, Natali Beljanski Popović.
– Even though the organization of the Festival is followed by a series of uncertainties this year as well, foremost related to finances, all of that is slowly being overcome with the help of our permanent beneficiaries, but also new friends, such as the Petroleum Industry of Serbia and Telekom Serbia. So, ahead of us is another beautiful and interesting festival, with a lot of foreign artists – said Beljanski Popovic reminding everyone that precisely promoting the cultural diversity through intercultural dialogue is one of the main goals of the organization of the Festival of Street Musicians.
The Festival of Street Musicians is organized by the Art Association “Inbox” from Novi Sad, with support from the City of Novi Sad, the Regional Secretary for Culture and Information, the United States Embassy in Belgrade and the Petroleum Industry of Serbia. The friend of the competition for participation on the Festival is Telekom Serbia.
