The Balkans Project

Change in the Balkans has been gradual ever since a series of bloody conflicts shook the region in the 1990s. However, the Council of Europe recently endorsed a project that demonstrates in a dramatic way the enormous progress the Balkans have made in recent years: The Biennale of Contemporary Art D-O Ark Underground

The Biennale, which will convert the bunker of the late Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito into an art museum, is to be organized in the small Bosnian town of Konjic. The bunker, which the Yugoslav army built between 1952 and 1979, is located within a 280 meter hill and is designed to withstand a 20 kiloton explosion. 30-40 artists from the region and from around the world are expected to take part in the first exhibition at the Biennale, scheduled to open on May 27, 2011.

Aside from being symbolically significant, the Biennale will promote regional contemporary art, and serve as a forum for much needed intercultural dialogue. According to Edo Hozik, director of the Biennale, the project will “promote open rethinking about the war and post-war period, principles of autonomy and equality…we believe that this project will be recognized as an important one for its potential to promote better understanding between the nations of our region and between our region and Europe.”