Belgrade city guide

There aren’t many murals in Belgrade, though the art form has gained recognition in last few decades. Most of them are nice pictures by good artists, but nevertheless purely decorative. In my view, for a mural to stand up to its name it has to be engaging.

One of these rare examples is on the garden wall of SKC (Students’ Cultural Center), facing Resavska Street. The colorful mural is called “Solidarity of Yugoslav peoples with peoples of Latin America” – the title that reveals much of its background. It was painted in 1977 during the manifestation “Week of Latin America” by the artisan brigade (sic!) “Salvador Allende” from Chile, the land of many murals. Those were the days of socialist Yugoslavia, the leader of the Non-Aligned movement and a staunch supporter of all anti-colonial and liberation struggles around the world and Belgrade was a Mecca for leftists of all denominations.

Unfortunately, what you see today is only a part of the original mural. Street art is viewed here as no more than graffiti and is in no way protected. Thus it happened a decade ago that the wall with the mural was torn down and then rebuilt to be much higher. What you are looking at today is only its reconstruction from remaining fragments. Still, I find it an attractive work of art, all in movement and vibrant colors, ready to transfer you to the times of innocent idealism and support for the oppressed of the world, something we all lack today.