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Aradac is a village belonging to the municipality of Zrenjanin,
an important industrial center of ex-Yugoslavia which suffered decay
in the last two decades as a result of unsuccessful privatizations.
The closing of numerous factories and companies left the majority of
the population in the whole region without employment and social security.
As a consequence, people were drawn to go back to land cultivation and small
informal businesses, the conditions for which also became extremely difficult.
In the village of Aradac Slovaks form an important part of the local population. Their particular culture and traditions, existing for centuries in the same geographical region as a minority culture, have persistently been somewhat hidden but well preserved. We opened an embroidery office during 20 days in front of the Municipality building (also the place where the market takes place on Wednesdays and Fridays). In the afternoons we held meetings with local groups, associations and individuals. We got in contact with local producers of wine and cheese, as well as with local farmers. |
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Several meetings were held in Harmonia, a local association where we heard about local Slovak crafts, in particular different styles of embroidery. We later-on learned some of these local techniques applying them in the elaboration of the tapestry. The tapestry we created is constructed out of an embroidered map of the village with important locations embroidered onto it, surrounded by 14 square embroideries done in cross-stitch which is the most prominent technique used by the Slovak women of Aradac. The issues represented in this tapestry are anything but traditional. They present local stories, and even sometimes complex local issues relevant to contemporary life in the village. A special event consisting of two parts (one program in the morning and a second one in the aftenoon) was organized on Saturday 31st under the title Interlacing Culture and Agri-Culture. In the morning we invited local producers to talk about the current conditions of farming, locally and on national level, also tackling the ongoing dispute about introducing GMO’s in Serbia. In the afternoon, we hosted a youth-theatre organization from Zrenjanin with whom we had a discussion regarding the current political dynamics in the independent cultural sector. Throughout the conversation, participants were embroidering related messages on their clothes. |
This embroidery is a collaboration with Dejan Dosljak, Nebojsa Milikic, Marka 1, Marka 2, Nada, Ivana Brankovic. Special thanks to Ziva Legenda, Zdenko, Ana 1, Ana 2, Dalibor i Vesna, Boza, Njegovo Visocanstvo Zlaja, Bane Brankovic, ..
