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КОНТАКТ КОНФЕРЕНЦИЈА  од 21. до 24. марта

 

Conferences, showcases, music events

 

WHAT DO BANKSY'S BEST FRIEND, THE FOUNDER OF MASSIVE ATTACK, AND THE BIGGEST FESTIVAL GURUS WITH THE ROYAL TITLE HAVE IN COMMON? THE KONTAKT CONFERENCE!

Meet and listen to them for FREE, with 200 delegates from 11 countries in a three-day conference programme of the KONTAKT Conference, Showcase and Festival. In addition, 26 other music performers, at five locations in Belgrade, promise an unforgettable experience at the most important music conference in Serbia.

Organized by the Kontakt Konferencija production company, the Odličan Hrčak concert agency and the Belgrade Festivals Centre – CEBEF, with the support of the British Council, and under the auspices of the City of Belgrade, a new edition of the Kontakt Conference, Showcase and Festival awaits us from 21 to 24 March. For the eighth year in a row, Belgrade becomes the central and unavoidable meeting point for music professionals, not only from the region, but from the whole world, and concert audiences enjoy exclusive musical content.

Proof of this is the never-greater response of delegates to programme topics that connect music scenes, cities and countries, actively helping the export of local performers, but also improving the quality of the club and festival scene.

In its mission, Kontakt does not differentiate between large and small protagonists, and actively works to connect individuals and institutions, academic and entrepreneurial scene, non-governmental and public sector.

The main goal of Kontakt is the professional socializing, learning and networking of members of the music scene of the countries of the former Yugoslavia, whose musical ecosystem is thematized as a common business and cultural space and introduced into the world's cultural and market trends. This year, thanks to the partnership with the British Council, leading global agencies will participate in Kontakt as the main conference in Serbia, which deals with the improvement of creative industries in Serbia and the region.

Representatives of the world's largest agencies – United Talents Agency (UTA), Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and William Morris Agency (WMA) will discuss views on Serbian market, on Serbia, and share their experience in cooperation with cultural workers from the region, but also about the difficulties of bringing big world names to Serbian latitude and longitude.  

This year, the Kontakt Conference can boast of numerous delegates, almost 200 of them. There are names such as:

- Chris Tofu, one of the leading figures of the British festival scene, who participates in the organization of dozens of festivals during the year, and who received a royal honour from the British Queen Elizabeth II for his efforts in this area,

- Malcom Haynes, the best friend of the famous Banksy, who participated in his numerous projects, and before that in building the famous Bristol music scene,

- Grant Marshall, better known as Daddy G, founder of Massive Attack, but also

- Gordon Mason, Carlos Aubrey, Jake Beaumont-Nesbitt, Tor Breon, as well as numerous directors and representatives of important institutions, promoters, booking and PR agents and other key figures of the regional and European music scene.

Modern music production and contemporary trends, female entrepreneurship, the functioning of the non-governmental sector and public institutions, the introduction of new music professionals into business streams, EX-YU time travel through records and stories – these are just some of the topics of the conference part of the eighth Kontakt.

The conference, daily programme, from 21 to 24 March, will be held at several locations in the city and is open to all those interested, both from the sphere of music business and creative industries, as well as for professionals from related fields, students and musicians. Attendance at the conference part of the programme is free of charge.

The evening revue programme includes the Kontakt showcase segment, which Hali Gali brings every year, as well as concerts by the most sought-after regional performers. In addition to Neno Belan and the group Fiumens, Letu Štuke, the group KoiKoi and Bojana Vunturišević, a special treat for music connoisseurs will be two concerts by Jarboli, who are returning to the stage after eight years, and on the occasion of marking the 25th anniversary of the album ‘Dobrodošli’, as well as a DJ set by the world attraction Daddy G, the founder of Massive Attack, who very rarely arranges such meetings with the audience. The exhibition programme of this year's Kontakt will also be exclusive. At Kontakt, Katarina Žutić will present her first solo exhibition of paintings in Belgrade, at Dorćol Platz. Her sales exhibition ‘Persephone's Garden’ (Persefonin vrt – ruke čine dela) will be on display from 19 March to 8 April.  

The programme with the timetable and programmes by location, as well as an introduction to all the delegates that Kontakt will host this year, are available on the website www.kontakt.org.rs.