Sewage Pipes Festival. Visualization of the Vrbas river pollution problem in Banja Luka
The Sewage Pipes Festival is an ecological-communal initiative for the wider area of the city of Banja Luka and solving the pollution of the Vrbas River. By asking a question “Where does your shit go?” It attracts wider community and goes viral, giving realistic expectations that this kind of support can encourage the community and the political instance to take real action, and that next festival editions can celebrate solving the problem that is visualized, promoted, illuminated and made aware
National
Bosnia and Herzegovina
{Empty}
Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
2021-09-26
As a representative of an organization, in partnership with other organisations
Name of the organisation(s): Center for Spatial Research Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Igor Last name of representative: Kuvač Gender: Male Nationality: Bosnia and Herzegovina If relevant, please select your other nationality: Serbia Function: Coordinator Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Zdravka Dejanovića Town: Banja Luka Postal code: 78000 Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina Direct Tel:+387 65 433-094 E-mail:icprostor@gmail.com Website:https://icprostor.wordpress.com/
Name of the organisation(s): Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy Type of organisation: University or another research institution First name of representative: Saša Last name of representative: Čvoro Gender: Male Nationality: Bosnia and Herzegovina Function: Dean Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Stepe Stepanovića bb Town: Banja Luka Postal code: 78000 Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina Direct Tel:+387 51 462-543 E-mail:sasa.cvoro@aggf.unibl.org Website:https://aggf.unibl.org/
Name of the organisation(s): Academy of Arts, University of Banja Luka Type of organisation: University or another research institution First name of representative: Borjana Last name of representative: Mrđa Gender: Female Nationality: Bosnia and Herzegovina Function: Head of the department Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Petra Bojovića 1A Town: Banja Luka Postal code: 78000 Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina Direct Tel:+387 65 458-377 E-mail:borjana.mrdja@au.unibl.org Website:https://au.unibl.org/
Name of the organisation(s): NEB Forum Bosnia and Herzegovina Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Selma Last name of representative: Harington Gender: Female Nationality: Bosnia and Herzegovina Function: Head Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Alipašina 2/I Town: Sarajevo Postal code: 71000 Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina Direct Tel:+353 87 126 0928 E-mail:harrinse@tcd.ie Website:https://www.ace-cae.eu/activities/new-european-bauhaus-forum-bih/
One of the main identity elements of the city of Banja Luka is the culture of living in close relation to the Vrbas river. Unfortunately, the river is an open city collector nowadays, while the problem of pollution remains outside the political debate. In this context, it is important to initiate a discussion and to put public pressure on raising awareness on environmental pollution. The Sewage Pipes Festival was organized with the objective of launching a public debate on the problem and joining the initiative to build a wastewater treatment system.
By using the small SCALE project model of the Center for Spatial Research, the central part of the program was a student workshop, during which sewage discharges into the river were mapped and a visual presentation of the problem was designed. One of the results is an urban installation on the main city square. The multifunctional installation was constructed to simulate sewage drains on which the textual and material research results from the student workshop are presented. In addition to materializing the problem, the installation places users at the center of the city's sewage system simulation, raising awareness of its immediate presence in everyday life and the scale of the problem.
Other results are: map of sewage discharges; performance S.O.S. for Vrbas; performative walk; an exhibition that demystifies the problem; the Landscape of Vrbas exhibition - conditionally; panel discussion; and promo video.
The festival confirms the values of a multimedia and multidisciplinary approach, in which students from the closed space of the institution go out into the public space. In this way, ecological, architectural and artistic ways of acting are connected. In addition to being educational, the installation has an engaged character in which the population is invited to come together (and have a transparent public dialog about possibilities of solving a common problem) in order to solve a common problem.
visual statement
nature preservation
activist-design approach
live studio project
small scale intervention
As one of the main themes of environmental protection, the Sewage Pipes Festival advocates the sustainability of the city's sewage system and the ecological sustainability of the Vrbas River and the blue-green landscape in the local and regional context. Bearing in mind the rivers towards which the Vrbas flows the Sava and the Danube, the theme of sustainability spills over into the entire ecosystem from the local micro level, all the way to the global problem of climate change.
Bearing in mind its small scale, which is reflected in the number of direct participants, small budget, program modularity, adaptability and flexibility, dimensions of the physical space for preparation and performance, use of available and accessible open public space, the results that are reduced to pop-up small spatial interventions, performance in public space, graphic, audio and video material, and the use of virtual space as a dominant medium in reaching a wide audience, constant upgrading of the research process, involvement of the local community and new generations of young people, it is concluded that the project solely depends on human resources and civic initiative of a small group of people and that it can be fully sustainable. Therefore, it is fully replicable and changeable in different contexts.
