The project of the non-governmental organization Expeditio "Theatre about Kotor" through the process work of the director Petar Pejaković with the inhabitants of Kotor should give birth to a documentary theater performance with a focus on the city's peculiarities and problems. It is a collectively created community theater that promotes the idea of theater as a means of research and creative expression of each individual or group for the purposes of personal development and social engagement. In this way, community theater becomes a possible more creative, dialogical way of being and living in the local community where it takes place.
We talk with architect Tatjana Rajić, program coordinator of the NGO Expeditio, about where Expeditio, as the initiator and intermediary financier of the "Theatre of Kotor", identifies points of intersection between dynamic social flows, possible fields of change, the development of art and personal and social action.
In all projects, we try to respond to the problems and needs of the community in which we live and to find clear, publicly comprehensible and, whenever possible, creative ways to deal with topics we recognize as important. When we started thinking about the "Theatre of Kotor", we had only one task/challenge set in advance - how to empower the citizens (as well as the creative actors - artists themselves) through involvement in an artistic process. Inspired by other practices of documentary theater and knowing the work of Petar Pejaković, a local director, we decided to try to connect the topic that interests us the most - the city, with the art form - theater. We also had in mind that the framework for the active involvement of citizens in art projects in Kotor is quite narrow.
Citizens are mostly offered passive consumption of cultural events, and we know that active participation in artistic and cultural projects improves the social capital of an environment and raises the overall quality of life. Also, creativity plays an important role in encouraging critical thinking, on the basis of which citizens' capacities are developed to engage in activism and empower themselves for change in aspects of the social environment that are not acceptable to them. Taking into account all the aforementioned circumstances - topics dealt with by Expeditio, the availability of cooperation with a local artist who has experience with documentary theater and the need for more active involvement and empowerment of citizens, the "Theatre about Kotor" was started, Rajić points out.
- Through the process work of the director Petar Pejaković and the participants, about 25 potential themes for the play about Kotor were selected. The one that the vast majority of those gathered then considered to be a priority for processing with theatrical means is - life in fear. After four held workshops with citizens, the impression is that it is a rather multi-layered, complex feeling. What is your impression, how would you explain that certain shadow of fear over life in Kotor?
Encouraged by this topic, as well as some other conversations at the workshop, I thought that there are many levels of fear in people, and only one of them is the fear of expressing one's own opinion in public. At the workshop, the topic of serious concern of the people of Kotor from the negative influence of people "from the outside" (eg from the north) was raised several times, and on the other hand, about the fact that the "Furešti" do not feel accepted by the local population. There is also the fear that the city we love and as we remember it from our childhood will disappear, that it will turn into something we don't want... Strong feelings accompany these fears and we were convinced of this at the workshops. I think that behind all these fears lies a feeling of powerlessness, inertia and the feeling that we can do nothing but passively observe the transformation of the city that is happening before our eyes. If we manage to, through the process of working on this play, encourage the actors themselves, as well as the future audience, to activism, however big it may be, I think the goal will be achieved. At the beginning of the workshop process we tried to recognize the problems that surround us, in the later stages we occasionally fantasized about the desired image of the city. What would be good is to recognize in the play what it is that represents obstacles from the present to the desired and in what way each of us can contribute to that positive change.
- On the other hand, it is planned that the performance will be accompanied by an advocacy action to solve the city's problems, which will eventually be identified through the process. Based on the process so far, do you have the impression that the citizens' critical imagination of what the city should look like is sufficiently developed; and are the people of Kotor sufficiently aware of the possibility and need for civic initiatives and actions?
Although cities/towns are the framework of our lives, it is surprising how little we know about how they should develop to be better places to live. They don't teach us much about it in schools, and almost nothing outside of schools. Unfortunately, the overall approach to spatial planning is such that the key decisions about how cities will look are subordinated to the wishes of investors, not taking much into account the public interest and with minimal involvement of citizens in the creative phases of their planning and design process (e.g. in deciding on public spaces, parks, recreational areas, use of abandoned public facilities...). Examples of the development of the cities that surround us are usually not good practice, so it is not a training ground for education as it should and could be. In such a context, with few good role models and no opportunity to be creatively involved in planning processes, it is unrealistic to expect that the citizens themselves will know how their cities should look in order to be better and more pleasant places to live, and what they would could contribute to it individually (or through civil actions). In this sense, there is a huge space for education, first about the quality of life in cities, and then how to act. I will only remind you of some features of cities as desirable places to live: a stimulating framework for the development of the local economy, safe and reliable public transport as a viable alternative to the use of cars, conditions for safe walking and cycling, accessible and pleasant public spaces, a strongly connected community, cultural and social content available to everyone, etc.
- "Theatre of Kotor" is one of the activities within the wider European Artizen Initiative project. The description of this project states that it takes place in cities or parts of cities in a kind of transition - spaces where dynamic spatial, organizational and social transformations take place. Also, these cities strive towards a desirable, open, participatory process of their own creation. In what do you recognize the transitional position of Kotor, and where in it are the mentioned "cracks" opened for sensitive processes, which would be different from the current ones, which are increasingly building Kotor as a private space with the poisonous touch of modern capital?
I think that today, in all cities that intend to survive, these dynamic spatial and social transformations are necessarily taking place. The more attractive the cities, the greater the capital pressure. The basic question is how the public sector and the profession relate to the pressure of capital, and how to ensure that the interests of citizens are not lost, i.e. how to ensure that the public interest is not sacrificed for the sake of individual interests, and how to treat all development aspects of cities - economic, ecological, social and cultural - with equal importance. In that process, it is also very important that we, the citizens, empower ourselves and act, ask questions of the public sector openly and without fear, and act as activists. Through activities in the local context, political actors can and must be influenced so that they take into account the built environment as an important partner in the process of shaping cities. In this process, it is very important to be participative, to ask citizens again and again what they see as key problems, what their needs are and how they can be met to the greatest extent. Of course, it is necessary, in order not to betray the trust of citizens, to ensure that their involvement is not exclusively declarative (which we are used to through public debates) but genuine, which leads to raising the quality of life in the community. Ensuring participation, today when we have modern means of communication, is easier than ever, all you need is the will.
