KotorArt
International festival
Friday, July 18
Kotor Creative Hub, 9.30 p.m.
OPEN DISSCUSION
THE CITY AS COMMUNITY AND ACTIVISM
ALEKSANDRA KAPETANOVIĆ, moderator / TATJANA RAJIĆ, moderator
Participants:
IVA ČUKIĆ, Ministry of Space Collective
ALEKSANDAR RADUNOVIĆ, playwright
SONJA DRAGOVIĆ, PhD candidate in Urbanism and Architecture at the University Institute of Lisbon, and member of the group KANA / ko ako ne arhitekt
Program partners
THE CITY – MEMORY, IDENTITY, FUTURE
Every city carries its own stories – etched in stone, preserved in memory, and revealed in everyday encounters. Street by street, square by square, the city grows alongside the people who inhabit it. It remembers, forgets, dreams, and is constantly changing.
Philosophers’ Square, the KotorArt debate program, transforms public squares into contemporary agoras – vibrant forums of ideas that confront pressing contemporary challenges while engaging with the legacies of the past. As a meeting point for thinkers, activists, philosophers, sociologists, and artists, Philosophers’ Square encourages critical reflection, fosters a culture of dialogue, and strengthens social cohesion, mutual understanding, and tolerance.
The 15th edition of the Philosophers’ Square invites us to reflect on the city – not merely as a physical space, but as a living entity that senses, remembers, and seeks its path. Inspired by the ideas of Bogdan Bogdanović, we explore the question of what makes a city a city: its identity, its historical layers, and its future visions. Through a two-day debate program, we invite you to reflect with us: How do cities shape us and how can we, in turn, shape cities that remember, connect, and endure?
Welcome to a space where dialogue becomes the foundation of new visions.
Aleksandra Kapetanović is an architect and conservator, coordinator of the Cultural Heritage Program, and one of the founders of EXPEDITIO – Center for Sustainable Spatial Development based in Kotor. She holds a degree in Architecture from the University of Belgrade and completed postgraduate studies in Cultural Heritage in Slovakia and Italy. She gained professional experience at the Regional Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Kotor and has collaborated on projects with the Historical Institute of the University of Montenegro and the Laboratory for Environmental Geography (GEODE) of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). With over 25 years of experience in the non-governmental sector, she has led numerous projects in the fields of cultural heritage and sustainable development, aiming to contribute to spatial preservation through multidisciplinary and participatory approaches. She is the author of numerous publications and has contributed to the development of conservation projects, cultural heritage protection studies, and management plans. Her work particularly focuses on cultural landscapes, traditional architecture, and UNESCO World Heritage. In the past decade, her research has centered on the cultural heritage and landscapes of katuns (seasonal mountain settlements).
Tatjana Rajić is a co-founder of the Expeditio NGO. She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Belgrade. During high school, she spent a year at a vocational school in Norway, studying graphic design – an experience that had a significant impact on her professional path. While studying architecture, she completed professional training in Brazil. After earning her degree, she pursued Gender Studies, which sparked her interest in the intersection of gender and urban planning. Her professional development continued through participation in several international study programs, notably in the United States, Sweden, and South Africa. She has represented Expeditio’s work at numerous international conferences and workshops. Throughout her career, she has remained active in Expeditio, gaining extensive experience in managing and implementing projects focused on various aspects of spatial development and the promotion of public interest in architecture.
Iva Čukić holds a bachelor’s and a doctoral degree from the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade. Her work centers on urban commons, the democratization of urban development, and the management of urban resources in accordance with the principles of spatial justice. She is a co-founder of the collective Ministry of Space, which advocates for democratic and equitable urban planning. Since 2015, she has been involved in teaching and research at universities in Serbia and abroad, including the Technical University of Berlin, ETH Zurich, and MIT. She is also a Research Associate at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) featured her work in the publication 100 Women: Architects in Practice, a curated selection of women architects from around the world who have made a significant professional contribution to the public good and the improvement of the built environment.
Aleksandar Radunović is a playwright, screenwriter, composer, actor, guitarist, and radio host. He is an Assistant Professor of Dramaturgy at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Cetinje. His plays have received numerous awards and have been staged in Montenegro and across the region. The Fokalizator publishing house has released a volume containing his plays Leptir, Istraga, and Noć, as well as a separate edition of his work Stub soli, which was previously produced at the Zetski Dom Royal Theater in Cetinje. As a screenwriter and co-writer with the creative collective The Books of Knjige (TBOK), Radunović has worked across a broad spectrum of formats—from television and online commercials to series and feature films. He is currently developing a screenplay for a feature film he will also direct. A founding member of the rock band Perper, he has composed music for more than twenty theater productions, collaborating with some of the most prominent directors in Montenegro and the region. His discography includes seven albums with Perper, one with The Books of Knjige, and two solo instrumental albums—Final Countdown and Music for Theater. Since 1995, he has co-hosted one of the most listened-to radio shows in the region on Radio Antena M, together with members of TBOK.
Sonja Dragović is a researcher at DINÂMIA’CET-IUL – the Research Center for Socioeconomic and Territorial Studies at the University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL), where she is pursuing a PhD in Architecture and Urbanism as a scholarship recepient of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. She holds a degree in Economics from the University of Montenegro and completed a master’s degree in Urbanism in 2015 at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), supported by a European Union scholarship. Her research focuses on the critical analysis of urban policy and practice, particularly the role of social movements, collective action, and engaged architecture in the struggle for spatial justice and the right to the city. She examines how local initiatives and activist collectives seek to influence urban spaces in times of ongoing crisis, with a special interest in the commons, the political economy of urban development, and the challenges of sustainable organizing and knowledge-sharing rooted in practice. She has authored several academic papers and presented her research at numerous international scientific conferences. She is a member of the Biciklo.me NGO and the Zeleni Kolašin local initiative, as well as one of the editors of the LeftEast.org portal.
