If you haven’t been in Belgrade since 2011 you will be taken aback by the changes a narrow, dirty lane between Nušićeva Street and Trg Nikole Pašića Square has seen since. No, it did not become clean and whitewashed – it still looks quite tough, but what has changed is that it rose from anonymity and actually became one of the city’s important cultural spaces.
Until 2011 this was just a dark alley to visit when nature called. This dismal image changed in April 2012 when Street Gallery opened here. Its idea was to move art out of galleries and present it out on the street where it would be available 24/7 to those interested as well as to the unintentional passerby. Further on, it decided to promote young, provocative and – most importantly – socially engaged artists.
Riding on this wave of transformation, later that year this place stopped being just like any other alley and was named after the early departed drummer of a well known local band Električni orgazam. Finally, the passage also became a target for graffiti makers, especially the more artsy ones.
Five years and innumerable exhibitions later, we can say that the idea of Street Gallery functions excellently: every two weeks or so you will find here something unexpected, be it art or documentary photos, posters, collages or paintings. If you are here on Friday evening you might run into one of the openings with a merry artistic bunch or even live music.
