【Seminar　January 10, 2024】”Power of Popular Culture During Wartime: Case of the project Rock Under Siege in Sarajevo 1994/95″

Date & Time : Friday, January 10, 2025, 17:00-18:30

Venue : Online (Zoom)

Title : “Power of Popular Culture During Wartime: Case of the project Rock Under Siege in Sarajevo 1994/95”

Speaker : Aida Kalender (SIAS | Socially Intelligent Artificial Systems, Informatics Institute of the University of Amsterdam)

Language : English

Registration for online participation：Please register from here

Organized by : Platform for Explorations in Survival Strategies (Slavic-Eurasian Research Center, Hokkaido University)

Contact： < gavrankapetan[at]slav.hokudai.ac.jp > ([at] read as @)

About the Seminar : 

Aida Kalender (SIAS, University of Amsterdam) will introduce us to the case of Radio ZID (Wall), a unique cultural meeting point in besieged city of Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) where numerous artists, intellectuals, and creatives collaborated to produce a daily radio program that encompassed discussions on arts, philosophy, sports, and music.

During the brutal siege of Sarajevo from 1992 to 1995, cultural and artistic expressions became vital lifelines for the citizens enduring the hardships of war.
Theatre performances in basements, concerts in makeshift shelters, and film screenings amidst the peril of sniper fire had importance in fostering a sense of community and hope.
Central to this exploration is the intriguing phenomenon discovered by young volunteers at Radio ZID—an alternative music scene that flourished amid the chaos of war. DJ hosts Jama and Aida played a key role in this movement by curating a top-chart list of songs from alternative bands in besieged Sarajevo, which quickly became one of the most listened-to radio shows in the city. This newly established radio movement not only provided a platform for expression of the jilted generation but also culminated in a concert and the release of a rare CD compilation titled “Rock Under Siege.”

Aida Kalender’s presentation will discuss the emancipatory potential of pop culture and radio in besieged Sarajevo, examining how these platforms offered solace and resistance for marginalized youth during a time of immense suffering. Additionally, the presentation will explore the reasons for the current neglect of this important grass-roots cultural movement in the context of contemporary memorializing of the siege. By analyzing the interplay of culture, media, class-relationships and resilience during the Sarajevo siege, this presentation aims to shed light on the significant yet often overlooked contributions of the marginalized youth culture and alternative music scene in particular to the social fabric of the city during a time of turmoil.
Aida Kalender’s research promises to contribute to the broader discourse on the meaning of alternative youth culture in conflict zones and the lasting legacies of cultural movements in the context of war.