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Recent data indicates that the cultural heritage of the Ottoman Era in the Balkans is threatened, and that ethnic and religious conflict continues to threaten the region. ‘A Balkan Tale’ addresses these issues: it aims to stimulate public discourse about the history of the Balkans, to promote a sense of common history based on religious and ethnic co-existence, and to contribute to the public access and preservation of its cultural heritage. It is a cross media project based on an exhibition of 50 specially commissioned photographs of Muslim, Christian and Jewish monuments in the Balkans, shot by five award winning photographers from Athens, Belgrade, Prizren, Skopje and Tirana. The photographs are accompanied by texts written by a team of historians across the region, a documentary, a sound walk, an installation of perfumes of the Ottoman era, and a colour catalogue, available for sale in English in exhibition venues. Visitors can use QR-codes to connect their smartphones to the website, to access further information and photographs.
The PhotographersJutta Benzenberg studied photography at the Bayerische Staatslehranstalt für Photographie in Munich. She traveled to Albania in 1991 for the first time to shoot photographs of the unrest. Since then, Jutta has exhibited her work in Germany, France, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Romania and Albania. The publication of her work has been sponsored by the Swiss foundations Pro Helvetia and DEZA, and published by Fotohof. She has recently worked for Unicef and other Ngos and divides her time between Albania and Germany.
Ivan Blazhev was born in Skopje in 1974. He has studied filmmaking at Brooklyn College (USA) and photography at the Academy of Arts of Novi Sad (Serbia). He has worked in the film industry between 1996 and 2000, and has been immersed in photography since 2001. He has exhibited his work at local and international venues. In 2008, his project Macedonia Dreaming was part of “Beyond Walls – Eastern Europe after 1989” at the Noorderlicht Photo Festival in the Netherlands. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Art and Design at the European University, Skopje. Samir Karahoda was born in 1977 in Prizren. In 2003, he graduated from the University of Mimar Sinan (Faculty of Fine Arts – Dpt of Photography) in Istanbul. He lives and works in Kosova as a freelance Photographer, light designer and cinematographer. He has worked for “Narphotos” as a photojournalist, in Istanbul, lectured at the Institute of Photography and Film “Gjon Mili” and at the “Charlie Chaplin” Film School in Prishtina. He is a curator at the International Documentary and Short Film Festival “Dokufest” in Prizren and has had four personal exhibitions in Kosova and abroad. Kamilo Nollas was born in Paris in 1968. He studied photography in Athens, Lyon and Liège. Based in Athens since 1996, he works as a freelance photographer and a photography teacher. In 2007 his solo show “Tobacco Factories” travelled to 9 Greek Cities, Paris and Istanbul, while the catalogue was among the “100 best books” of 2007 by PhotoEspaña. In 2009-10, he received a Fulbright Scholarship and lived in NYC. In 2011, he presented “Mobile in NY” (curated by Fred Ritchin) at the Benaki Museum, Athens. Ivan Petrovic was born in 1973 in Kruševac, Serbia. He graduated in 2002 from the Academy of Arts “Braća Karić” in Belgrade, Serbia. He initiated FotoForum, a series of lectures and presentations of current photographic production in Serbia, 2010, and co-founded the Center for Photography, an independent non-profit organization for the research and promotion of photography in Belgrade, 2011. He received a Dimitrije Bašičević Mangelos (2008) award for the best young visual artist in Serbia and a scholarship from KulturKontakt Vienna in 2004. He currently lives and works in Belgrade. |
Municipal Tobacco Warehouse
"A Balkan Tale" is a Goethe-Institut project, produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. |
