Photo: Lidija Đurašević
On 28 May, BELhospice held a charity harp concert entitled “Sound, Colour, Support: When Art Touches” at Laura Design House in Belgrade. There were two reasons for the occasion, as Mayholds a special place in our calendar: this year, we marked 22 years of our work, as well asEuropean Palliative Care Day on 14 May. The concert was an opportunity to talk about palliative care through music and painting, whose therapeutic effects are well known to all art lovers.
An Evening of Harp, Art and Support
The audience had the opportunity to discover Serbian and international musical heritage through the sound of the harp, performed by harp students from the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad. Anikija Premović and Marija Đurašević performed under the guidance of Staša Mirković Grujić, MA, one of the region’s most prominent harpists and the first representative from Serbia to serve on the Board of Directors of the World Harp Congress.
Each piece was dedicated to one of the patients supported by BELhospice. The harp itself, an instrument whose sound combines a distinctive gentleness and strength, reflected what our organisation strives to provide for its patients every day.
Through works by composers from different periods and cultures — Stevan Mokranjac, Isidor Bajić, Isidora Žebeljan, Dejan Despić, Domenico Scarlatti, Jacques Ibert, Gabriel Pierné, Henriette Renié and Marcel Grandjany — the harp became a voice of Serbian musical tradition and a universal symbol of world cultural heritage, while also showing how it can represent a community whose members care for one another.
Art in the Service of Humanity
The musical performance was complemented by visual works by Tamara Kusovac, a Belgrade painter and designer known for her distinctive style of urban naïve art and a long-time friend of BELhospice. After the concert, visitors had the opportunity to support our organisation and take home a piece of the evening through unique items featuring recognisable motifs from Tamara’s paintings, specially created for the occasion.
All funds raised will be used to provide free palliative care services to patients who rely on BELhospice for support every day.
The musical performance was complemented by visual works by Tamara Kusovac, a Belgrade painter and designer known for her distinctive style of urban naïve art and a long-time friend of BELhospice. After the concert, visitors had the opportunity to support our organisation and take home a piece of the evening through unique items featuring recognisable motifs from Tamara’s paintings, specially created for the occasion.
All funds raised will be used to provide free palliative care services to patients who rely on BELhospice for support every day.
We would like to thank all the artists and visitors for taking part, for being there, for their support, and for giving us the opportunity to continue building our community together, as we have done for more than two decades.
