A photography project investigating social, demographic and urban changes of Sarajevo city, caused by the war in Bosnia.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/120955712/sarajevo-is-no-longer-sarajevo
The city of Sarajevo used to be known as Jerusalem of the Balkans because of its Jerusalem like neighborhoods where Muslims, Jews, Catholics and Orthodox Christians quarters with their mosques, synagogues and churches were standing side by side. After the city endured the longest siege in modern warfare history its identity has changed forever.
From that April 4th of 1992, Sarajevo remained under siege until February 29th of 1996. The siege lasted nearly four years and it is the longest one in the history of modern military. It is estimated, that it claimed more than 12,000 victims with more than 50,000 people injured.85% of the casualties were civilians. Due to the high number of deaths and forced migration in 1995, the city’s population was reduced to little more than 330,000 inhabitants.The population shrank by 200,000 less than it was before the war.
“Urbicide “(a term coined in 1992), the assassination of the city and its inhabitants, does not mean only the destruction of the physical parts of the city, but the tragic cancellation of the multicultural and cosmopolitan spirit of a city. Sarajevo in its symbols, in relationships and in everyday life is no longer Sarajevo.
Our goal is to organize a photography exhibition and to publish a photo book in memory of this tragic event. Through the photographic journey we will explore how the region and especially the town of Sarajevo were before and how much has it all changed today.
Who are today’s inhabitants of Sarajevo? Much of the population, former residents of country’s smaller towns and villages, are settled down in large cities, primarily Sarajevo. As a result of these inflicted transitory shifts the city is changing its face and it should not be overlooked or left unacknowledged. Especially, if our point of reference is the memory of the place with its neighborhoods and streets haunted by ghosts: tragic events, episodes caught in individual and collective memory, vanished architectural landscapes, echoing sounds, imperceptible smells, etc.
THE PHOTO EXHIBITION AND THE BOOK
The exhibition will include photographs taken during the war and post-war periods (during the years Claudio Olivato lived in Sarajevo,1992 – 2003) as well as images of today that can render visible the idea of changes caused by the war.
In order to successfully accomplish this project we are looking for public funding to help us cover the cost of at least two trips to Bosnia, during which we would realize a new series of images. The collected funds would contribute to post production phase of old negative scanning, analogue image conversion into digital format, printing of 80/100 Black & White photographs in 12 x 18 inch format, designing and printing of 400 photo books and exhibition organization expenses.
A number of photo books will be given to Sarajevo schools and a percentage from their sales will be donated to Sarajevo orphanage.
This photography project is very important to us and we believe it would contribute to a creation of a more open collective consciousness and add historical evidence to a photographic archive of a city.
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https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/120955712/sarajevo-is-no-longer-sarajevo
Thank you
