In 2021, MOTO has produced a series of successful programs and interesting steps forward, which engaged artists of different generations, from different artistic fields and different countries.
We have initiated our great project “Opera: Past, Present, Perfect!” which will last until February 2023 under the auspices of Creative Europe, together with partners Nieuw Geneco from Amsterdam (Netherlands), Young Musician International Association of Georgia from Tbilisi (Georgia), University of Donja Gorica in Podgorica (Montenegro) and Little Theatre “Duško Radović” from Belgrade (Serbia).
Over the year, the following projects were accomplished: “Europe Connected” under the auspices of the European Commission, within the program “Europe for Citizens”, run by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency EACEA, “Summer Opera School” and “Inclusive Club”, projects that we have been implementing for many years under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia.
We have started the first regional online festival “Opera Femina Fest” with our associates from the Slovenian Chamber Music Theater in Ljubljana, as well as the conference “Music and New Normality” where we have started off a long-term cooperation with our colleagues from music high schools in Serbia and the region, debating the future of our cultural scene and the new generations to come.
The programs we have carried out were “Magic Drawn with Music”, “An Opera Night’s Dream”, “Entchantresses”, “Concert dedicated to the World Music Day”, as well as the first Serbian opera “At Dawn” by Stanislav Binički based on the text by Branislav Nušić, in which our participants presented themselves to the public in Belgrade and Serbia.
We had the great honor and pleasure to include in our work Maestro Srboljub Dinić, a world-renowned conductor. The Maestro has held a Masterclass under the auspices of the Swiss Embassy in Serbia and selflessly passed on part of his inexhaustible knowledge and experience to our students.
A special curiosity is the participation in the 53rd BEMUS, where we presented ourselves by performing the first Serbian opera for children “Children’s Room” by Milenko Živković, based on the libretto by Desanka Maksimović. This opus of unique values is the work of two great Serbian artists, and it’s an indicator of advanced thinking and high development of the Serbian art scene, which in the first half of the twentieth century kept pace with the most contemporary artistic aspirations in Europe. This year marks the 120th birth anniversary of Milenko Živković, whose significance and opus have been unfairly neglected in our millieu.
We are proud of the cooperation and partnerships with institutions, organizations and professionals during 2021. Among these are: Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, CEBEF (Belgrade Festival Center), Museum of Theatrical Arts of Serbia, Swiss Embassy in Belgrade, Students’ City Cultural Center, National Museum in Belgrade, Belgrade Dance Institute, Vojislav Vučković Music School, Children’s Cultural Center of Belgrade, Kruševac Cultural Center, Bosilegrad Cultural Center, Ruma Cultural Center, as well as our foreign partners: Nieuw Geneco from Amsterdam (Netherlands), Young Musician International Association of Georgia from Tbilisi (Georgia), University of Donja Gorica from Podgorica (Montenegro), Slovenian Chamber Music Theater from Ljubljana, Serbian Cultural Center “Danilo Kiš” and Andragogical Institute of the People’s University of Velenje from Slovenia, as well as the Foundation for Entrepreneurship, Culture and Education and Cultural Center “Brotherhood 1869” from Bulgaria.
We owe special gratitude to our friends and partners from the Little Theatre “Duško Radović”, who showed their warm welcome and made us feel at home, so the results of our mutual work were extraordinarily prosperous.
We are grateful to our audience who continuously follows and supports us, to our members and young artists who helped us learn, grow and develop into a unique organization!
We are looking forward to new challenges, wishing you a Happy New Year!