The idea behind the project Dom (English: Home) came to be in 2023, after an exhibition in the Army Hall in Vršac organized by artists Dimitrije Despotovski and Jelena Ostojić. Twelve artists took part in the exhibition which had proven to be the first step in establishing an art collective with a distinct guerrilla art ethos. Amongst the participating artists was also one of the future members of Dom - Una Mladenović. The initiators of the project had recognized a necessity to reinterpret the very notion of home (Serbian: dom) thorough series of experiments in new media art practices, thus bridging the gap between contemporary art and everyday life and further exploring the physical, emotional and symbolic aspects of home as a place of belonging.

 

In 2024, a collective was formed under the name Dom. After another exhibition, which also took place in the Army Hall in Vršac, the collective is transformed through emergence of another layer of interpretation, that being the geist of socialist heritage and radne akcije (English: Work Actions, volunteer-based large-scale construction projects in SFR Yugoslavia which took place from late 1940s to late 1970s). The evocations of such sentiments are due to the spectre of SFR Yugoslavia still looming large over many homes and families, amongst whom are those of the participating artists. Nine artists took part in the exhibition, including Sara Mladenović, who would also become one of the members of the collective.

 

This new chapter of the project also marks the inclusion of Aleksandra Vuletić as the fifth member of the collective. Drawing on her background in ethnology and anthropology, Aleksandra Vuletić brings an ethnographic and participatory approach to the collective’s practice. Her work, informed by research into memory culture and folk beliefs contributes to the project’s ongoing exploration of home as a space shaped not only by physical surroundings, but also by personal narratives, collective memories, and social relationships. Through the integration of anthropological methods and artistic practices, she expands the collective’s engagement with communities and the stories that define them.

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Text prepared by Mihajlo Turinski