Bitef Polyphony emerged in the aftermath of great wars, as a force of understanding and mutuality. It has been, and remains, our refuge—more than that, it is our driving force. It is focused on creating conditions to stop wars, to preserve childhood, to allow it to flourish without the shadow of death and hunger. The aim remains clear, even when it seems elusive: through theatre and play, through experimental artistic forms, to once again awaken the forces of community, while building a world free from weapons and torture. This year's edition is particularly significant. It is happening while tens of thousands of children remain trapped beneath rubble, buried in mass graves, lost in battles. Meanwhile, hundreds of young people perish every day in persecutions - starved, tortured, and imprisoned- swiftly sentenced to twenty years of hard labour for throwing stones at military vehicles. It is possible to close one's eyes and pretend that Gaza, Sudan, or Ukraine are far away, that one cannot quickly return to a life full of shrapnel. But not for long. Pandemonium spreads quickly. It is here, and there is nowhere to hide.
In the midst of a new world war, more brutal than all those before, we gather and intertwine voices that know how to fight for society. We think of the children in war, their fear and suffering, their courage, and their struggle. We speak of hunger, of how each export of weapons makes life on the periphery harder and more expensive, and childhood more sorrowful. We question the oppressive state systems that dictate injustices, starting from school to all the demands of the order, with a certain end in the trench. We recall polyphonic methods and approaches that, over the past decades, have confronted war, sought ways to speak of it, and found ways to cope with it. These twenty-five years have been for us a journey against hegemony, against weapons, and structural violence in all its forms. We have sought a language of breaking, refuting, and refusing to be soldiers of the order. We have sought a path of negating power. Collaboration was necessary. Polyphonic loops sometimes intertwined by chance, perhaps unexpectedly, but never without the sensitivity to recognize and strengthen these threads through further action.
Recently, at one of our workshops, we played with words, searching for new antonyms. In contrast to war, the word child emerged. Then we all fell silent.
Children in war. We in peace?!
Workshops, discussions, and performances will guide us through this question as we prepare for the next quarter century.
Irena Ristić,
Belgrade, 30 July 2024.
Founded and Conceptualized by: Ljubica Beljanski-Ristić
Edited by: Irena Ristić, in collaboration with the protagonists of polyphonic practices
Organised and Produced by: Sofija Nađa Stanić and Lenka Miloradović
Supported by: Cultural Centre "Parobrod", Cultural Centre Magacin
Photography: Don’t go far, Children’s theatre Subotica, Milica Perišić
.jpg)
