Club Booksa
Club Booksa (also known as Booksa) is a non-profit book club in Zagreb, (Croatia), located in the city center and on prominent Martićeva street. Club Booksa was founded by non-government organization Association for promotion of cultures "Kulturtreger". It opened in 2004, organizing and hosting various literary programs, such as literary readings, book promotions, public discussions and concerts, and occasional exhibitions. It operates as an informal membership-based club with more than 18,000 members.[1]
Founder
Club Booksa was founded and operated by the non-government organization Association for promotion of cultures "Kulturtreger" (also known as just Kulturtreger), an NGO that was founded in 2003 with the purpose of promoting and popularizing literature and other forms of contemporary culture.[1] Kulturtreger is a member of the Clubture Network, focused on the independent cultural scene in Croatia.
History
Club Booksa was opened in January 2004. It hosted more than 500 Croatian and foreign writers at various programs concerning literature and contemporary art in its first decade of work. According to Vanja Bjelić Pavlović, the opening of the club started as a project without great ambitions, and the main goal was to fill a gap in Zagreb's cultural and club scene in relation to book culture.[2]
Since 2005, it has organized its own annual festival, Review of Small Literatures, which has presented more than 150 writers from various countries.
Club Booksa has hosted many literary festivals such as Festival of European Short Story, Festival of Latin American Literature, International Festival of Contemporary Poetry Brutal, International Poetry Festival Goran’s Spring etc.
Activities
The most important programs of NGO Kulturtreger include:
Review of Small Literatures
Since 2005, it has organized the annual festival Review of Small Literatures, which has presented more than 150 writers from various countries. The first edition of the festival covered literature of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2021, the festival focused on local Croatian literary production.
Booksa.hr
NGO Kulturtreger launched its web portal for literature, Booksa.hr, in 2007. It is an online portal for literature with the aim to inform, educate, inspire, and move to action. Ever since, it has been publishing news, book reviews, editorials, and literary texts on a daily basis. It has become a reference point for literature in the Balkan region, read by many with more than 30,000 visits per month. Booksa.hr informs by covering relevant information on literature, including book reviews, and educates young journalists and literary critics, providing them with media space for writing on literature.[3] It is a member of Eurozine.
Project Criticize this!
The general aim of the project is to advance the field of art criticism and initiate a Europe-wide discussion on the significance of contemporary art in enhancing the common cultural space by affirming critical reflection on art.[4]
Center for Documenting Independent Culture
Center for Documenting Independent Culture serves as a community archive for the independent cultural scene of Croatia. Center documents artefacts and practices produced in the last roughly 30 years by independent organizations, artist collectives, and activist initiatives; it runs an educational program for university students of archiving and museology, as well as capacity building for independent organizations in Croatia and the Balkan region. Center was opened in 2011 in cooperation with the NGO Kurziv from Zagreb.
Civil society collaboration
The NGO has been active in the development of civil society in Croatia. It has established a program of presenting and hosting other cultural initiatives and organizations.
Former programmes and activities
The Pub Quiz program started in 2005 and lasted for a couple of years. Bookshop in Club Booksa was open until 2011.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "About us". Booksa.hr. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ↑ "Deset godina Bookse". Culturnet.hr. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ↑ "Booksa.hr". Eurozine.com. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ↑ "Criticize this!". criticizethis.org. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
External links
- Official website
- Festival Review of Small Literatures (in Croatian)
- Center for Documenting Independent Culture (in Croatian)
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