VISUAL ARTS PROGRAMME
Art installation
“Evolving essence“
“At the heart of a bustling city park stands a stunning statue, a testimony of transformation and ecological awareness. At first glance, it seems like a calm woman, gracefully posing in the middle of a bed of colourful flowers. A closer look reveals her extraordinary composition: the flowing dress and outstretched arms are intricately woven with threads made out of recycled plastic bottles, each of which is carefully shaped and arranged to form a harmonious whole. The statue embodies the concept of metamorphosis, symbolising the potential for change and renewal in our relationship with the environment. From her base, where discarded plastic gets a new purpose, lush greenery and blossoming flowers sprout. These living elements cascade from her form, interweaving with synthetic material to create a striking visual contrast which speaks volumes about the possibilities of sustainability and recycling. Her face, calm but determined, looks forward with an expression that invites contemplation. It is a character that tells a story of resilience and hope, encouraging viewers to think about their own role in preserving the natural world. Her posture, arms open in welcome, suggests a call to embrace responsible practices and nurture the planet we call home.”
Author: Jana Petrović
Jana Petrović graduated from the High School of Art in Niš in 2016, a textile design technician department. In the same year, she entered the Faculty of Applied Arts, stage costume department, and in 2019, she completed fashion design studies in Bielefeld (Germany) through the Erasmus program. After that, in 2021, she enrolled in master's studies at the Faculty of Applied Arts, Applied Sculpture Department. She has been working in the film industry since 2018, and since 2019, she has worked in several theatres in the country and abroad. In recent months, she collaborated with the Yugoslav Drama Theater in Belgrade, the National Theater in Niš, the National Theater in Pirot, the Zagreb puppet theatre, KPGT in Belgrade, etc. She is the recipient of the Rotary Award for Art in 2016, as well as the diploma of the Student of the Generation at the Art School in Niš.
EXHIBITIONS
„FEP’S METAMORPHOSIS“
Interactive photo exhibition
VELJKO’S GARDEN
August 21st – 26th
On the 30th anniversary of FEP, visitors will have the opportunity to see and participate in an interactive exhibition dedicated to the history, creation and to the people who made the Festival then and now. During four festival days, the exhibition will be composed of thousands different photographs created during the previous thirty years, which this year's participants and visitors will have the opportunity to see and then write down their impressions, knowledge and emotions about them, so a kind of FEP lexicon will be formed in that way.
The emerging exhibition will be open to visitors every day during the festival in the courtyard of the "Veljko Petrović" Library, the so-called “Veljko’s garden”. Just like this year's slogan calls for metamorphosis, this exhibition will be different every day, more mature, completely new and inspiring every time. Do not miss the opportunity to complete the festival program with your presence, to experience the whole spectrum of the most diverse, subtlest emotions and to leave your mark on the history of a renowned theater festival along the way.
The author of the exhibition: Jovana Semiz
“ My first photo was taken at FEP in 2005, but on that occasion, I was someone who was photographed. I had no idea that after years and years of visiting FEP, that task would be given to me, only on the other side of the camera. I became someone who got the opportunity to take photos, to capture moments, people, emotions, and everything that happens during the festival, but this time much more intimately. It is a huge responsibility to present such a festival the way it really is, to record all the changes from year to year and to participate in its overall development. The very idea of this project is for everyone to look for a moment at FEP through my eyes and the eyes of those who have been trying to make it exist for 30 years. Although I have been a photographer for more than ten years, FEP was a challenge for me that I now look forward to every year because I know that there is always something new waiting for me, as well as something old to remind me of how it used to be, where I was, where I am now and where I will be.”
Jovana Semiz, born in 1997 in Novi Sad, has finished High school for design “Bogdan Šuput”, an art technician major. She is currently a graduate student at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, in the fine arts department, photo section. She is actively engaged in documentary and event photography since 2016 and cooperates with numerous festivals and magazines, among which are Elle Serbia, Vice, Grain, PostPravda, Kamboja press, Visualisator festival, Caleidoscope of Culture, PDP conference, FAS Festival. She is a member of the EXIT promo team, Town Fest, ЕU Info Point and FEP festival since 2022. In 2019, she published a photo book, Borderline of Freedom, in cooperation with Kamboja Press and had her first solo exhibition in “Shock Collective” entitled Oversaturated. Winner of the award for the best photographer from Serbia at the 7th World Biennale of Photography. In 2023, she implemented the exhibition "Borders of Freedom" in the Cultural Center of Belgrade.
Exhibition of Festival posters
CITY CINEMA HALL
August 21st – 26th
As the Festival of Ecological Theatre for Children and Youth chooses a slogan every year that reflects the state of the world, society, and our attitude towards children and their needs, the visual identity always had the task of shaping that thought into an image, sign or symbol. FEP's visual identity went far beyond aesthetic values and overcame all preconceptions about aesthetics for children, avoiding kitsch and, at all costs, colourful form without idea and meaning. FEP has been communicating thoughtfully and thoroughly through graphic design for thirty years in the direction of beauty, hope, education, ecology and with the clear intention to make childhood more beautiful, healthier and more creative. Every year, a new visual identity is a new story and a new picture book which is waiting to be filled with the interpretation of children and young people, encouraging their freedom of thought and imagination. The author of the first festival logo is the famous Bačka Palanka painter Željko Drljača. He was among the first to visually combine what is the essence of the festival itself, art and ecology. Today, thirty years later, the logo and the festival look more contemporary, they correspond to the spirit of their time. However, thanks to our longtime designer Katarina Kelić, by changing the form, we did not give up the thought-out content. At this exhibition, you will have the opportunity to see all the posters from the first to the thirtieth Festival of Ecological Theatre for Children and Youth and think for yourself about the long way in terms of aesthetics and graphic design intended for children and young people which, in addition to all other experiences, we have gone through.
Designers of the Festival of Ecological Theatre for Children and Youth:
Katarina Kelić (2017 - present)
Marko Kovačević (2015 - 2016)
Iva Dunđerović (2014)
Kornelija Knežević (2001 - 2013)
Željko Drljača (1995 - 2000)