tekhnē

Performance "Before the Storm / Silence as an Act of Resistance" by Serbian sound artist Aleksandra Mitrović, presented as part of her TEKHNÉ residency at TRAFO.

The work draws inspiration from the experience of the student-led protests in Serbia in 2024-2025, during which 16 minutes of collective silence became a form of protest and a commemoration of the 16 victims of the Novi Sad railway station disaster. In a regime of censorship and political violence, silene becomes a powerful gesture.

Inspired by these events, Mitrović brings this practice into the forest. Using megaphones, associated with demonstrations and amplified speech, she amplifies not the voice, but its absence. Instead of screams and words, there is silence.

A new iteration of her work takes on new meanings in the context of Alt Bucholtz.

It is one of the green, wild areas of northern Szczecin. A place of exceptional natural and historical value, but also a site of an ongoing dispute over the future of the city’s natural environment. In recent months, local residents, activists and community organisers have once again mobilised to defend the area, opposing plans for its development. Hundreds of residents have already signed a petition calling for the protection of Alt Buchholz.

In Alt Bucholtz, the silence of political protest will therefore meet the sound of the forest. In Serbian, šuma means forest, while šum means rustle, hum or noise. The forest is not silent. It speaks through leaves, wind, insects, birds, water and the quiet footsteps of animals.

The performance, including the introduction, will last approximately 30 minutes. During the presentation, the audience will be free to move around the site.

Aleksandra Mitrović – a sound artist based in Germany. Her practice encompasses experimental sound forms, radio and audiovisual storytelling. She explores the social, poetic and political significance of listening, silence and presence.