- According to all available data, excessive centralization and firmly established existing power structures limit and sabotage social creativity in Montenegro. Moreover, the decision-makers at the state and local level, apart from declaratively, evidently do not want real dialogue, the creation of partnerships and the establishment of joint responsibility and a sense of "ownership" of citizens over the place where they live. On the other hand, Expeditio, as an organization for which a participatory approach is one of the basic principles guiding its work, very often asks citizens for their opinion through various surveys. Can you refer to the impression that people get tired and discouraged after a while, when they take their time and don't get feedback and don't see concrete results of their involvement?
Yes, we strongly believe in participation in all projects and we believe in that approach. Unfortunately, we cannot promise citizens, nor do we do so, that their ideas and proposals that they give through the inclusion process will be realized if it does not depend on us. We tell them that their opinion will be included in a certain set of recommendations, research, study and the like. This is the limit up to which we can guarantee, and we always meet it. We think that people who get involved recognize our good intention and don't feel abused. That's why we still have a satisfactory (even beyond the expected) level of participation, regardless of whether we organize a discussion, initiate a theater performance like now or conduct research.
- So what should be done to induce the decision-makers, and if necessary force them, to start counting on the "public" and "public interest" as a civic institute that is above the free market, contracts, and even above the law?
What we as citizens can do is to be more active, to organize ourselves better, to use all legal mechanisms of action (civic initiatives, public hearings, "empty chair" in the local parliament, etc.). Also, it is important to remind decision makers that they are where they are thanks to us, the citizens, who pay taxes to use public sector services. Citizens are inert and apathetic for many reasons. Those who, like our organization, have been advocating for changes for years by reacting through legal mechanisms, probably share our experience that their opinions and suggestions are not respected in most cases. Of course, this does not inspire optimism. Many get tired and give up trying. Due to a large number of negative experiences, there is a huge distrust of citizens in the work of the public sector (and we saw this at the "Theatre of Kotor" workshops), and this can only be restored by truly investing in activities that concern the interests of citizens, listening to the needs of citizens, emulating the best practice and hard work.
- In Montenegro, good ideas and interventions coming from the civil sector often fail to achieve their goals due to unfavorable power structures. How to achieve a balance - that the initiatives have political legitimacy, but that they are also deeply rooted in civil society? In other words, how to apply the good practices of more developed countries, which imply developed cooperation mechanisms and a common language between the two sectors, in a system that has no real connection with theories, models, processes and how things should be, but almost exclusively with personal interests?
In a system that deals almost exclusively with personal interests, the only thing left for you is not to agree, in a partnership sense, to be part of that system, but to act from the sidelines, trying to point out bad practices and propose possible solutions. The effects of any work that is of interest to the general public are certainly much better when it is done in partnership between the public and civil sectors, but you cannot agree to that in all cases. We have the experience of cooperating with some public institutions in which there is a will and desire, mostly of individuals, for real positive changes. Likewise, we have the experience of cooperating with public institutions that do not care at all about the best possible results of a certain project, but only that these projects are formally implemented. You can know the best practices of developed countries, you can also provide the means for good projects to be implemented in our country, but if there is no will, readiness and openness within the institutions of the system, everything stops at a few publications and recommendations that await another time and some different people.
- The emphasis of the European Artizen Initiative project is on the need for joint construction of the city, that is, the essential inclusion of citizens and their needs in the processes of urban development. Artists, and in general, the cultural and creative sector, are recognized as a kind of facilitators in creating dialogue and enabling participatory processes. The impression is that, although at the European level, culture and creativity occupy a central place in solving the challenges that cities and citizens face, artistic activities in Montenegro are characterized by a traditional approach and a lack of transdisciplinarity. That is, creativity is still romantically understood as a "flash of solitary genius" rather than something that can be socially directed, cumulative and collaborative. What is the new level of abilities and skills that cultural and creative actors in Montenegro should develop in order to be able to participate in the co-construction of creative and sustainable cities, and how?
Yes, artistic activities in Montenegro are still largely characterized by a traditional approach, with very little transdisciplinary experimentation and social engagement. On the other hand, action in the field of urban development, especially through the inclusion and empowerment of citizens, requires a new level of ability for cultural and creative actors. This is recognized at the European level, and of course also applies to the area of Montenegro. Therefore, cultural actors themselves need to be empowered in order to deal more with cities - from understanding the principles of city sustainability, through the introduction of the practice of involving citizens in artistic projects to ways to influence political actors to take the creative sector seriously. It is encouraging that we see a slight increase in the number of organizations in Montenegro, especially within the independent cultural scene, which are interested in dealing with cities in different ways - artistic interventions aimed at raising public awareness, promoting the principles of city sustainability, conquering and activating public spaces, etc. To begin with, it is essential that creative actors dealing with cities be recognized as someone who contributes to urban development, and then that, through financial lines within public funds (currently very scarce), they are given the opportunity to implement as many projects as possible in that area. Such circumstances would stimulate the creation of new actors of the cultural scene that deal with cities, and at the same time contribute to strengthening the capacities of existing actors. As such, they could become a support to the public sector in the process of city planning in a wide variety of areas - as a link with citizens, a source of ideas, and the like.
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