The Sewage Pipes Festival is an ecological-communal initiative for the wider area of the city of Banja Luka and solving the pollution of the Vrbas River. Bearing in mind its viral success, there are realistic expectations that this kind of support can encourage the community and the political instance to take real action, and that next festival editions can celebrate solving the problem that is visualized, promoted, illuminated and made aware here. In this context it is important to start discussion and put public pressure on raising awareness and combating pollution for the benefit of environmental protection. This can be a trigger for supporting sustainable development.
Living in an extremely visualized world, our nowadays lived space is perceived in another way, so the digital landscape becomes a representation of our actions in reality. On the other hand, visual representation is a kind of process of contemplation and naturalization of cultural and social constructions. This shows that visual communications become one of the most powerful representations of reality and its perception. That is why it is important that issues are visually presented, and in that way visually closer to the general public. Thus the main project objective was creating a visual statement on the problem based on the activist and artistic approach to the aesthetic.
This project is not an aesthetic category; rather, it is both social and psychological. It is close to artistic performance in public space, which has the ability to visualize provocative alternative scenarios and engage local participants while reflecting the collective perception of common values. It uses aesthetics which subtly flirts with spectacle and provocation. It is reduced to basic elements, brutally honest, without any hiding.
Superior design, close to a work of art in different formats, in addition to being activist, has a decontaminating function in terms of environmental and visual pollution. Visual and provocative narrative expressions have an educational and emancipatory function in the sense of liberation from social norms and restraints, because they go beyond the framework of literary language acceptable for polite speech in public space. With this, the provocative and performative expression of the festival itself becomes a cultural event that attracts attention and is talked about. In this way, the attention of all participants is directed and activated in the direction of critical thinking, and instead of passive observers, citizens become involved in solving a common problem.
In light of environmental challenges at the everyday level, it is especially important to encourage the participation of young and creative people in order to promote sustainable ideas, to raise public awareness of the importance of environmental pollution and create better living conditions. This project is just like that! In addition to the practical experience that students gain, it emphasizes the importance of personal initiative and promotes active participation through cooperation in the development and implementation of new models of social responsibility and care for the urban and natural environment.
The festival was implemented using the live studio project approach, which means that the project can be followed online in real time, through regular daily reports in various media and through regular posts on social network profiles (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube) of all involved partners.
All project programs were advertised, and accessible to the public both physically and virtually, including accessibility without physical barriers. The main part of the program took place in an open public space (the main city square), in the gallery of the Center for Spatial Research, on the Vrbas riverbanks, on the main streets and an open green space on the riverbank, right next to the public university, which enabled the participation of all interested parties. A broad alliance of project partners, which includes citizen associations, higher education institutions, local city administration, environmental protection organizations, sports and cultural associations, fully supports the applied model of collaboration and co-creation.
The micro-scale of spatial perception and human interaction should be “reshaped as components of emerging socio-physical networks that extend beyond local boundaries”. Therefore, action in the field of environmental protection should move towards small units and multiple scenarios, which increase the diversity of spatial relationships that small [spatial] units combine into a complex structure. In addition to top-down institutional strategies, alternative problem-solving methods can be applied. This mainly implies self-initiated, spontaneous actions of temporary cultural interventions and practical approaches, such are: community urbanism, do-it-yourself, pop-up, guerrilla and tactical urbanism, short-term projects done by using a collaborative approach, urban acupuncture strategies, etc..
By recognizing the real problems, needs and potentials of different spatial scales, it is necessary to experiment with the development of new ways of thinking and different models of solving problems in cities. Because urbanism alone is not enough. It must be supported by cultural activities. In parallel with the creation of formal-legal frameworks, a proactive and direct activist-design approach is needed.
This is exactly the approach that was applied in the Sewage Pipes Festival project. All participants and citizens had the opportunity to become familiar with the possibilities of civic activism as a way of political pressure on decision makers. In addition, they had the opportunity to get to know the problem directly, raise awareness of the problem, visualize the problem and realistic possibilities of solving the problem, whereby the problem was completely demystified.
The Sewage Pipes Festival gathered around numerous stakeholders at various levels. The Embassy of France provided co-financing to the project. The Center for Spatial Research provided logistical and organizational support to the project, including the methodology of the small SCALE project. The Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy and Academy of Fine Arts of the University of Banja Luka ensured students participation and provided experts and mentors (from the fields of architecture, urban planning, fine arts, multimedia, hydrology) included in the workshop process; provided a space for Interactive Lectures in Banja Luka; contributed to continuous dissemination activities.
