149: What Can We Learn From Activist Artists In Serbia?

149: What Can We Learn From Activist Artists In Serbia?

58:33 Oct 29, 2025
About this episode
DAH SAYS: "In today’s world, we can oppose destruction and violence with the creation of meaning "The Economist Magazine's Intelligence Unit places, Serbia, and Singapore, among the 46 countries that are considered Flawed Democracies along with United States of America. As our three countries grow more alike in surprising ways, it felt like the right moment to revisit two powerful episodes featuring activist artists from Serbia and Singapore. First up is our 2022 Change the Story Change the World with conversation with Dijana Milosevic, the Director of Belgrade’s Dah Teatar.  Imagine mounting a guerrilla theater performance in a bombed-out city square, in the middle of war, while armed soldiers look on—and still holding on to your art, your convictions, and your humanity. That is the story of Dah Teatar, a theater collective from Belgrade that has survived war, sanctions, shifting regimes, and censorship—and kept creating powerful, justice-driven work.In this episode of ART IS CHANGE, we dive back into the history and present of Dah Teatar through a rich conversation with co?founder Dijana Miloševi?. We revisit their 1992 This Babylonian Confusion street performance, and then catch up on how the company has restructured, relocated, responded to climate concerns, and carried forward their practice of “being with” communities. Along the way, Dijana shares stories of bus?based public theater, performances among trees, and how art continues to navigate complexity, contradiction, and resistance in Serbia today.You’ll hear:How Dah anchored themselves in relationship and material constraints during the war years, moving from classic theater into street performance in real time.The evolution of the company from ensemble-based actors to a more horizontal, administrative structure that can sustain creative risk.Their project Invisible City, performed inside buses, bringing stories rooted in neighborhood life to ordinary passengers—not just theatergoers.Their more recent project Dancing Trees, where trees become collaborators, audiences move into the forest, and performance becomes site, sound, memory, and activism.Reflections on censorship, environmental struggle, national narratives, cross?community healing, and the role of artists in turbulent times.Tune in to follow Dah’s journey across decades of upheaval and resilience—and be inspired by how a theater company, rooted in place and poetic defiance, continues to bridge divides between people and environment.Change the Story CollectionBe sure to check out our CHANGE THE STORY COLLECTION OF ARCHIVED EPISODES on: Justice Arts, Art & Healing, Cu
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