October, golden autumn in the European Capital of Culture, the time of the year that stands out with its shades of nature and art, brings us plenty of joyful cultural events – exhibitions, concerts, plays, festivals, etc. We highlight the best Novi Sad can offer, so we invite you to take a glimpse at our suggestions and make a tour around the city where culture is a way of life. At the beginning of the month, the fifth Kaleidoscope of Culture ends with Applied Arts Week, so we take you on an adventure at SPENS since October in Novi Sad will be in token of the final programme arch of the European Capital of Culture – Other? Europe. Enjoy (your) city of culture and stay up to date with our calendar on the website showing all events in Novi Sad. As always, we offer suggestions for all ages, so mark some of the dates in your planner.
The Kaleidoscope of Culture at SPENS
When: from 30 September to 7 October
The mentioned Applied Arts Week turns SPENS into a centre of design, so we invite you to take a walk around the sports-business centre today, while the programme will last until 7 October. The backbone of the Applied Arts Week is the Design Pavilion, so don’t miss to see and enter the balloon-installation by the famous artistic collective from Berlin, Plastique Fantastique – ‘Double Heart’. The brilliant Berlin duo creates temporary architectural installations, which they exhibited at the Biennale of Art in Venice! Miloš Rajković Sholim, the famous visual artist from Belgrade whose gifs are being used by everyone all over the world, is coming to the Novi Sad Kaleidoscope of Culture on 30 September to open his exhibition – The Sholim’s (Sur)real World. We highlight the lecture of one of the most significant illustrators in today’s world, who collaborated with clients such as Vogue, The New Yorker, Apple, Sephora, Penguin Book, etc. Get to know the French artist from Barcelona, Malika Favre, who comes to Novi Sad to hold the ‘Me and You and Everyone We Know’ lecture, taking place at the SPENS amphitheatre on Saturday, 1 October at 6 p.m. Malika Favre will participate in a panel discussion with Slavimir Stojanović Futro on the topic ‘Artist Is Absent’, taking place at the Amphitheatre on 1 October, at 7.30 p.m. Read her interview for Visit Novi Sad, announcing the lecture in the European Capital of Culture.
You can find detailed information and the Design Pavilion programme on this link, and enjoy the events of the Applied Arts Week, sponsored by the Erste bank.
Grape Harvest Festival
When: from 30 September to 2 October
This year, wine lovers will traditionally gather at the Karlovci Grape Harvest, taking place in Sremski Karlovci, on the first weekend of October, from 30 September to 2 October. You will have an opportunity to meet producers of grapes and wine at the famous wine festival and enjoy entertainment and music programmes for all ages with your children. You can find the detailed programme on the following link.
Culture in the Palm of Your Hand: October Exhibitions
Speaking of cultural events, October in Novi Sad perhaps wouldn’t be complete without visiting every exhibition. The city truly has a lot to offer this month, so we recommend visiting Dunavska Street, one of the oldest streets in Novi Sad, since in the Museum of Vojvodina, you will have an opportunity to see the exhibition ‘A Neolithic Night’s Dream’, lasting until 15 October. You will have a chance to discover the rich archaeological heritage of our country. Then pass through the Danube Park, stop for a second, bathe in the autumn sun, and continue to Studio M, where the multimedia exhibition about time, chaos and the cosmos, Time and Universe, awaits you.
Within Visual Arts Week, the Kaleidoscope of Culture opened a unique exhibition in the European Capital of Culture, ‘Sava Šumanović and European Realism of Two World Wars’, comprising the largest number of works by one of the most significant painters at three locations. Therefore, head towards Gallery Square. Start from the Pavel Beljanski Memorial Collection and continue acquainting with Šumanović’s works in the Gallery of Matica Srpska and the Rajko Mamuzić Gift Collection, which is part of the exhibition programme. If you are willing to make a road trip to Šid, the third part of the exhibition awaits you in the Art Gallery ‘Sava Šumanović’. The exhibition will be on view until 4 December.
