‘For New Bridges’ is a slogan under which Novi Sad won the most prestigious title of the European Union in field of culture in 2016, the title of the European Capital of Culture. Soon after, the Goverment of the Republic of Serbia declared this project as a project of national importance and by establishing the ‘Novi Sad 2022’ Foundation, conditions for the implementation of the project were created.
During the preparation for 2021. numerous programmes for audience development, international artist cooperation and strengthening the capacity of cultural scene have been implemented. The two Cultural Stations, Svilara and Egység, are the most visible result of our work. In that manner, Cultural Stations present the backbone of city’s new cultural policy oriented towards citizens and their bigger inclusion in the processes of democratisation and intercultural development. The openning of cultural points on the edges of city will contribute to greater cultural engagement of citizens and enhancement of social interaction.
The programme concept is based on four bridges – Love Bridge, Freedom Bridge, Hope Bridge and Rainbow Bridge, which simbolise and establish the balance between available resources and temptations of the city. Every bridge has two programme arches that open questions of essential character for understanding contemporary social context of the city, its legacy and contemporary creativity in the light of current European and world cultural scene.
