What is the Zajednica umetnosti i kulture (ZUK) and How Does It Fight Against Repression in Culture in Serbia?
The Art and Culture Community (Zajednica umetnosti i kulture – ZUK) is a plenum-organized, informal initiative of various actors working in the field of art and culture in Serbia. It was created in response to the growing repression against professionals in these fields, aiming to stop the further collapse of the cultural system. ZUK gathers individuals and organizations who refuse to let contemporary art be reduced to “desirable party propaganda with non-transparent decision-making and funding processes.”
One of the signatories of this initiative is the organization Creative Mentorship
The Foundation of the Fight: The ZUK Declaration
In 2025, ZUK published the Declaration – a foundational document that sets the minimum conditions necessary to initiate the reconstruction of the devastated field of culture, contemporary creativity, and heritage, based on the principles of horizontal participation.
To date, this Declaration has been signed and supported by more than 140 actors in culture and art.
- You can read more about the publication of the Declaration on the Mašina portal.
- The full text of the document is available at this link.
Share Your Experience: Questionnaire on Repression in Culture
Within the broader student and social movement, a large number of individuals and collectives have faced political repression. These pressures have not bypassed the field of culture and art, at all levels and across all sectors.
For this reason, ZUK has launched a permanently open questionnaire aiming to collect testimonies from cultural workers and artists who have suffered:
- Intimidation or threats
- Conditioning of work
- Revocation of financial support or the right to work due to joining the wave of protests in Serbia in 2024/25.
“Creating such a database should serve to strengthen the solidarity network, as well as to advocate more firmly for fairer working conditions and necessary systemic changes that would ensure freedom and autonomy of work and creativity for individuals, collectives, and institutions in the field of culture and art, as opposed to party pressures and repression.” – ZUK states.
How can you help?
- If you have experienced any form of repression for the reasons stated above, fill out the questionnaire here.
- Forward this questionnaire to colleagues who might find it useful.
- You can view the Chronicle of Repression in Culture – Summary at this link.
Activities and Reactions So Far
Since its founding, ZUK has been actively operating through various formats of resistance and support:
- The “Chronicle of Repression in Culture” Roundtable: An event where colleagues from all over Serbia and from different sectors spoke about examples of pressure, but also about the ways they resist. You can watch the recording of this event at this link.
- Call for a Boycott of EXPO 2027: ZUK officially launched a call to boycott participation in programs related to this project.
- Continuous Support for Colleagues: The initiative regularly stands up in defense of endangered professionals. The latest example is the public support for Estela Radonjić Živkov, a conservator and former deputy director of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, who was questioned by the Criminal Police Directorate regarding a criminal complaint filed by the Ministry of Culture.
Join the Common Fight!
The invitation to join the ZUK initiative is open to all professionals engaged in the field of culture and art who want to contribute to the fight for the right to culture, freedom of artistic expression, and the preservation of space for critical thinking.
Get involved and stay updated:
- Follow ZUK on Instagram
- Subscribe to the ZUK mailing list
“Culture does not exist to produce the desired image of society for a single party that has equated itself with the state. Culture exists so that society can think, remember, doubt, create, and speak when it is asked to remain silent.”
Join the fight for a fair, democratic society!