We are taking fans of the works of the neo-avant-garde artist Dragoljub Raša Todosijević to the Museum of Contemporary Art to see the ‘Tomorrow Is Monday’ exhibition, which will remain open until October 9. Until this date, you can also see the ‘Metroplex 2022 – 2122’ exhibition at the New Place in Novo Naselje. Let the road take you to the spacious Liman Park, where you will see the exhibition of designed flags on masts at the Suba’s Plateau – Quo Vadis Mundi? Children seem very enthusiastic about the colourful flags on the masts while running and riding their bicycles on the plateau.
The Applied Arts Week, the last week that will close this year’s Kaleidoscope of Culture, brings us the exhibitions ‘Understanding: Art and Research’ at SPENS, supported by the Austrian Cultural Forum and the Fantastic Map of Novi Sad, which will present real and imaginary notions and city sites in a creative way
On 7 October, Other? Europe, the last programme arch of the European Capital of Culture, will open the exhibition of works of the famous Uroš Predić, one of the most significant painters in Serbia, whose art will also reach people of all ages with different disabilities in the Gallery of Matica Srpska. The exhibition will be on view until January 2023. Another great exhibition, this time in Svilara, is the ‘Art Brut’ exhibition, together with the ‘Life’ exhibition, which will show how marginalised people think about and see the world/city around them. We also highlight the exhibition of Novi Sad artist Emerik Feješ, who, due to severe poverty, created works that represent the peak of Naïve Yugoslavia, using toothpicks and paint for buttons. You can see the exhibition of his paintings in the Cultural Centre of Novi Sad and the Tourist Organisation of Novi Sad on 11 October. From 21 to 30 October, we move to District that will transform into a unique comic book city. You can expect the conference on comics, an open-air exhibition, and the ‘From Neven to Batman’ exhibition dealing with the history of comics in Yugoslavia and Serbia. The District will be in token of the comic book exhibition on tapestry, so don’t miss these events if you are a fan of this art
On the Stage We Live By…
Theatre scene of the city of culture has just taken off in the new season, and it is already bringing us great premieres and performances for all generations. So, make time to go to the theatre this month. October in Novi Sad, in the oldest theatre in Serbia, the Serbian National Theatre, starts with the opera ‘Carmen’, taking place on 1 and 3 October. The Novi Sad audience will have a chance to see the play on the ‘Jovan Đorđević’ stage after 25 years. If you missed part of the play ‘Tesla, Inventartist’ on the eve of Doček 2022, you have an opportunity to see it again on the ‘Pera Dobrinović’ stage on 10 October. On 13 and 15 October, after an amazing premiere in May, ballet fans will have a chance to see the ballet in two acts, Anna Karenina, in the new 162nd season of the Serbian National Theatre. The great migration of archivists deeply affected the protagonists of ‘Državni posao’ (Eng. Government Job), Čvarkov, Torbica and Boškić. Find out what their experiences related to the injustice that befell them are in an interview for Visit Novi Sad, while you can visit the Serbian National Theatre on 16 October, since they will perform a play full of satire and humour on the ‘Jovan Đorđević’ stage. At the end of this month, the Serbian National Theatre prepares another premiere. Therefore, the ‘Macbeth’ play will be performed on the ‘Pera Dobrinović’ stage on 22 October. Do not miss it! October in the Novi Sad Theatre also begins with the premiere of the ‘Benyovszky, Freedom Fighter’ play, directed by Margit Garajski, which will be performed three times, on 5 October, when it will be performed for the first time, and on 6 and 27 October. The play that started the 48th season in this theatre, ‘When God Kicks You in the Belly’, directed by Andraš Urban, is waiting for you on 13 October, so we advise you to book your tickets in time. Within the Other? Europe programme arch of the European Capital of Culture, and in cooperation with the Youth Theatre, the play inspired by comics, Cat Claw, and the creation of Bane Kerac, directed by Michael Helmerhorst, will be performed for the first time on 22 October. The end of October in the Youth Theatre is reserved for the premiere of the ‘Venus in Fur’ play, inspired by the film directed by Roman Polanski. Children will enjoy the magic tricks by the magic master Strahinja, who will perform in the great hall of the NIS building on 8 October two times, at 1 and 3 p.m. Enjoy Strahinja’s Magic Comedy with your children.
