Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Ekrem Dupanović, ekrem@www.media-marketing.com
The 22nd Sarajevo Evenings of Music opened last night at the National Theatre with a piano recital by Vadim Rudenko. Rudenko masterfully performed works by Bach, Mozart, Brahms and Rachmaninoff. Over the next four days Sarajevo will be the center of classical music in the region. SVEM will end on Saturday with a performance by Ivo Pogorelić of one of the most significant works for piano, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra no. 2 in f minor by Frederic Chopin.
I am not a music critic to comment on Rudenko’s recital last night, nor do I want to. It was fantastic, and that’s all I intend (and know how) to say. But I would like to say something about the emotions that this music stirred in me – taking me back to a time when we worked on the sponsorship projects of the Sarajevo Philharmonic in the 1991/92 season.
In 1990, at the Yugoslav-Swiss agency IMS Studio 6 (of which I was the director), I received a young designer, Aida Bambur. In the very first days she showed me her diploma thesis, the visual identity of the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra. I liked it, so I called Ninoslav Verber, director of the Sarajevo Philharmonic, to look at the design. He liked it as well, so we agreed that we would give the design as a present to the Philharmonic and would pay for the production of its communication materials and posters. We also agreed that IMS Studio 6 would take on the task of finding sponsors for the Philharmonic and the implementation of their sponsorship. With this agreement I ‘condemned’ myself – like it or not – to obligatory visits to the concerts. Luckily, I thought, the Philharmonic only had one concert a month (the last Friday of the month), so I could bear it. I never thought that I would soon be sorry that these concerts were not more frequent – at least twice a week. Perhaps this sudden love of mine was contributed to by maestro Uroš Lajovic, who conducted the first concert. I fell in love with classical music at the first note. And even more so at the dinner after that first concert in the Dom Pisaca, where I was totally enchanted by Uroš. We became great friends, and our friendship continues to this day.
We quickly agreed on several sponsors, of which my favorite was Florami from Mostar, Hepok’s flower ‘factory’, whose director, Rade Grgur, would, early in the morning every last Friday of the month, personally supervise the plucking of roses which, on the same evening, were given to the ladies at the entrance to the National Theatre. Each would receive a rose. And the roses, under the strict supervision of director Grgur, had to have long and straight stems, with no thorns. I watched the women as they received the roses. The war was raging in Croatia and was knocking on the door of Bosnia and Herzegovina. “What a nice gesture in such bad times,” commented one old lady. The women were greeted with roses, and the men with a glass of champagne. But the war did not allow for the season to end. Later, as I remained alone in Sarajevo, I realized that I missed three things: my family, whom I sent to Slovenia, going to the market on Saturdays, and the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra. I had immensely enjoyed the concerts. To each one I brought my notebook, sinking into creative thoughts and writing down everything that would come to mind.
After a year and a half of the war, I went to Slovenia and started collaborating with the magazine Manager. The first project I did was the December Concert for Managers in Cankarjev Dom, for 1300 guests. The concert, of course, was conducted by maestro Lajovic. This concert has been performed for 23 years now and is the main cultural event for Slovenian managers.
I remembered all of that last night as I listened to the piano performances by Vadim Rudenko.
Culture and art in the region are faced with dwindling state budgets. Serious projects need sponsors. But those who are looking for sponsorships don’t know how to ask for them, and those who give (with honorable exceptions) don’t know how to give. The institutions of culture and art only want to sell their need for money to the sponsors, but sponsors are not interested in that. They want to know the value they get for their money.
It’s a pity that advertising and PR agencies don’t want to get involved with sponsorships in culture and art. This is the future of their work, and especially the future of PR. Quite simply, this is what the future has to be – it takes just a little interest, a little research, but it seems that no one is interested in that. And it pays off. Believe me, I’ve tried it, I’ve worked on such projects. Sponsorship in culture and art has prestige and pazazz – much more than the jobs you are currently working on. I won’t get involved with specific sponsorship projects, but, together with Amir and Adnan, I wish to help. That’s why on 22 December last year we launched the portal Art&Business (www.artbizmag.com) dedicated to sponsorship in culture and art in the Adriatic region. On it you can read many articles that argue why one should get involved with this kind of sponsorship and what the work brings.
In addition to the portal, on 19 and 20 October 2016 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb we will organize the Art&Business Conference on sponsorship in culture and art. We will invite experienced people from the region and the world to show us examples of successful sponsorships. A separate event as part of the conference will be the Art&Business Award, a gala ceremony for the best sponsorship strategies in culture and art.
Choose an institution or an event that best suits your agency’s clients (or your agency), call them, schedule a meeting, and arrange something. Bring sponsorship into the arts in grand style into your agency. Already after the first project you will feel happy, satisfied and fulfilled. Take a break from running from one pitch to another. Sponsorship in culture and arts is a cleansing of the soul and the body – for your poor, suffering creative brain.
Ninoslav Verber introduced me to the world of classical music while he was director of the Sarajevo Philharmonic, with him I organized the Concert for Managers in Ljubljana, and last night we sat together at Rudenko’s concert. I as a guest, Nino as president of the MAF Foundation and director of Sarajevo Evenings of Music.
Priceless!
Sarajevo, 10 May, 2016