Serbia’s Dispatch Festival says goodbye
Published March, 2011
by Easterndaze
Just as we delved into editing our Serbian audio material for the luverly Resonance FM, recollecting (at least aurally) our visit there in September 2010, the news about the demise of its digital arts festival Dispatch has hit the Facebook. In September, after having talked to the festival organizer Relja, there was no traces about the impending news. Dispatchers also do other projects, such as the Serbian-US music-tour ViceVerse, a radio show on Belgrade’s B92 radio, etc. The reason for the end of the festival is pragmatic – $$$.
“The (non)financing of the event in the last two years, as well as the paradox that this was the period in which the Dis-patch production has demonstrated strong capacity and potential with no feedback whatsoever, are just some of the reasons which added up to the decision of closing the festival down. For example, in 2009 Dis-patch has realized 45 different programs – most of them self-financed or with absolutely no official support – which goes way beyond the annual output of most of the Serbian cultural centers. The festival was "awarded” for these efforts by the rejection of all of its projects at the next Ministry of Culture open call for projects. In the context of the more recent political reality of Serbia, the even more recent senseless government “reconstruction” and the general social-political climate, there is too little hope that initiatives like this one can survive on any kind of “healthy roots”. Obviously even more so if they are aspiring to high professional and artistic values and standards. All of these facts combined are making the efforts around developing, or mere maintenance of such an event in Belgrade completely futile.“
More info here.