Almissa

2010

Open Air

Two artists from Omiš, Vice Tomaso­vić and Josip Rogošić, launched the first Almissa con­tem­por­ary art fest­iv­al, titled “Open Air”, with the inten­tion of shak­ing up their milieu which had no real con­tact with recent art events. This eclect­ic mani­fest­a­tion united exhib­i­tions, exper­i­ment­al and altern­at­ive music, per­form­ance and theat­er art, while emphas­iz­ing the role of pro­du­cing new con­tent, impro­visa­tion and exper­i­ment. The major­ity of the fest­iv­al pro­gram took place in a pub­lic space (a square), which was, much like the rest of the city core, trans­formed into a plat­form for cater­ing and tour­ism. Res­taur­ant own­ers had heavy com­plaints since the fest­iv­al pro­gram affected their income. This lack of tol­er­ance nearly caused phys­ic­al viol­ence, when Dobar vid, a band from Split, impro­vised onstage, refer­ring to their sur­round­ings: stinky squids and angry waiters. A local art col­lect­ive, Insipi­ens, dis­rup­ted the band’s per­form­ance, receiv­ing applause and praise from the cater­ers. The per­formers con­cealed their iden­tity using tin foil, brought a table on the stage and star­ted eat­ing a large paint­ing. It took 20 minutes for the Insipi­ens to fin­ish the meal, leav­ing the con­fused audi­ence and res­taur­ant guests to the shock and con­fu­sion caused by the art-punk band Ilija i Zrno Žita. This Split-based group com­bines per­form­ance art and hap­pen­ing in order to cre­ate a humor­ous, energy-fueled per­form­ance which marked the end of the fest­ival’s 1st edi­tion. Their under­ground hit “Neka tebi kušin bude stina, pizda ti mater­ina” later became the fest­ival’s anthem. A couple of days after the fest­iv­al was closed, it was clear how Omiš was pushed into con­tem­por­ary times and that the fest­ival’s future lied in per­form­ance, hap­pen­ing and the pro­duc­tion of unusu­al social situations.