Küba: journey against the current is both a local and an international project that aims to provide a response to the complex challenges presented by the new socio-political developments in Europe on an artistic level.
The central work, Küba by Kutluğ Ataman, will act as catalyst for 7 new works commissioned by T-B A21 from artists at each successive venue. These individual projects, initially presented independently of each other in their respective locations along the Danube, will at the journey’s end in Vienna be brought together and shown in a group exhibition in the former Jewish theatre at Nestroyhof.
Working in close collaboration with local institutions each step of the way, T-B A21 intends to develop a multi-disciplinary platform offering lectures, discussions, performances and other artistic and scholarly presentations.
Artist, curators, academics, and audiences will thus be linked across national boundaries.

Zilnik has been commissioned by T-B A21 to produce a new work, “Soap in Danube Opera”, which will employ the same documentary essay format used in many of his previous projects to focus on the settlements along the Danube between Belgrade and Novi Sad. These many inconspicuous settlements, such as Adice, Sangaj, Provalije, Gardinovci, and Kovilj, are home to fishermen and workers who dig sand from the river or dump into it waste from buildings being torn down in nearby cities. Many of these people lack proper jobs and have been unemployed for years; some are refugees or youths with nothing to live for, and a large number are members of Romany community. By contrast, along the same shores there are clusters of luxury development where “transition” capitalists have built their villas: among the most notorious is the suburb known as “Dolina lopova” (Valley of the Thieves) on the outskirts of Novi Sad.
The idea of “Soap in Danube Opera” is to make contact with youths living in these underprivileged settlements, to try to interest them in video and filmmaking and organize a workshop for up to 15 participants. During the workshop they would learn how to use cameras and computers for basic editing in order to understand the documentary process as well as they will have the opportunity to portray their lifes close to the Danube and present their own perspectives. Participants in the workshop will then document the arrival of Küba in Belgrade and Novi Sad, and record the immediate reaction of its viewers.