.

Program of events for Lost Highway Expedition in Sarajevo, 23-24 August 2006-08-21. Organized by Azra Aksamija with support of Pro.ba and SCCA.

As the program is tight, we need to start on time, but you can join us in any of the given location.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

DAY ONE Wednesday, August 23rd – Sarajevo

10.00 - 11.00 Walking through Sarajevo and its history

Walk to and through the old city, then uphill through 'mahale' (Ottoman housing quarters) and contemporary illegal settlements. Walk guided by Stjepan Roš, architect and professor at the Academy for Fine Arts Sarajevo. The walk will end at the Hotel Saraj -- the starting point of the following event.

10.00 Meeting point in front of the Cathedral.

11.00 If you miss the first meeting point, you can meet us at “Svrzina Kuca”, a house-museum in the mahala above Bascarsija (see map or take taxi)

11.30 - 13.00 Coffee and Discussion at Hotel Saraj

Visit of an illegally built hotel located on one of the most prominent locations of the city. The process of its formation and struggle for legalization has been going on for over four years. We will visit the interior and have a discussion with the hotel owner and Said Jamakovic, architect and director of the Institute for Development and Planning of Canton Sarajevo.

Ca. 11.30 – 12.00 Meeting point at Hotel Saraj. The huge hotel is located on the rock above the old city. Wait for the group in the restaurant, when we all gather, the hotel owner will guide us through hotel labyrinth, rooms, bath, etc.

13.30 - 14:30 Lunch at Bascarsija

Meeting point at Sebilj (fountain) at Bascarsija (Old City Market). Bascarsija offers a wide range of city's best traditional cuisine such as cevapcici (little sausages), pita (pie) and sweets. My recommendation for cevapcici is “Mrkva”, “Petica” or Hodzic” and a combination of cevapcici and sudzukica with onion and kajmak called “kombinacija” (small or big). For other kins of traditional food, I recommend “Inat Kuca” (on Bascarsija bridge) and spinach pie, tufahija (sweet cooked apple filled with nuts) or balkava.

15.00 - 17.00 De/Construction of Monuments / So.ba

Introduction by Dunja Blazevic, Sarajevo Center for Contemporary Arts (SCCA). Presentation/screening of selected projects developed within the 2 year program of SCCA and Pro.ba: "In the Dragons Nest" (U zmajevom gnijezdu), documentary by Ozren Milharčič about the SCCA and Urban Movement initiative to erect monument to Bruce Lee in Mostar, 50 minutes / “DE/CONSTRUCTION OF MONUMENTS” by SCCA/pro.ba, project video presentation, 15 minutes / "By the Commission's Decision: Everyone to One's Own" (Odlukom komisije: svi na svoje), Kurt & Plasto, produced by SCCA, 4 minutes. Participants can bring their own projects to present, video beamer provided.

Location: So.ba (Attention, So.ba has a new address: Patriotske lige 32 / It is a café within Faculty of Architecture 033 278 491, www.soba.ba)

17.00 - 18.30 Dinner "Kod Zoke"

After So.ba we can walk together to their imbiss in Husrefa Redzica street.

19.00 - 21.00 Screening and discussion: 'Video Aksamluk'

Screening of the selected documentary material from the "Video Archive-Library of Hamdija Kresevljakovic," private video archive of the twin brothers Nihad and Sead Kresevljakovic. As screenwriters, historians and authors, they have been working on many documentary projects aiming to promote cultural space of Bosnia, art and communication. The discussion will be held in the garden of Kresevljakovic's family house. Participants are asked to contribute to the archive with copies of their videos or projects. Tea will be served.

18.45 Meeting point at Drvenija Bridge, please come on time, since we need to go together to their house. We can not post the address to public.

21.00 - Events within the Sarajevo Film Festival

Location: Parties and events to be announced. I recommend bars “Delikatesa” (on Obala Kulina Bana next to the Theatre/Opera, it is a café-bar, they have wireless too, but no computers), “Ribica” (really cute bar near “Vjecna Vatra”/ “The Eternal Flame” monument on the main pedestrian route, the bar is in the street that comes to the “Beneton” store), and some others (see map).

---------------------------------------------------------------------

DAY TWO Thursday, August 24th - Sarajevo

10.00-12.00 Lecture: 'When Flags Become Buildings and Buildings become Flags: Identity politics in Bosnia's Mosque Architecture Today'

Lecture by artist and architect Azra Aksamija about the destruction of cultural heritage in BiH and the contemporary building tendencies in Bosnias religious architecture. The lecture will be held in Magribija mosque. This mosque was heavily damaged during the war and was reconstructed under supervision of UNESCO (the only case in Sarajevo).

