URBOGLYPHS – URBOTHEQUE: Alternative Forms of Heritage – Lectures and Film Screenings

The inscription of Urboglyphs into the Urbothèque of Trnje continues on Zagreb City Day, May 29, 2025, at 6 PM, with a series of expert lectures and an exclusive film program at the Zagreb Public Open University.

We begin with a captivating lecture by art historian Sandra Uskoković on “alternative forms of heritage“, followed by a powerful performative photo exhibition about Trnje by Boris Cvjetanović, and conclude with a flip-flop lecture by Stanko Juzbašić on “Sound and Music in Space“.

Following that will be the screening of two films:

• Gordan Lederer, Mojmir Konić and Sven Pepeonik – Muybridge&Co – ADU production, 1986, 5’ –
  
  Direction, camera, script: Gordan Lederer & Mojmir Konić / Film collaboration in direction, camera, and script: Sven Pepeonik / Editing: Reni Maleva / Trick cinematographer: Teofil Bašagić / Music supervisor: Vladimir Kos / Sound recording: Mladen Prebil / Short experimental film – 35mm
• Branko Ivanda – Gravitation or the Fantastic Youth of Clerk Boris Horvat, Jadran Film, 1968, 106’ –
  This subtle modernist cinematic study of the city, human relationships, and lost youth partly takes place in the building of the then Workers’ People’s University “Moša Pijade”, today the Zagreb Public Open University.

  Direction: Branko Ivanda / Script: Branko Ivanda, Alojz Majetić / Cinematography: Ivica Rajković / Music: Miljenko Prohaska / Editing: Lida Braniš / Set designer: Željko Senečić / Cast: Rade Šerbedžija, Snežana Nikšić, Zaim Muzaferija, Jagoda Kaloper, Đuro Rogina, Zdravko Pošta, Mustafa Nadarević, Jelica Lovrić, Fabijan Šovagović / Feature film – 35 mm

We thank the Croatian Cinematheque and Jadran Film for their support in making this program possible and extend special thanks to film director Branko Ivanda for his collaboration in preparing the program, and to Momir Konič and Sven Pepeonik for their support.

With this program on Zagreb City Day, we pay special tribute to the tradition of film programming in Trnje, where today there are no cinemas left, though there were once as many as four. From 1965 to 1982, the Workers’ People’s University “Moša Pijade” hosted a Film Club where numerous world films had their Croatian premieres. This is where films such as Repulsion by Roman Polanski, The Confession by Costa-Gavras and Yves Montand, The Tin Drum by Volker Schlöndorff, but also Olympia by Leni Riefenstahl and early experimental and documentary works by Karpo Godina, were first screened in Zagreb.

Biographies

Sandra Uskoković is an art historian specializing in modern and contemporary art of Central and Eastern Europe and is an Associate Professor at the University of Dubrovnik. She earned her Master’s degree from George Washington University (USA) and a PhD from the University of Zagreb. She has worked as a research associate at international institutions such as ICCROM, UNESCO, and US/ICOMOS, and has received prestigious research grants and awards, including those from the Graham Foundation, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, and Getty Trust. She is the author of four books dedicated to modern architecture and heritage as well as art in public and shared urban spaces. She has published numerous scholarly articles and participated in many national and international conferences. As a visiting lecturer, she has taught at universities across Europe, Asia, and North America. Her research interests include art criticism, architecture, cultural heritage, modern and contemporary art, urban and cultural theory, and performance art. She is a member of the International ICOMOS Committee on Modern Heritage and the International Committee of the College Art Association of New York. Since 2013, she has been an active member of the artistic platform Shadow Casters.

Stanko Juzbašić – After completing studies in electrical engineering and Portuguese language and literature, he graduated from the University of Zagreb in 1983. As a Fulbright scholar, he studied algorithmic composition at Columbia University Department of Music in New York (1996–97). As an independent artist, he has composed for over 80 stage, concert, and museum-gallery performances/installations throughout prestigious venues in Croatia and Europe, earning numerous awards and recognitions. He has written several open-source music education software programs, which are used at several U.S. universities. He collaborates on projects aimed at preserving Croatian 20th-century musical heritage. He is a member of the Croatian Association of Independent Artists. With Shadow Casters, he has collaborated on over 100 projects across more than 20 countries.

Boris Cvjetanović graduated from the Pedagogical Academy in Zagreb – Art Department. He worked as a restorer at the Croatian Conservation Institute, and later became a professional photographer. He has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world (Croatia, Europe, USA, Japan, Australia…). He is the recipient of several prestigious awards (1st Tokyo International Photo-Biennale ’95 in Japan, Grand Prix at the Croatian Photography ’97 exhibition, Homo Volans Award ’97) and is the author of the book Scenes Without Significance.

Boris Bakal is a creative producer, theatre and film director, actor, intermedia artist, social and cultural activist, interdisciplinary public historian, and head of the international artistic platform Shadow Casters. Over more than forty years of his career, he has created various projects presented and/or produced by festivals and events in over 20 countries around the world. Since 2001, he has led the Shadow Casters, an international artistic platform that has received numerous awards and recognition in Croatia and abroad, and in 2011 he founded the Frooom! film school for children and youth.

The Urboglyphs–Urbothèque project is supported by the City of Zagreb through the “Culture and Art in the Community” program, in partnership with the Zagreb City Libraries (DK “Marin Držić”, GK “Ivana Gorana Kovačića”, GK “Savica”), Zagreb Center for Independent Culture and Youth – Pogon, State Archives – Croatian Cinematheque, Zagreb Public Open University, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Local Committee Savica, Zagreb Film, and Jadran Film, and invites interested citizens and professionals to engage through workshops, panels, film screenings, Open Offices, lectures, urban tours, and film shoots and AV installations.

More about the entire “Urboglyphs–Urbothèque” program: https://bacaci-sjenki.hr/projekti/urboglifi-urboteka/

Project participants include, among others, Goran Trbuljak, Damir Radić, Bojana Burnać, Nikica Gilić, Jadran Boban, Sandra Uskoković, Nikola Strašek, Sara Simić, Iva Rosandić, Leo Vukelić, Stanko Juzbašić, Saša Vojković, as well as numerous citizens, students, pupils, and teachers from Trnje.

The project was conceptualized and coordinated by Boris Bakal, and the project design was created by Ivan Klisurić.

Shadow Casters are a multi-award-winning and acclaimed international artistic and production platform for interdisciplinary collaboration, creativity, and exploration of intermedia arts. They successfully weave together international cooperation, film, theatre performances, urban intermedia projects, activism, educational work, video art, and curatorial practice into a unified artistic activity. Over their 19 years of work and public engagement, they have completed over 500 professional international collaborations, 90 educational, theatre, and film projects and events. Their projects address political and cultural issues connected with local community challenges. They have been active in Zagreb, the Republic of Croatia, and abroad since 2001.