The Multimedia Center “Led Art” (MMC Led Art) originated from the activities of the Led Art Art Group, which was founded in 1993 by visual artist Nikola Džafo. During a period of social and political crisis and wars, the group viewed activism in art and culture as a means of survival and resistance to reality. In 1999, it was officially registered as a citizens’ association under the name Multimedia Center Led Art.

MMC Led Art is known for its long-term projects Art Clinic (2002–2012) and Šok ZaDruga (2013–present), which promote participatory and voluntary work in art and culture. Its activities are focused on the development of the contemporary art scene in Novi Sad, the advancement of cultural policy, and connecting artists, cultural workers, and institutions.

Among its significant projects are Perspectives, Collective Drawing, Total Art Sale, Context of Contemporary Art, Graphic Network, ReCAPITULATION, REMIX COMIX, Passage Fest, Image of the City, and SKUP.

Šok ZaDruga challenges institutional and disciplinary boundaries and develops new models of collaboration between private and public, institutional and non-institutional, formal and informal spheres. Its work is based on the idea that “only cooperativism can save the world from catastrophe.”

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Frozen Art (1993)

The exhibition FROZEN ART, held on 15 May 1993 in Belgrade, in a refrigerated truck parked in front of the Youth Cultural Center, brought together numerous figures from the artistic and cultural scene of the time and, in many ways, anticipated the formation of the Led Art art group.

The setting and exhibits, together with the accompanying slogan, “Stay here, the winter of a foreign sky will not chill you as much as this one freezes you,” clearly signalled the decision to move artistic practice into the social and political sphere. This shift implied a different understanding of the role of art and of the demands placed upon artistic practice.

Because of its unstable physical state, ice became a medium for critical interventions in the political, social, and cultural realities of the 1990s. It was used both as a material from which artworks were produced and subsequently melted (PUBLIC WORK, Zmaj Jovina Street; FLOOD, Šmaug Café; exhibition at VLV Gallery, Novi Sad, 16 October 1993; ICE CELEBRATION, Center for Metamedia, Plasy, Czech Republic, 14 July–4 August 1998; KUNSTLAGER, Cultural Center of Novi Sad, 29 February 2000), and as a site or surface for artistic intervention (SITE No. 1, Subotica, Small Sports Stadium, 19 February 1994; SITE No. 2, Belgrade, Ice Rink at Pionir Hall, 24 February 1994).

Museum from the Ashes (2008)

MUSEUM FROM THE ASHES was an action carried out on 20 September 2008 in Novi Sad’s Chinatown district.

After the failure of the authorities to engage in the dialogue initiated by the Art Clinic team, which focused on questions concerning the livelihoods of artists and the implementation of cultural policy at the city, provincial, and national levels, a bonfire was built. More than 100 artworks by over 50 artists were burned.

None of the officials intervened to stop this deliberate act of (self-)destruction, in which numerous paintings, drawings, books, theatre costumes, and other works were destroyed.

Believing in the possibility of a phoenix rising from the ashes—a new beginning—Art Clinic placed an urn containing the ashes on the plateau in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina on the anniversary of the performance. Fourteen years later, MSUV remains in the same premises and still has no dedicated building of its own, raising the question: when will the ashes from the urn become part of the foundations of a new museum?

Alongside the urn, the ashes are also contained in Phoenix, a multilayered object whose location changes according to context—from the artist’s studio, to galleries, and museums.

Total Art Sale (2011–2024)

In response to the undefined nature of the art market and the absence of clear organizational models and legal regulations, Art Clinic developed a performance-based format intended to draw attention to the role and importance of art in the everyday life of contemporary society.

Artists take on the role of market vendors, offering their works at accessible prices, with bargaining, negotiation, and exchange becoming an integral part of the encounter. Under the slogan “Get the Public on Its Feet,” Total Art Sale has, since 2011, been used to mark significant dates, welcome the changing seasons, and respond to social and political events in markets, on the streets, and in galleries and museums.

In the absence of sufficient systemic support, many of the programs of Šok ZaDruga have been successfully realized through income generated by Total Art Sales.

Collaborative Drawing (2005 – )

Collaborative Drawing is a long-term artistic practice of the Multimedia Center “Led Art” (MMC Led Art), initiated in 2005. Under the slogan “On the Same Task,” it approaches collaborative artistic production as a form of resistance, solidarity, and community building.

The drawings are conceptually “never finished,” opening up an ongoing dialogue around current social issues, including the position of artists, political crises, collective responsibility, and social inclusion.

The method functions as a form of non-verbal dialogue and an educational model that encourages artists and cultural workers to overcome individualism and personal rivalries in favour of collective action. It has been developed through a range of projects and contexts, including collaborations with young artists, children with disabilities, and responses to social and political events.

In Times of Crisis, We Bite Harder! (2021–2022)

The performance IN TIMES OF CRISIS, WE BITE HARDER! addresses the symbolic “cleaning” of social and institutional space through the use of everyday objects such as a carpet, dusters, a wooden bar, and work coats. The act of cleaning becomes a metaphor for confronting the problems, pressures, and crises embedded within society and its institutions.

The performance was first presented on 31 October 2021 in front of Hotel Belgrade on Nemanjina Street, as part of the closing programme of Art Weekend Belgrade.

In 2022, it was presented and performed again in the form of the object CARPET, as part of the retrospective “RECAPITULATION: Disobedient Objects/Subjects 1992–2022” at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina, held from 3 July to 2 August. During the exhibition, members of the group rolled the carpet every day and carried it outside the museum entrance. On the final day, visitors were invited to participate by beating the carpet with dusters.

The performance was subsequently presented as part of the 59th October Salon (Belgrade Biennale) in Belgrade. The props were initially installed at the Cultural Center of Belgrade. On the final day, they were taken out onto the plateau in Knez Mihailova Street, where members of the group, Cultural Center employees, visitors, and passers-by joined in the act of “cleaning.”