Videomedeja is an alternative cultural manifestation, which presents a real reflection of social status and individuals in relation to governing systems and global politics through contemporary art forms of authors from around the world. It is a festival of different perceptions, different customs and primarily avant-garde social culture, shown through a variety of new artistic practices.

In the selection phase of the competition artistic works that question political, social and cultural constructs are prevalent. These works represent critical and subversive activities through avant-garde form that reacts on official ideological doctrines.

Videomedeja searches for those artist that see this hidden, alternate reality, alternate culture and art, that indicate the different possibilities by pointing out differences and questioning ethical and aesthetic values.

Our aim is the need for change of individual and social conscience, as well as the realization of the results of our alternative creators in areas of culture and art. We wish to encourage interest for critical thinking and opposing the idea that artistic works should belong to the capital, because this makes these works more distant from the artists themselves, and thus making them less art.

Video and newer technologies have a decisive role in creating new mass culture and act outside any framework or traditional culture.

Video was very quickly positioned as an alternative to television, opposing mass media which are most commonly backed by capitalists or leading parties, who impose sexism, nationalism, racism and homophobia. Video is seen as a means of introducing new narratives and questioning identities and society.

Video came up not just from institutions but from our screens. Video functions independently from institutions, because unlike film which has its institutional frame, cinema and film language. On the other hand, video is always open for a wide variety of experimentation without limits and without the need to follow rules. Video is available to all, and anyone can make video.

Video can function independently but as a part of cinema, mass media, ambience, facade, different situations or even as a part of other art forms as well. It can be projected and integrated anywhere as a means to efficiently convey a message or emotion.

Today, analog video has been replaced by digital video.
Is it time to restart? Is video today still a part of the new media or is it not anymore? Is technology crucial in creating the very content of a work of art and imposing the artist’s expression and form? Are there clear boundaries between art forms and genres, can an author’s work fall into a category? Video used to be a new medium and now it is vintage? Will the video still have a future? Has the video just been technologically modified and switched from analog to digital video format or has it gotten a new essence as well? Will video continue to function as an independent medium or will it integrate into some new digital arts, forms and platforms and lose its freedom? Is video dead already ?! And the cinema?

We were looking forward to digital technology, its forms, ease of manipulation and communication and we are still adapting to it and we are still digitalising, but we are also looking forward and wondering what awaits us in the future after the digital era and what new media will exist and rule. Which will survive and which will become the past?

Learn more from our friends and experts about the great world trends and changes in the field of art, in the documentary Video restArt, on Friday, 15.10. at 7.15 PM, before the competition selection.

Videmoedeja VAL (Video Art Library)

Today, internet is the most popular place for alternate media and it has served us as a virtual festival for our 24^th Videomedeja in the midst of the pandemic and with inability to hold it in a physical space. It has shown to be extremely powerful for widening audiences and overcoming all physical barriers for viewer from all corners of the world. The internet is providing better and better possibilities for global participation in production, consumption and exchange of alternative video content.

Videmoedeja VAL (Video Art Library) UNIQUE, FREE, PUBLIC, INTERNATIONAL, ONLINE VIDEO ART LIBRARY which guards alternate heritage and makes it finally visible.

25 years of recognition and respect of our Association are our bedrock, and we now have the privilege to create something this special, unlike anything anyone has seen in Europe and maybe even further.

With the project Videomedeja VAL (Video Art Library), Novi Sad becomes the world capital for video art, the alternative moving pictures scene and new media.

The publishing of videos and short films started on Friday, the 15^th of May in 2020, at 6 p.m. In the first phase, over 200 video works were published for viewing on the website and Facebook page of Videomedeja http://videomedeja.org/video-art-biblioteka and https://www.facebook.com/videomedeja

The online Videomedeja Video Art Library is divided into different categories: Awarded, Competition, Lunartis and Made in Serbia.

While searching on the internet for video you come across a sea of something which has no relation to art and is far from what you are searching for. The importance of this library, or rather, these videos is that they will be already selected by experts in the field of contemporary art, and by high standards. Priority will be given to works that have passed the selection from previous years and due to their quality, came into the Competitive selection of the Videomedeja festival. An important category will be made up of awarded and praised works which were seen on Videomedeja festivals over these 25 years. This is just the beginning and it will take some time before we have a huge database of video works, but in time it’s sure to grow into an amazing library of video art that will be a platform for education and promotion of alternate visual art and video, as well as its creators. This project was created as a need to protect, save and spread video artworks from around the world in the best and most modern way, by means of the internet platforms that are available to all. Video art and new media are still relatively unknown and/or are not given adequate socio-cultural meaning. This way we can create a place for better comprehension, studying and experimenting with the theory, protection and distribution of video art and new media. Videomedeja VAL is essential so that the public can get to know video art better, while it is usually not available to the general public, and it is even invisible on the largest alternate media source – the internet. Videomedeja VAL is very important because it spreads awareness and the importance of video art to donators and sponsors, which will result in easier financing of future video productions. Participating in Videomedeja VAL gives you: greater recognition on a local and international level; the chance to meet potential co-producers and producers, sales agents, financers, distributors and emitters; a chance for other artists to participate in programs of renowned festivals from around the world.

Online Videomedeja Video Art Library will be updated every year with new works from the competitive selection of Videomedeja and with applications of artist who are not part of the festival. Artist who have not participated in the festival program can also be part of Videomedeja Video Art Library, however they must fill in the form on http://videomedeja.org/ugovor-video-art-library/ and donate a minimal amount of 10 euros. Follow our growth on Videomedeja’s internet platforms. For a better interface, simpler viewing and search for videos we recommend using our website http://videomedeja.org/video-art-biblioteka.

We give thanks to all artists who have agreed to be a part of Videomedeja Video Art Library, and who contribute to the life and development of the alternative scene and video art on the world internet scene. Without them Videmoedeja VAL would not be possible and the video scene would stay marginalised and out of sight for the general public.

Bogdanka Poznanović Award

One of the awards that the international video art festival Videomedeja gives out is called Bogdanka Poznanović, and for a good reason. An avant-garde multimedia artist and former professor on the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Bogdanka Poznanović was the first person in former Yugoslavia to have used video in her teaching. She was one of the founders and editors on „Tribina Mladih“ and „Polja“ (Fields). She founded the Visual studio for intermedial research. She was a participant in the alternate art scene in the 70s in Novi Sad. Her artworks spanned from modern painting close to the abstract and modern graphic design to research in informalism and post-painting practices: visual poetry, conceptual art, new art practice, communication research and new media, video art…