Bikeculture Project aims to develop new models for the promotion of New Belgrade’s cultural heritage, encompassing participatory approach and creation of interactive contents.
New Belgrade was constructed after the Second World War, when it assumed symbolical meaning as the centre of the newly formed socialist state of Yugoslavia. Once a modernist utopia, organized in harmony with citizens' needs, New Belgrade is, at present-day, changing and starting to function as a business area. Rapid changes are erasing the memory of its history, while the citizens are often not aware of the city's history and heritage.
Using various models and media of interpretation (web site, guided bicycle tours, social media), the project aims to raise citizens’ awareness of the importance of active involvement in preserving common cultural-historical heritage.
Bicycle Tours are offering a frame for non-formal discussions and interpretation of local heritage between curators and participants. In this context, tours can be seen as a tool to incite these discussions and raise interest of people who are not museum-goers to participate. Gathered knowledge grounded both in desk research (literature, archives, Internet) and field research (oral history, communication with tour participants, members of local community, as well as other interested parties) is shared through different participatory platforms. They are also used to communicate and disseminate knowledge about museum collections to wider “non expert” audiences and engage them in its future collection and sharing. Bikeculture Project enables dialogue and sharing of new perspectives on socialist legacy which is often neglected and regarded as dissonant.
