Serbian Month in Great Britain 2020
25th January – 9th March 2020
London, Halifax, Reading, Bedford, Birmingham, Peterborough,
Tunbridge Wells, York, Dorchester, Maidenhead, Barrowden
It has been the tradition that Serbian Month begins with the celebration of St Sava taking place in numerous towns around Britain. From the 25th January Serbian Communities in London, Halifax, Reading, Bedford, Peterborough and Birmingham will hold colourful programmes which include performances by Serbian schools and folk-dance ensembles from Britain and KUD Sindjelic from Gothenburg, Sweden.
The highlight of this traditional celebration is the St Sava’s Ball, Charity Dinner on Saturday 8th February at Copthorne Tara Hotel in Kensington, London. Special guests, the actress Ivana Zigon & soprano Tamara Radjenovic will be part of an exclusive programme, held in the presence of HRH Prince Phillip of Serbia & HRH Princess Danica of Serbia.
Download the catalogue and programme here
The first day of the Serbian Month will also feature Sandra Siladjev Live, the stand-up comedian addresses topics against divisions of any kind, in an event organised by Nase pozoriste u Londonu.
Artem Magazine is holding a Mini festival of documentary films produced by RTRS (Radio Television Republika Srpska). Screenings will be at the Chelsea Academy and Serbian Orthodox Church in London, and are organised in cooperation with Serbian Library in London. The films directed by Branko Lazic which will be shown are I was a child, Wizard of Mutanj, Jadranka and To be and not to be Ivan Hiti. The film Numbers will be included in the Holocaust Memorial Day programme organised by the Jasenovac and Holocaust Memorial Foundation on 7th February. AMemorial Service for Women in Foreign Medical Missions in Serbia and related fronts during the Great War will include a screening of Alan Cumming’s documentary film about Evelina Haverfield and Flora Sandes. At the same venue, the Serbian Orthodox Church St Sava, on the 9th February, the Circle of Serbian Sisters London will host an exhibition and talk with Bishop of Raška-Prizren, Bishop Teodosije.
ASWA (The Association of Serbian Writers and Artists Abroad) and its President, writer Sonja Besford are hostingLiterary Evening with two Serbian writers who live in Malta, Verica Vincent-Cole and Teodor Reljić at the Serbian Embassy on 6th February. The founder of ASWA, Milos Crnjanski who lived as an exile in London from 1941 to 1965 will be a topic of Panel discussion ‘Crnjanski and London’ at British Library as part of a project ‘The South Slavs and Britain’ on 9th March.
Christina Pribicevic-Zoric & Will Firth (translators from Serbo-Croatian), Dr David Norris (specialist in Serbian literary and cultural studies) and Vesna Stanojevic,(actress and senior lecturer in acting) will talk about his life in London, how does London figure in his work ‘A Novel of London’ and why are the themes of identity and migration relevant today. Other authors and their work will be presented at Annual Mini Book Fair at the Serbian Library in London on the 29thFebruary: Audrey Burns Ross, Olivia Suđić and Peđa Ristić. Tribute to late Sava Peić will be paid by Vesna Petković in conversation with Martin Sutton. Making sure that there is a book for everyone, Serbian Society is organising Presentation of children’s book ‘Greensey’s Journey’ by Tamara Drobac at Embassy of the Republic of Serbia on the 20th February.
Art work by Vlastimir Zeric, jeweller, designer and sculptor will be exhibited at Royal Society of British Artists 303rd Annual Exhibition 2020 from 20 to 29th February at Mall Galleries, The Mall, St. James’s, London.
Numerous music performances will take place around England: acclaimed classical guitarists Craig Ogden teams up with accordionist Miloš Milivojevic, performing for Dorchester Arts and at the University of York. She’Koyokh, described by The Guardian as ‘one of the finest British-based exponents of global music’ will bring klezmer and Sephardic music and songs from the Balkans and Turkey to Maidenhead, Barrowden in Leicestershire and Peterborough.
Vremeplov (‘Time-machine’), the band’s debut concert at Birmingham will bring back the oldest and most golden songs from Serbia and former Yugoslavia to a British audience on the 29th February. A London audience will have opportunity to enjoy opera arias by Bizet and Puccini sprinkled with Portuguese and Serbian melodies in interpretation of soprano Silva McQueen, tenor Leonel Pinheiro accompanied by pianist Timothy End on the 7th March. A more intimate sound will be heard at the classical concert by guitarist David Strbac. Following his last year London debut during Serbian Month, a winner of over twenty prizes at international competitions David is coming back to London to perform diverse programme by Scarlatti, Albeniz, Rodrigo, Piazzolla, Bogdanovic on the 1st of March.
The Serbian City Club will share ‘Coffee with…’ Vukasin Stojkov, who will discuss Tesla Nation on the 27thFebruary, as well as drinks at their regular networking event in Japes on the 25th February. Tea will be served at”ČAJANKA”, by Circle of Serbian Sister London. Fundraising Tea Party will collect funds for people of Kosovo and Methohija on the 29th February. More funds will be raised by Lifeline Humanitarian Organisation at their Annual Charity Dinner at the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge, hosted by HRH Crown Prince Alexander and HRH Crown Princess Katherine. Music & Drama students and teachers of the Holmewood House School in Tunbridge Wells will also help raising funds for the Azbukum Serbian Language GCSE and A Level Course at Fundraising Concert on 5thMarch.
The Serbian community in London will have an opportunity to remember Old Pals at the event Beogradska zurka (Belgrade Party) on 15th Feb at Paya & Horse Pub. Some 25 years ago the pioneers of the cultural life of our community in Britain, Olga Gakovic, Gordana Miller, Miki Stoiljković and Pale Brozicević came together to start organising events that in 2008 became Serbian Week and and which have grown into the Twelfth Serbian Month in Great Britain with over 30 events in 11 towns around UK.
With special thanks to:
All the Serbian organisations and individuals
who contribute to the success of Serbian Month in Great Britain
SN Production – Stvarno nova produkcija for designing the catalogue free of charge
The Embassy of the Republic of Serbia for their support of Serbian Month
Sponsors and advertisers:
Wellport Private Ultrasound Ltd Belgrade Chopin Fest
The Federation of Jewish Communities in Serbia Azbukum Air Serbia
Contact: info@serbiancouncil.org.uk
Serbian Month Programme Director and Catalogue Editor: Maya Jordan
Catalogue Project Manager: Dejan Brkić Assistant Editor and PR in UK: Olga Stanojlović
PR in Serbia: Natasha Kocsis Social Media: Stan Smiljanić