October in Novi Sad in the Rhythm of Music
The upcoming month of concerts begins with the performance of the famous Rambo Amadeus, who, after a long break, will hold a ‘public rehearsal’ in Novi Sad’s Guerrilla Bar on 1 October, starting at 10 p.m. The Croatian rock-punk band ‘Hladno pivo’, which has been active on the music scene for more than 30 years, will perform at the Novi Sad Fair in Hall 2 on 7 October at 9 p.m. On the same day, 7 October, the fans of classical music will have an opportunity to enjoy the performance of the renowned violinist Philippe Quint, who will perform with the Japanese pianist Jun Cho in Novi Sad in the City Concert Hall at 8 p.m. One of the most significant events of the Other? Europe programme arch will be the performance by the world-famous percussionist, a Grammy winner, deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie and experimental musician Mezei Szilárd, performing together in the City Concert Hall on 9 October at 8 p.m.
As a symbol of unbreakable friendship and a touching commemoration of the greatest Croatian singer-songwriter Arsen Dedić, Zoran Predin will hold the concert ‘Zoran Sings Arsen’s Songs’ in the Cultural Centre on 13 October at 9 p.m. Just a day later, on 14 October, we can expect another two concerts. We will have a chance to enjoy the performance of the exciting, energetic Black Page Orchestra from Vienna at 8 p.m., which will perform a composition with vibrations for the body at 120 decibels, and the concert in the Cultural Centre at 10 p.m. by the famous Nipple People, whom you had a chance to hear in Novi Sad at Doček 2022. The Serbian Aretha Franklin, the famous Bojana Stamenov, will also perform with her band in the Cultural Centre on 20 October at 10 p.m., while on 21 October at 10 p.m., at the same place, we can expect the concert by the Elemental group that performed within the ‘Autonomous Festival of Women’, as part of the Heroines programme arch. On 22 October, heavy metal fans of the metal group Mortal Kombat are going to have a good time at their concert in the Hall 2 of the Novi Sad Fair at 7 p.m., while we can expect the acoustic performance by the Negative band in the Cultural Centre on 10 p.m. The musician Kolja will give a performance to remember in the Cultural Centre on 27 October at 9 p.m., while on the last Saturday of the month, on 29 October at 9 p.m. is reserved for the concert by the uncompromising music band ‘Ritam nereda’, who have been performing for 35 years. Don’t miss the musical October in Novi Sad and enjoy a quality sound and good energy.
NOMUS: We Love Classics
When: from 20 to 27 October
Where: Synagogue and Serbian National Theatre
The traditional international festival of classical music, the Novi Sad Music Festivities (NOMUS), will take place from 20 to 27 October in the Synagogue and the Serbian National Theatre, stressing the European Novi Sad on the international music map as a city of classical music. NOMUS was declared a highly significant manifestation by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia. Listening to the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra at the opening of this festival has always been a pleasure, and we heartily recommend marking your calendars for the concert on 20 October at 8 p.m. You will have a chance to enjoy the classical music of the violin virtuoso, a concert by the maestro of the London Symphony Orchestra, Roman Simović. You can find the detailed programme of the eight-day festival on the website of the Musical Youth of Novi Sad, and don’t miss the NOMUS closing ceremony with the performance of the RTS Symphony Orchestra on 27 October at 8 p.m.
Three Colours of Chopin
When: 11 October at 7 p.m.
