Center for Culture Mostar

About the institution:

According to the opinions of people who are well versed in the events of the nineties of the twentieth century in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, Mostar is certainly one of the cities that suffered the greatest destruction, both physically and spiritually. The war, unfortunately, changed the face of the city, which experienced the greatest urbicide, genocide and culturocide in the maelstrom of the war, but still survived.

With the end of the war, the war-induced division into the so-called "Eastern" and the so-called "western" Mostar and that post-war, unnatural division of the city is still felt today.
In the absolutely impossible conditions of work and the lack of elementary needs in post-war Mostar, the Center for Culture was founded. The Center started its activity on May 15, 1994. in one of the business premises of a residential building in Šemovac (Onešćukova Street 39). With the arrival of the Administration of the European Administration of Mostar (EUAM) in 1994, the Department for Education, Culture and Sports of EUAM was presented with the program of the Center and the proposal to adapt and turn into a Cultural Center the Home for Neglected Children destroyed during the war at Rade Bitange Street 13 . Understanding the program and the goals they want to achieve (helping children, youth and citizens to alleviate or overcome war trauma faster and easier through educational, cultural and entertainment programs), EUAM enabled the reconstruction of part of the building of the Cultural Center, which was opened on January 26, 1996. year.

The center developed, in parallel, three programs: educational, cultural-educational and psychosocial. Everyone who wanted to, especially young people, had the chance to attend the Center's: computer school, foreign language school, journalism, music, art and theater workshops, to work in a solidly equipped photo laboratory, to attend dance school, modeling school, occasional short schools of guitar, chess, synthesizer. Then, they had at their disposal: a fitness club, a play center, a dance school for all ages, a Bosnian language school for foreigners. An important project of the Center is the launch of Youth Radio X, which started operating on November 7, 1996. year.

Since 2001, there has also been a chamber theater scene where 26 theater projects have been performed to date.

In these fifteen years of activity, it was possible to attend forums with different contents and many cultural, very high-quality programs. For the organization of all these types of activities and numerous programs, it was possible to find numerous donors so that all services to citizens were free.

In its fifteen years of activity, the Culture Center played a significant role in the cultural and spiritual renewal of post-war Mostar, making an extremely rich and unique contribution.