Fresh take on activism

Days of Architecture Sarajevo

Days of Architecture in Sarajevo, an already established name in architectural circles, started as a student initiative, born out of need and, I would say, a good deal of spite.

To understand how Days came into being, one first must understand the terrible depressing situation of early the 2000’s in the Sarajevo architectural scene. The initial optimism that was fuelled by reconstruction after the war had already waned, and the first signs of the brutal free market where the role of the architect was redefined as a mere executor of profit-driven ideas quickly changed the architectural landscape. Architects coming from socialist system were slow to adapt to these new circumstances. During the transition to a free market economy, old design firms collapsed along with the system they served, the spatial policies and laws practically disappeared, leaving individual architects and their newly formed small studios at the mercy of private investors – in those years mainly of a shady post-war, post-transition tycoon type. Gradually things started to improve, but then came the global financial crisis of 2008. Architects were left without even that meagre source of work, and were forced to fight for the increasingly rare investment projects, driving the prices even further down, and along with the prices, the reputation of the entire profession. The quality of architecture in that period cratered, as expected.

The Faculty of Architecture in Sarajevo was also in a bad shape. The quality of the education was on a very low level, stuck in tradition, unable to face the changes the profession had been undergoing at that time. To say it was uninspiring would be an understatement. Anyone who took their profession seriously quickly realised that the formal education they were receiving would not be enough to even begin to start practicing architecture in real life.

Moreover, various professional organisations, such as Association of Architects, had degraded to the point of barely existing. They were not able to provide support with regard to professional advancement, or facilitate dialogue and connection with the international architectural scene.

In that context a few talented students, unsatisfied with the status quo, started Days of Architecture as a means to secure for themselves something they were not getting at the official institutions. As with most great things, Jasmin Sirčo, Nedim Mutevelić and Ervin Prašljivić started with nothing but enthusiasm. In 2008, the first Days of Architecture festival took place within the premises of the Faculty. Even in these first iterations, the approach to the organisation of the festival was extremely serious. The concept, the design, the themes for lecturers, the PR, all crystalised very early on. Even with a minimal budget it was clear that the festival has that same spirit as much larger and better financed events in the region.

In just a few years it snowballed into a serious, multi-day annual festival. The organisers also created Lift – Spatial initiatives, an NGO that became a hub for volunteers but also legally formalised the entire endeavour.

Days thus became a platform where fresh new ideas were brought from the outside, regional architects shared their experiences and local architects, young (and some older) architects got a platform where they could promote and discuss ideas, and connect with each other. After 15 editions, it influenced the local architectural scene more than any other initiative.

During that period the festival mutated many times, but always tried to stay relevant. Even though the most prominent content is always lectures, even in early editions the festival included more tangible and interactive approaches to architectural discourse, from workshops and competitions, to spatial interventions and concerts.

It brought a fresh take on activism to Sarajevo. Activism, even of the sincerest kind, often devolves either into an echo chamber of destructive judgements, offering little in terms of actual solutions to the problems it addresses, or becomes a profession in itself, concerned more with form than content. It is thus a very rare thing that Days became neither, and instead remains characterised by a slow, thoughtful approach, a gentle nudging of the architectural profession and (one hopes!) the entire society towards sustainable solutions to the real life problems presented during the festival.

As day turns into night, so Days also expanded into Nights. Nights of Architecture was created as a new format, developed for events that didn’t fit the daytime programme, or for logistical reasons could not be organised during the festival. In that format, Sarajevo had the opportunity to listen to some of the most interesting lecturers – such as Seung H Sang with his lecture that felt more like spiritual experience, or those with Dean Lah, Idis Turato and many others – or to experience more experimental events, such as the dialogue on the poetics of space between the architect Amir Vuk-Zec and writer Dževad Karahasan.

But, in my humble opinion, the most important thing that Days of Architecture has accomplished over the years is a sense of community that the Bosnian architectural scene did not have before this festival. It connected the architects within the country, but also opened them to the outside world. The festival has formed a particular kind of community, a mix of local, regional and more international names making it the one event that architects from the entire country look forward to. It has become not only a place where new ideas can be heard, but one of coming together, a place to see old friends, to reconnect, a holiday of sorts (or a form of group psychotherapy?) where one can forget about the more mundane problems and at least in a moment of respite, over coffee, imagine something better, and even have the luxury of optimism.