Memorylab | Nevena Negojević

http://www.starosajmiste.info

www.fpi.rs

Current living place:
Belgrade, Serbia

Nevena Negojević

Forum for Applied history; current education: MA Cultural policy and management: Interculturalism and mediation in the Balkans (University of Arts Belgrade and Université Lyon 2, UNSCO chair)

Former activities:
- Associacione Trentino con i Balcani, curator and organisator of exhibition Bekim Fehmiu: Bogastvo izgubljeno u tišini/Richness lost in silent (within the project: Memories, dialogue and elaboration of conflicts)
- Assistant on project A Visit to Starom sajmištu (Kulturni centar Rex)

My organization:
Forum for Applied History (FAH) is a platform for knowledge production and public mediation of history. Through our activities we educate about the social and political potential of memory and historiography with idea that history can become a practical tool that affects the present, and that it can be used for emancipation and social transformation. Forum for Applied History< was founded in 2013 in Belgrade to create a sustainable structure for the activities of the initiative A visit to Staro sajmište / starosajmiste.info

Examples of concrete activities I have organized/am organizing in the field of “dealing with the past”:

Exhibition about Yugoslavian actor Bekim Fehmiu is a testimony of exceptional ethical, intellectual and humanistic attitudes that overcome the limitations of national cultures and borders. Bekim’s categorical refusal to belong to any national camp during the recent wars in the Balkans suggests different understanding of the issues of personal identity and belonging, but also points out the cultural unity of the Balkans, and the possibility of creating different and more positive relations in the region.The project A visit to Staro sajmište involved education about the crimes of fascism but also education regarding current policies and practices of remembering of World War II.

Through its activities FAH continue to encourage historical learning and public discourse about controversial, hidden or suppressed events in the past with the goal to enable all members of society to actively participate in the creation of a “history from below”

Concrete challenges I am facing in my “dealing with the past”-related work:

The historical interpretations of the events which marked the 20^th century in Balcans and the politics and practisies of remembrance are a frequent subject of political manipulation or a complete oblivion. Cultural policy (although there is no official state document regarding cultural policy, its framework is indicated by everyday practice) in Serbia but also in other countries in the region is torn between politics of preserving cultural identity that is based on the concept of nationality on the one side and neoliberal discourse on the other. In such circumstances policies and practices of remembrance are only defined within the concept of national identity.

My personal link to/interest for the topic of “dealing with difficult pasts”:
The last few years my activities were primarily focused on current policies and practices of remembering the past and on problem what position occupies cultural activities when it comes to dealing with the past in the Balkans. Whether culture actions and which kind of culture actions can make space for different and more complex interpretations of the past then the official ones and to be engaged in the process of deconstruction of concept of national-cultural identity.