The City Administration of Banja Luka provided permits for actions in open public space. Public company for providing drinking water and managing wastewater provided documentation for mapping the Sewage pipes system along the Vrbas river. Dayak Club Banja Luka provided guided dayak boats tours along the river, members which helped mapping and intervening in chosen spots and wide project promotion. The Association of architects in Bosnia and Herzegovina contributed to dissemination activities. NEB Forum BiH, as a part of the New European Bauhaus initiative (a knowledge exchange platform in the field of architectural and urban design, education, environment, heritage, and sustainability) had a role in promotion and dissemination activities on international level and integration with the EU level, as well on re-evaluating the project.
Festival gathered around a big number of visitors primarily interested in the subject of water pollution, but also tourists, users of Vrbas riverbanks as well as design, architecture and art lovers. Engaging different stakeholders resulted with an added value of collective learning by doing research, by organizing festivals, by participating, raising awareness about the subject and finally by promoting results.
The Sewage Pipes Festival confirms the success of a multimedia and multidisciplinary approach. Students and teachers of both faculties came out of the closed space of institutions and well-known teaching process into the new public and cultural space, using their acquired knowledge thoughtfully and purposefully. The act of placing the installation in the public space of the main square connects ecological, architectural and artistic principles and modes of operation. In addition to the educational character about the emerging issue of the Vrbas River pollution caused by unregulated sewage discharges, it also has an engaged character in which it invites citizens to act in addressing and solving community problems. Finally, the Sewage Pipes Festival confirms the statement that public space is a place where society is visualized and built, and that collaborative approaches by engaging communities with public space can provide quality results.
Through workshop participants gained theoretical and practical knowledge about the city sewage system, how to approach the problems of environmental pollution using various types of political pressure, and raised public awareness about the issue. In addition to setting up the installation by using the public space as an exhibition space, students also conducted a performative walk with banners, as well as addressing the citizens on the square, initiating communication and a lively dialogue about the problem. A dialogue has also been established between local actors and the young population - the bearers of future change. The local administration has gained experience of a new proactive approach in the process of creating a critical mass for launching expensive and long-term, but necessary strategic projects for a healthier and more sustainable future of the urban environment.
The results are: map of sewage discharges; S.O.S. for Vrbas - performance with the release of colored smoke signals along the river, sending a clear visual message about the scale of the river pollution; a festival walk, carrying banners with visual messages that in a comic way provoke passers-by in an attempt to think about the pollution; exhibition panels that demystify the problem of pollution and construction of wastewater treatment systems through exact analytical data; exhibition Landscape of Vrbas - conditionally, showing urban projects that treat the Vrbas river, depending to only one condition - clean water; a panel discussion and promo video.
One of the main results is the spatial installation on the main city square. The installation is an open construction of a linear character, which is interactive and encourages communication because it is possible to walk through it freely and meet the participants and involved citizens. It is designed to allow flexibility, easy (dis)assembly, and different spatial configurations. The intense pink color stands out from any urban or natural context and attracts attention. In addition to materializing the issue, the installation places users at the center of the simulation of the city's sewage system, raising awareness of its immediate presence in everyday life and its scale. The main question of the exhibition "Where does your shit go?", with the presentation of wastewater samples and simultaneous combination of different sensations, fully explains the project idea.
The news about the Sewage Pipes Festival went viral, attracting the attention of the professional, academic and student community, and then ecologists, users and fans of the Vrbas River. Negative outcomes were minimal, mainly related to great expectations and provocative festival language, which introduces the sewage pipes system and finally the content of the Vrbas River on the table, which should not be censored.
The innovative character is reflected through a change in the paradigm of problem observation. The medium of the festival inverts the problem, using it as the main topic of reflection. In this way, the problem acquires a different, entertaining character, attracts more attention, and is easier to perceive.
The innovative character is also reflected in the way of working with students. The project sets students aside from other curricular projects so they engage in projects with problems outside of educational institutions. They had to take full responsibility for a project, and to deal with numerous challenges, happening in real time, with members of the community directly, that have made very real commitments, where their time and resources were at stake.
The project introduced a novel approach of thinking of a sustainable urban environment in the local context. It addressed rising awareness among the local community and its engagement around emerging river pollution problem, on the one hand, and the importance of public consensus on solving the problem in the long-term process, which can be also done in phases, by following best global practice examples, using collaborative and creative approach and thinking in a creative and smart way.
