Katarina the curious
“My work is about people and emotions, with a little bit of added tension.”
KATARINA SOPCIC
WEAST puts some questions to this designer and artist, whose artistic odyssey started in the small town of Valjevo in Serbia, leading her life journey to three different countries. She went on to study Italian literature in Belgrade, communication design in Florence, and photography in Munich.
AGORA
“ Trust your gut”
AGORA
An abandoned wood factory in Bela Crkva was turned into an international art colony by her, called "Agora” Dragana Brankovic received prestigious grants from the Serbian government for this project. This artistic gathering also included renowned Serbian, Croatian, Brazilian, and German artists in the year when WEAST editor Marina Nikolic participated. A few days were taken off by our editor in June 2015 in order to visit them. She stayed longer than two days, and could not get away from that place, a source of inspiration and long-term memory of intellectual and cultural exchange.
“In order to be taken serious in a place like Serbia you need to be a tough guy.”
MORITZ EIS
Belgrade Airport Nikola Tesla is small and retains its 1980s look from the glory days of Yugoslavia. When you arrive here, there aren't many gourmet restaurants or cafes to discover. There is one strange thing about this small capital airport: You can enjoy organic ice cream all year long from an old-fashioned white ice cream cart. Using a modern logo and a virtuous product, Moritz Eis demonstrates an ability to work with what is available and what is possible.
moritz eis
alen the explorer
“The openness of the community is reflected in the house - this is the main architectural contribution.”
ALEN JASAREVIC
Alen Jasarevic, the eminent architect who built the actual mosque with a copper minaret, visualizes the Arabic prayers, allowing the forum to refrain from calling out repeatedly throughout the day.
BEERAJ
Beeraj is the name of the little but posh craft beer, cider, and wine shop hidden in the old town of Novi Sad. Its founder, Oliver Haugham, is in his early 30s, doesn't speak Serbian, but still seems to be everybody's pal.
“With a little bit of hard or a lot of hard work anything really is available.”
choose the beer
galina and the love for work
“I realized what immense positive effects it has to bring different people together.”
DO WORK YOU LOVE
Galina makes a living with coaching and events called "Do Work You Love". That sounds romantic, but it isn't. After a degree in business administration and experience in event management and consulting, she realized that there was a lack of an "easygoing" interpersonal encounter in a well-structured German city like Munich.
simon finds a place to stay
“I spot the opportunity to stay in one place, open my own business and not travel around the world to work.”
SIMON IN BELGRADE
After the interview was finished, Simone Apolloni said that he hoped the content had substance and was not just empty talk. At the same time, the Italian businessman was talking in fluent Serbian with temporary Italian emphasis, or better said, sound.
masked saSA
“Every country I lived in changed my perception from the top down and vice versa, that’s for sure.”
SASA & MASKS
From Japan to Sweden, Sasa Skoric has developed his own authentic signature in design and art. He creates designs for apparel and holds workshops, but he is also famous for his design of masks for faces, where he is "masking to unmask people"” We asked Sasa to share his perception of his living and working places.
RONIT in space
“I’m a timeless space-girl; generally curious about everything with a background in arts and culture”
RONIT IN SPACE
The more I got to know Ronit, as the time passed, I got more and more impressed about her living her passion and having a festival that is constantly growing. Of course, the magic of the Munich Science & Fiction Festival- Event infected me as well.