There will be an illustrated lecture by Mr Hrvoje Kekez on 'Symbol and Identity of the Coats of Arms of the Republic of Croatia' at the Croatian Embassy.

It will be on Thursday, 14th of January 2010, at 6.30pm.

Embassy of the Republic of Croatia
21 Conway Street
London
W1T 6BN

RSVP: tel. & fax 020 7387 3276

Email: vrhlon (at) mvpei.hr

The first scholarly study in the English language of Croatia's extraordinary artistic heritage.

Croatia: Aspects of Art, Architecture and Cultural Heritage

With contributions by: Stjepan Ćosić, Branko Kirigin, John Wilkes, Sheila McNally, Christopher de Hamel, Donal Cooper, David Ekserdjian, Joško Belamarić, Timothy Clifford, Marcus Binney and Brian Sewell.

The Blue Elephant Theatre will be showing a play by Croatian playwright Ivor Martinic, 'The Title of the Drama About Ante is Written Here':

"1,280 children were wounded during the Croatian War of Independence. Inspired by the true story of a young boy who lost both his mother and one of his legs following a bomb blast, The title of the drama about Ante is Written Here deals with the relationship between 12-year-old Ante and his father, long-absent during the war where he had served on the front, and their painful readjustment to post-war life, alone together in their grief yet trying to start afresh."

You can find more information at http://www.blueelephanttheatre.co.uk/

You are cordially invited to the opening of the exihibition, Medjimurski pilovi [Medjimurje Roadside Shrines]
on Tuesday 8th September, 6 to 8pm, at the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia
21 Conway Street
London W1T 6BN

About the Exhibition
In 'Medjimurski pilovi', Damir Klaic depicts Medjimurje roadside religious shrines in a photographic examiniation. In this exhibition, they appear as intimate messages from the folk: from crucifix to crucifix, from praying post to praying post, from Jesus to Mary, from powerful to local saints - all far from chapels and churches but with the same aim to serve as altars of faith.

The artist offers a photo-safari of the Medjimurje terrain, its villages and fields, away from major roads and highways. These photographs point to a local heritage that describes both people and religion.

A Croatian pianist Ivana Gavric and an oboist Fraser MacAuley will be giving an recital at The Royal Festival Hall later this month. Entry is free and no tickets are required.

Ivana and Fraser will be playing works by Mozart, Damase, Dranishnikova and Kalliwoda.

There will be two performances of the Anglo-Croatian production of a musical Godspell at White Cliffs Theatre at Astor College for the Arts in Dover. 

In the cold nights of November, what can bring more cheer than art and a pint?

We are going to see the Turner Prize exhibition at the Tate Britain on 21 November. We will meet at 6.30 and then inspect the exhibits competing for the Turner prize. Afterwards we shall head over to the pub for alcoholic refreshment – we may need it – and discussion, artistic and otherwise. The Morpeth Arms is the nearest pub, and we shall try that. 

Ivana Marija Vidovic

This is a free lunchtime concert starting at 1pm. Programme includes "Springtime" - first performance, dedicated to Ivana Marija Vidovic by Michael Denhoff, D. Pejacevic and F. Liszt.

Floral Exhibition

The exhibition will take place in GXgallery, Denmark Hill, South-East London.

Elvis Stanic

This includes a performance in the 606 Club on Wednesday 5th November. There is no entry fee, instead the musicians are funded from a Music Charge which is added to the bill at the end of the night, with charges currently on £5.00 per head.

100 Minutes of Slava

Since in 2004 we organised (with CAN and the Embassy) the first Croatian film festival in more than 30 years, we are seeing more and more of Croatian films in the UK. Do join us if you can for the best of the contemporary Croatian cinema.

CSYPN's First Book

This project has a number of aims, and the most important are:

• to increase/create the awareness of Croatian culture and language among members of the British society in general and in academia
• to 'refresh' the knowledge of Croatian language and culture among Croats in UK

In 2001 we organised three lectures:

• prof. Branko Franolic at Trinity College, Cambridge
• prof. Mateo Zagar at SSEES, UCL , and
• Dalibor Brozovic at the Croatian Embassy

We got two of these talks into a nice 110 pages book with lots of beautiful illustrations.

Renata Pokupic is an esteemed mezzao-soprano singer from Croatia, who regularly performs at events across Europe.  On Thursday, 17 April, Renata will be performing at the Barbican, in Handel’s opera, Flavio.

Flavio had apparently flopped when it was first performed in London in 1723, however, we’re sure you’ll be satisfied with Handel’s artistic genius this time-around, and its performers, including our Renata of course.

Viva la Vida! @ Vinyl Bar

This coming Saturday will feature a special guest, Seraphim Codex (Robert from Bjelovar), who is one of the best Croatian DJs and was a finalist of Heineken DJ World Championship in Las Vegas last year.

This promises to be a great night out and it would be great if you could join us.

A Wonderful Night in Split

His Excellency Josko Paro, the Croatian Ambassador to the UK, said:

"I am delighted that for the first time this small selection of Croatian films will be shown at the prestigious Filmhouse cinema in Edinburgh. I hope this is only the beginning of a regular appearance of Croatian films in Scotland. Croatian cinema is enjoying a revival and the quality of recent films is becoming recognised both locally and internationally." 

The Latin American and Caribbean Cultural Society (LACCS), with the support of the Slovenian Embassy is organising a concert of Zarko Ignjatovic, Croatian/Slovenian classical guitarist at the Leighton House Museum. Zarko will play Slovene, Croatian, Italian and Mexican music. 

A CSYPN member Stephanie McNamara has already entertained us with her lovely voice in the past. There is another concert on Saturday, 10th November.

"We  Divas Rouge - are giving another concert with voice, clarinet  and piano and we'd love it if you'd come along! As usual we'll take  you through the centuries with some lovely music including pieces  from Schumann, Verdi, and Rossini, all the way up to Cole Porter  and Kurt Weill. Wine and refreshments are included in the ticket  price."

Josip Lizatovic, a CSYPN member, has invited us to the opening of his new exhibition, In Situ. The Private View will take place  on Friday, 19 October 2007 at 7.30pm, while the exhibition continues through 1st November 2007.

Closer Croatia

The Festival, also entitled Closer Croatia, will again take place in the Riverside Studios, Thursday 11th - Sunday 14th October 2007. The programme is made of contemporary eight feature films and ten short films. We hope you will join us!

Fragile by Tena Stivicic

"Amidst tabloid paranoia about migrant workers and the blurring of national boundaries comes this sparkling multiple award-winning play by Tena Stivicic. I swear this city will eventually sink with all these worn out dreams holding by their teeth. A Croatian actress, a Serbian stand-up comedian, a human trafficking victim, a Norwegian journalist, a Balkan mafioso. All escaping. All pursuing fragile dreams. In London."

Still by Jelena Blagovic

The range of media on show includes photographs, book art, mixed media work and video. Many pieces manipulate London and its inhabitants, including the photographers themselves, into starting points for the exploration and transgression of traditional genres. 

Salvador Dali

After inspecting the exhibition we shall head to the nearby The Founders Arms pub for a drink as well as chat and artistic discussion.

Ballet Troupe Croatia

Svebor Secak, principal dancer of the Croatian National Theatre and an internationally acclaimed artist is bringing his Ballet Troupe Croatia back to London.