The innovativeness is also reflected in the exit from narrow academic and professional circles to the wider public and beyond to the viral space. Even after its completion, the project continued to live on through various forms. It received: Special recognition for public activity from the Collegium Artisticum 2022, Sarajevo ; the first prize in the Urbanism category at DA! festival 2022 in Zagreb. It was exhibited at the 23rd Salon of Architecture, Novi Sad 2022 and at the 44th Salon of Architecture, Belgrade 2022. It was presented at the Faculty of Architecture in Brno in May 2022 and at the Green Design Biennale, Mostar in October 2022, in partnership with members of the NEB Forum BiH.
The Sewage Pipes Festival was organized to launch a public debate on the river pollution problem and joining the initiative to build a wastewater treatment system. The central part of the festival was a workshop for students who mapped wastewater discharges into the Vrbas River in Banja Luka, and then worked on a visual presentation of the problem. The workshop was accompanied by lectures on hydrotechnics, water landscape, contemporary visual arts and urban public space, which contributed to the analytical process and inspired actions.
The workshop was organized according to the model of a small SCALE project of the Center for Spatial Research, which has been applied since 2017. It includes research on a specific topic, design of a small urban intervention and its construction in open public space. The workshop analyzes the mutual impacts of different spatial scales, from very small to large ones, reflecting the physical environment of everyday life and experience. Students are faced with working in a multidisciplinary team, achieving collaboration with all participants in the process including government representatives, investors, contractors and other professionals. In addition to the research, the project involves main project design and realization of all activities, including promotion and post-production. After the project was realized, all the results were discussed and evaluated at the meetings, from the setting of the installation in the public space to the informations collected in the interaction with the citizens.Therefore, the workshop is a method of research and joint learning by doing in which a multidisciplinary approach to education is focused on practice, connection with the real context and cooperation with the wider community as a long-term process of collective learning involving a wide range of actors and exploring new models of co-creation.
The basic project element that could be replicated or transferred is its methodology. It is an approach of the small SCALE project by the Centre for Spatial Research which has been used since 2017. It includes experimental research on urban acupuncture, design and construction of urban-architectural structure on specific sites. The project is carried out as an international student workshop and involves a wide range of actors. The project has been a great success and has gained visibility among the general public as well as the experts’ recognition (it has been awarded in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Slovenia). Since 2017, four small-scale interventions have been completed and few more are still ongoing.
The small-scale approach applies equally to the social and physical dimension of space, as a framework for human activities. Small-scale projects make it easier to involve different actors in the ongoing process of change. They activate the public space through community engagement and the implementation of affordable and ready-made projects. The advantages are: the ability to adapt to a dynamic and unstable context of change, a higher level of feasibility in economic and social terms, encouraging residents to take an active attitude towards public space, and the proximity of human scale, perception and needs. However, it is important that small-scale projects belong to the system, and are always viewed as part of a complex, sensitive, dynamic and multiple system of urban structure. Although limited in size, small-scale projects encourage further expansion of the idea, launching a series of other “bottom up” projects, which can have a greater impact, and increase the vitality and diversity of urban space.
Small urban interventions shift the boundaries between the spheres of the artistic, architectural, and urban, and enter the sphere of the social because a small physical environment increases the possibility of social interaction.
Environmental pollution is one of the greatest global challenges. Its solving means continuous work on changing the entire planetary system, based on the unlimited use of natural resources. This implies globally coordinated strategies, with a series of programs, actions and projects to be implemented at different levels, scales and geographies. A long experience in implementing strategies to reduce the level of environmental pollution, the dynamics of change and the results show that the efforts made so far have not been sufficient and that the problem is becoming more complicated. Some of the reasons are insufficiently developed awareness of the population, as well as official policies, which are not able to respond to challenges.
One of the main identity elements of the city of Banja Luka is the culture of living in close relation to the Vrbas river. Unfortunately, the river is an open sewage collector nowadays, while the problem of water pollution constantly remains out of the public interest or the political debate. In this context, it is important to initiate a discussion and to put public pressure on raising awareness on environmental pollution.
It is clear that the locally recognized problem of the lack of a sewage system is not an isolated case of the city of Banja Luka, but a globally widespread problem (with the exception of a group of developed countries), especially in the global South and beyond. In these conditions, it is necessary to apply the well-known slogan „think globally and act locally“. Great ideas can be equally implemented through small and simple projects at the local level, as well as small spatial interventions can impact on a much larger scale whenever they contribute to real life and spatial character.
