MAKING A STATEMENT
Publikum, with its Latin origin, is a powerful word that in Serbian refers to both public and publishing. “Publikum Calendar is an art project. It’s public debate on cultural and political issues. It’s a happening. It’s an examination of public communication,” says Douglas Atkin, author of the book The Culting of Brands. “It’s a series of personal stories told by creative philosophers. Oh, and you can tell what date it is.” From the beginning, the project was always intended to be more than a printer’s promotional piece. Through calendar themes and artwork, the live art performance events that launch the calendars each year, and the subsequent documentaries, TV shows, exhibitions, and books that are companion pieces, the Publikum Calendar has galvanized the creative community in Serbia, drawing international attention to the conditions Serbian artists work under.

“We wanted to create an artistic reflection of what was happening in the turbulence of the ’90s. During those years, the calendar was the only, or certainly the largest, art publishing project and cultural event in poor, war-torn Serbia. For many people it represented a source of hope that we could stay sane in harsh times. It was an ‘oasis of creativity,’” Mill states. “It was escape for many Belgrade creatives, as well as ordinary people, from the terrible things that were happening around us that we had no control over. Artists who had their work published in the calendar had a rare opportunity to reach wide audiences.” As Vesna Petrović, a Serbian designer now living in Los Angeles puts it, “Calendars are such a predictable promotional piece for all kinds of businesses in Eastern Europe, but FIA took an expected utilitarian item and turned it into an unexpected cultural phenomenon.”

When the Gallery Sebastian, which had been the epicenter of avant garde art in Belgrade, was destroyed by one of then-president Milošević’s henchmen, the FIA Art Group launched the Publikum Calendar in 1993 at the site’s ruins as an artistic protest that was also a message of solidarity with all the displaced Yugoslavians who had been impacted by war.

“As an artist, you are part of the society that you live and work in. We had to make a statement about the craziness going on around us. At that time, Serbia had the largest inflation in history with a bill [currency] that had 13 zeroes on it—but you couldn’t buy one liter of milk. The average salary was $10 a month, and there were hundreds of thousands of homeless immigrants. All these things were consequences of those wars. These conditions impacted us, and shaped the project,” recalls Nada Ray.

The launch of each new Publikum Calendar, which includes an exhibition, is considered a must-see event in Serbia. Since the beginning, the launch events have been truly imaginative gatherings that were newsworthy in themselves. “We looked for creative ways to bring attention to art and define Serbian culture in a different way, not based on politics and hate. We wanted to do good for society. We wanted to rise above the worst of times,” says Mill. To do this, FIA has premiered the calendars in Belgrade with everything from a fantasy masquerade ball while the city was being shelled by missiles to a rock concert in the NATO-bombed mausoleum of the former communist dictator Josip Broz Tito. Experimental music and dance, experiential performance laboratories, and art technology showcases have all been important aspects of the launch of the Publikum project.