Sarajevo Winter Festival / International Peace Centre

The International Sarajevo Winter Festival (Sarajevska zima) was first organized in 1984/5, and became a regular meeting place for international artists in the following years. Its director, Ibrahim Spahić, also established the International Peace Centre (IPC) in 1990/1. The IPC sought to promote peace, by launching various activities with peace groups from other countries.

After the start of the war, thanks to their previous contacts, the IPC and the Sarajevo Winter Festival (SWF) quickly became central cooperation points for different humanitarian organisations, peace groups and cultural actors from abroad who wanted to support besieged Sarajevo. Throughout the entire war, in cooperation with international partners, they organized numerous exhibitions, concerts, conferences and other events, in Sarajevo and abroad. One of their most significant projects was the campaign “Sarajevo Cultural Capital of Europe” launched in 1993.

In winter 1992/93, when it was nearly impossible to travel to Sarajevo, over 70 theatres in eight European countries announced that they were placing their activities under the sign of the SWF, thereby accepting Ibrahim Spahić’s invitation to participate in the Festival’s “European Extension”. In the following years, the festival took place in Sarajevo in presence of international guests ; the 1993/1994 edition, for example, included theatre performances by the Theatre du Radeau from Le Mans (France) and exhibitions with paintings by Joan Miró, photographs by Paul Lowe and 250 posters by artists who participated in the “Sarajevo Cultural Capital of Europe” poster competition.

IPC also edited books and several magazines, among them “WHY – Publication for human rights and peace”, which dedicated much of its space to persons and groups involved in international support and solidarity initiatives for BiH.