Location: Magribija Mosque (Marijin Dvor, near Hotel Holliday Inn, the yellow cube)

12.00 - 14.00 Lunch Break
There is a nice Thai restaurant closeby called “Wok”

14.30 - 17.00 Screening and discussion: 'Current cinematography in Bosnia: Minimalism as the Invention of Necessity'

Screening of selected works from the contemporary Bosnian Film. Discussion with writer, screenwriter and film director Namik Kabil and Aida Kalender, cultural manager and producer, founder of the NGO "Akcija". How the economic struggles of current Bosnia and Herzegovina have developed or inspired minimalist cinema ("Grbavica", "No Man's Land"). What is the future perspective of the local cinema? This is especially related to the future stabilization (though, clearly, there are no time frames to the 'brighter' future of Bosnia) of the region. In this context, there will be an important sub-theme: How to avoid a potential danger of victimized approach in the future filmmaking in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Location: Mediacentar (Address: Kolodvorska 3 (see map) / www.media.ba/)

17.00 - 19.00 Performance 'Boogey Man" by the artist Damir Niksic

Participants will become a part of the artist's performance to take place on the beach along the river Miljacka, located very close to the Old City. Participants will be 'baptized' to become members of 'Gurbetistan', a land where everyone is a foreigner. The performance will be taped. Participants are invited to tape with their own cameras and share the material after the event. They are also asked to bring small pieces or iron to me melted in some of the rituals of the performance. You can walk from there to another bridge close by that was the testing model for the famous Sinan bridge in Mostar.

Meeting point: The bridge at Vijecnica (Old City) at 17.00 and walk to the beach. The performance and meeting will be confirmed last minute. Own own LHE artists Hugo and Arnold will have their performance at the same time too. Location and meeting will be scheduled in Mediacentar or in the mosque.

19.30 - 21.30 Meza/Dinner and Discussion: 'Communism and Nationalism: Continuity and Discontinuity in the Two Models of Collectivity"

Themes introduction by Senadin Musabegovic, social anthropologist and professor at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Mostar, and his discussion with Igor Stiks, writer and political theorist. Participants are invited to bring their projects/contributions to the discussion. Discussion will be followed by poetry readings: "Zakletva" ("Invocation") by Senadin Musabegovic and selections from the fictional essay 'Balkan je negdje drugdje' ('The Balkans are somewhere else') by Igor Stiks (about Freud's visit to BiH) both in Bosnian and English. Following their theoretical input, we will try to summarize out expedition expiriences and talk about the future of the LHE project.
Location: Biban, informal restaurant on the top of a hill above Bascarsija, great food, an amazing view of the entire city. (Take a taxi, it is high up hill and I do not know the address)

22.00 Party and events within the Sarajevo Film Festival
Location: To be announced

---------------------------------------------------------------------
DAY THREE Friday, August 25th - Sarajevo

What to do after the LHE?

If people stay in town, we could arrange a meeting to have some final disctussions about LHE products.

For those traveling further, I recommend following sites to visit:

The newly discovered Pyramid Valley in Visoko, (township located 20km north-west from Sarajevo, see: http://www.piramidasunca.ba/)...totally crazy thing!

If you travel to the south and the seaside, you will drive along the caniion of the beautiful turkis Neretva river. You can go swimming in Jablanica lake (artificial lake on Neretva) and eat famous lamb grill by “Gojko,” a restarurant on the first curve before the city of Jablanica with 8 paralell lambs rosting.

The city of Pocitelj and Mostar, whith the famous bridge (UNESCO monument) that was destroyed during the war and just recently reconstructed. The city is still politically divided btw. Bosniaks and Croats.

Religious pilgrimage: for Muslims, there is a famous sufi “Tekija” on the source of the river Buna / township of Blagaj (near Mostar). For Catholics: The township of Medjugorje, also near Mostar, is a famous pilgramage place (Maria appearance in the 1980s) that attracts over 2 Mio tourists a year, but still not officially recognized by Vatikan (http://www.medjugorje.org/).

Finally, the delta of the river Neretva (after Mostar) is a very fascinating landscape to see. There is a camping in the valley, but watch for moskito-massacre. From there you can either go to Dubrovnik or Split on the cost. Both cities are an absolute must on Croatian coast.