Artichoke is an arts and culture association based in Novi Sad, Serbia.
We are dedicated to artistic research and activism, cultural and community engagement and the exploration of social and anthropological issues and phenomena through various creative mediums: drama, applied theater, movie.
We are active in a field of informal education, providing specially designed seminars and trainings, as well as workshops based on applied theater methodologies.
We are providing consulting services and conducting research work in the field of youth policies, cultural policies and management in culture.
Our goals and interests:
Democratic development of culture and art
Integrative and participative cultural policy
Inclusive society
Human Rights
Intercultural society
Gender equality
Who we are:
Branka Bajić
Actress and drama pedagogue with an MA in Applied Theater and PhD thesis that she is currently working on focused around the applied theatre methodologies in working with the population of old citizens. Experienced facilitator and creator of many educational and artistic programs locally and internationally for different vulnerable groups.
Lazar Jovanov
Lazar Jovanov (1984) is an actor, cultural manager and researcher in the field of cultural policy and management.
He graduated in acting at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, where he also recieved the Master – drama artist degree. In 2015, he finished PhD studies in the field of cultural policy and cultural management at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, University of Arts in Belgrade.
From 2019 to 2022, he was the Head of the artistic team for the development of the official program of the European Capital of Culture in Novi Sad, Serbia. He was also part of the team that won this prestigious title for the City. After designation of Novi Sad for the European Capital of Culture (2016), he was at first in charge for the development of participatory and educational projects. From 2012 to 2014, he worked as a teaching associate on the Cultural Policy course at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. In 2015, he was a lecturer at the Faculty of Media and Communications (Singidunum University), on the courses Cultural Policy and Management in Culture.
He published 12 scientific papers in Serbian, English and Slovak languages in domestic and international journals and post-conference proceedings and presented papers at 11 national and international conferences.
As an actor, he is engaged in the KPGT theater (Belgrade, Serbia). He also played in the performances of the Terazije Theater (the musical theater in Belgrade), Madlenianum, the National Theater in Subotica (Serbia), the Mostar Youth Theater (BiH), the Bora Stanković Theater from Vranje (Serbia), the Serbian National Theater (Novi Sad, Serbia)… He played the main film roles in the films „Mouth Full of Earthe“ (directed by Puriša Đorđević) and „A Flea in Her Ear“ (directed by Ljubiša Ristić), and played a secondary role in the film Liberta – the birth of a city (directed by Žanko Tomić and Gvozden Đurić).
Milica Rašković
Milica Rašković is a graduated teacher specialized in youth work, having a Master degree in gender studies.
She is very active in the non-governmental sector as an educator and coordinator of international projects. She actively participated in the creation of youth policy of the City of Novi Sad (Serbia) and led the commission for evaluating youth projects two times. In addition to the civil sector, Milica has extensive experience in cultural management as the coordinator of the “American Corner” cultural center, which she has run since 2005 and for which she received a prestigious award from The Public Diplomacy Council of America. She participated in the application process of the city of Novi Sad for the European Capital of Culture title and, after winning the title, in the development of programs aimed at vulnerable groups and new models of citizen involvement in cultural projects. As part of the Second Europe of European Capitals of Culture program, Milica and her team implemented over 30 projects and programs in cooperation with numerous European partners and local cultural organizations and institutions.
She is particularly interested in the area of gender equality and human rights and the social inclusion of various marginalized groups. He currently leads and writes projects, mostly from the European Commission’s Creative Europe fund, and helps the international development of local art organizations.