Where: Synagogue
The Belgrade Chopin Fest in Novi Sad will take place in the Synagogue on 11 October at 7 p.m., with free admission. The ‘Three Colours of Chopin’ concert will present extraordinary artists Milan Miladinović, Nebojša Maksimović and Mihajlo Zurković, who will paint the night with Chopin’s melodies only for the Novi Sad audience
Videomedeja in Svilara
When: from 7 to 9 October
Where: 6b Đorđa Rajkovića Street
The traditional international video festival that has been taking place in the city for 25 years will turn the Svilara Cultural Station into a new media centre from 7 to 9 October. The festival programme focuses on artistic projects combining picture and sound, advanced communication, and objects in a symbiotic or avant-garde style. Therefore, we invite you to visit the festival, while you can find the detailed programme on the following link
Seize the Film
When: from 12 to 16 October
Where: Cultural Centre of Novi Sad
The international film festival Seize the Film, the only festival in Vojvodina dealing with the topic of disability will take place in the Cultural Centre of Novi Sad from 12 to 16 October. The project is implemented within the Other? Europe programme arch, and what makes it international is that it shows films from all over the world selected by the expert jury. In addition to taking place in the space adapted to individuals with disabilities, all films will be subtitled, while the speaking content will be translated into sign language. Admission is free, so check out the festival time slots and mark your calendars with some of the films on the topic of disability.
The Charm of the Night Market
When: 7 October
Where: Fish Market
Every first Friday of the month, the Fish Market in the centre of Novi Sad turns into a market of handicrafts and local products from immediate surroundings. Therefore, on 7 October, we can expect the real gathering of irresistible flavours and aromas intertwining in the air while we enjoy the music programme and unique wardrobe, jewellery, home decoration, etc. Don’t miss this event, especially if you’re visiting Novi Sad for the first time, since going to the famous ‘fish’ market is an everyday thing for the citizens of Novi Sad.
Children’s Programme
When: from 16 to 23 October
Where: Arena Cineplex and Cineplexx Promenada
Under the slogan ‘Children Are the Future’ and in the European Capital of Culture title year celebrating the 18th anniversary, the traditional KIDS FEST will take place from 16 to 23 October in Arena Cineplex and Cineplexx Promenada cinemas. The festival brings us films from around the world, while the youngest will enjoy animated films, as well as family films and documentaries. Spend October in Novi Sad with your kids in some of the mentioned cinemas and enjoy the family films with unavoidable popcorn, while the detailed programme will be announced on the official website of the festival soon.
Gaming Culture
When: from 21 to 23 October
Where: Novi Sad Fair
Are you a gaming fan? Visit the Vibe Factory, the festival of gaming blockbusters, the most prestigious programmers and creators in the field of gaming, gaming hardware, competition and games, taking place at the Novi Sad Fair from 21 to 23 October. You will have an opportunity to hear and see famous gaming speakers and numerous YouTube and Twitch superstars. You can buy tickets via Gigs Tix sales network.
Are You Ready for a Marathon?
When: from 9 to 15 October
Where: Liberty Square and Popovica in Fruška Gora
October in Novi Sad is reserved for the most challenging discipline and the queen of sports – a 42-kilometre marathon. This year, the Novi Sad Marathon will take place on 9 October, starting at 10 a.m. It will gather marathon runners, while the start and the finish line will be the Liberty Square. In addition to the 42-kilometre marathon and half marathon, the fans of running will have a chance to compete in 5 and 10-kilometre marathons. You can apply here, and in addition to a competitive spirit and good weather, we wish you to make it to the end and defeat yourself. If you are a fan of mountain challenges over hilly terrain, Saturday, 15 October is reserved for the Autumn Marathon on Fruška Gora, starting at 9.15 a.m. in front of the Mountaineering and Skiing Association ‘Železničar’ at Popovica (you can reach the start with the bus line no. 74). Let’s run together!
Author: Marina Marić
Photo: Marko Pudić, Jelena Ivanović, Vladimir Veličković, Promo/ECoC, Malika Favre, Unsplash
