[spectre] Kuda, Novi Sad, Serbia

[Nina Czegledy]

KUDA, Novi Sad, Serbia.
http://www.kuda.org
http://www.apsolutno.org

Kuda has opened its doors in July 2001 in Novi Sad, Serbia. Regular
programming began in December 2001 and since than over thirty events were
presented at Kuda. Three Kuda members Zoran Pantelic, Kristian Lukic and
Branka Curcic are involved in programming and a further seven work on the
coordination of the organization. A unique feature of a Kuda event is the
form
of audio/video documentation they use. This is facilitated by four small
video cameras which record simultaneously. The resulting data is archived
and becomes immediately accessible for public use. Among the outstanding
presentations Eric Kluitenberg came from the Balie, Amsterdam in July.
In September 2002, Geert Lovink (Sydney/Amsterdam) gave a lecture on The
Cult of Surveillance Paranoia. The Impact on New Media Networks  Also in
September, Andreas Broeckmann (Berlin)presented on Transmediale: Art plays
global. Konrad Becker's lecture in May was a preliminary event towards the
big world-information.org exhibition which will  be hosted by Kuda in 2003.

This interview was conducted by e-mail over the summer of 2002 with Zoran
and through discussions with Kristian and Branka on September 28, 2002 at
the Tranzindex symposium in Cluj, Romania.

Zoran Pantelic received his MA in sculpture from the Academy of Art in Novi
Sad. In 1993 with three others, they founded the apsolutno association
which became known worldwide. The list of projects and exhibitions of
apsolutno
is long and outside the framework of this brief report. Zoran began
preparatory work and negotiations regarding Kuda in 1998. This became a
reality after the political changes in 2000.


Nina Czegledy: Can you tell me about the structure of Kuda and the background
in the city of Novi Sad:

Zoran Pantelic: Kuda.org has three main segments: infocentre, kuda.lounge
and production. For the time being, the activities have focused on the
first two elements. Infocentre is a library/mediateque where people can
obtain information about the current developments in the field of new
technologies and art, exhibitions etc. This includes free internet access.
Kuda.lounge is a program of presentations and talks by guests from Serbia
and abroad. This program has been the most active, with over 30
presentations during the last year. The aim for the next year is to further
develop these two elements, and to start with the production segment.

Through the work of association apsolutno, we (its members) had an
opportunity to give presentations, visit and have contact with various
'first wave' media organizations (Public Netbase, V2, ZKM, Kiasma,
Ljudmila) and smaller centers such as mikro. This is how we realized that a
space devoted to new media is necessary in Novi Sad. I tried to initiate
such a place for a long time, but it was only possible to do it after the
political changes in 2000, when the new town authorities allocated a small
space for this purpose.

Novi Sad is the second largest city in Serbia and an important university
centre. The student body is the main target group of kuda.org. At the
moment, the audience is still small because of many reasons: the activities
and programs of kuda.org are publicized through e-mail, and this is not yet
widely available. The more important reason is that talking about new
technologies requires a certain level of technical literacy and an interest
in these issues. That is why one of the important goals of kuda.org is
developing both technological literacy and a critical attitude towards the
new media.

NC: Prior to establishing KUDA and continuing up to the present you have
been a founding member of Apsolutno. Can you to tell me about the
activities of apsolutno in more detail?.

ZP: Apsolutno is a collective of four members, which started in 1995 in
Novi Sad (www.apsolutno.org). At the moment, all the members live in
different countries (US, Hungary, Serbia) and the way we collaborate has
changed as it relies mostly on electronic communication. After five years
of extremely intensive work, the activities of apsolutno have somewhat
slowed down but this year we've had important exhibitions, including
Manifesta and Bigtorino. In November we are having a solo exhibition in the
Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade.

NC: Is Kuda connected to your apsolutno experience?

ZP: Absolutely. The apsolutno experience enabled me to meet great
personalities active in different spheres: artists, media activists,
theoreticians etc. many of them helped me with advice, support,
information, books etc. when I was establishing kuda.org. many of them were
also presenters in the kuda.lounge program. At the same time, the original
aims of apsolutno are still present in kuda.org, but now in a different
form, focusing on social and educational aspects.

NC: What are your future plans?

ZP: There are many plans: to continue with apsolutno work, to establish
kuda.org on a financially stronger basis, to develop production facilities,
to extend the network of collaborators and to reach greater audience. There
is great potential in Serbia at the moment which is not visible yet: many
creative young people who were completely invisible in the last ten years
are now coming on to the scene, kuda.org is open to them. One of the
biggest projects next year is the exhibition world.information.org,
produced by Public Netbase from Vienna, and shown in Brussels, Vienna,
Sydney, Amsterdam. Kuda.org is bringing this exhibition to Novi Sad and
Belgrade to promote the understanding of the new phenomena of the times we
live in."