On November 1st, 2024, a concrete canopy at the Novi Sad railway station collapsed, killing 16 people. The station had been renovated twice in recent years, but the contracts were awarded without proper tendering, raising suspicions of government corruption and nepotism.In response to growing public outrage, the government removed all technical documentation related to the renovation from public databases. Despite calls for an independent investigation, no formal inquiry has taken place.On November 22, 2024, students and faculty members at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade held a 15-minute tribute to the victims of the disaster. The peaceful demonstration was disrupted by organized violence, which led to a student strike.The protests began with student-led blockades of educational institutions. Other institutions and high schools soon joined. In the early stages, protesters enacted daily "Serbia, stand still" traffic blockades from 11:52 am to 12:08 pm—the exact time of the collapse—as a symbolic gesture honoring the 16 lives lost, accompanied by a silent protest.By early 2025, these 16-minute pauses had ceased as a standalone action, and the movement transitioned into sustained civil disobedience. Protesters began organizing extended road blockades, walking demonstrations, a protest cycling and relay race from Belgrade to Strasbourg and Brussels, respectively, and blockades of the headquarters of Radio Television of Serbia that severely disrupted its programming, among others. Confrontations escalated as supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party and the police brutally attacked demonstrators, leading to street fights and unjustified arrests in multiple cities.Most public universities, as well as numerous high schools, remain under student-led blockades to this day.The November 1 gathering at Utrecht Central Station is a commemoration of the 16 lives lost and a tribute to students and citizens of Serbia who, for a year, tirelessly fight for justice, accountability, and a better future for the country and its people.The program at the Utrecht Central Station, titled Bodies of Protest, features adaptations of songs that became student anthems during the last year of protests, a movement piece inspired by protest walks or hand gestures from citizen assemblies, and four exhibition banners that show the past year through the photographs of students.Bodies of Protest brings visibility to student-led protests in Serbia and stands in solidarity with bodies across the globe protesting injustice, corruption, and atrocities governments commit or abet in the name of people who do not support them.Colophon/creditsThe exhibition Bodies of Protest is initiated and realized by curatorial, logistic, music, and coordination teams of the Serbian diaspora in the Netherlands, with support from donations and media teams. The exhibition is entirely funded by donations from the members of the Serbian diaspora in the Netherlands.Shout out to a group of choreographers and dancers who created movements (koreografiju / grupni pokret) that all visitors to the event are invited to join. The choreography was created by the members of the newly founded collective Plamen from Belgrade: Ana Dragić, Nevena Lazić, Sofija Milić, Dea Jovanović, and Isidora Poledica.Collective Plamen is part of the working group Ples i Bes (Dance and Rage), which focuses on protests and meets as needed.For generous help and support in coordinating the collection of photographs from students, we celebrate the one and only: jupiterujorganu.Last but not least, we express tremendous gratitude to more than 40 students and photographers who sent around 1,000 photo documents from the past year. We went through the materials with great care, admiration, and gratitude.
We were able to include 88 photographs in the final selection. The archive remains.
@1152.holandijaPhotos by:Aleksandra B
Andjela Radojčić
Andrej Hložan
Ivana Dašić
Jaroslav Bulavin
Jelena Knežević
Katarina Redžić
Kosta J, PMF Novi Sad
Marina Lukić
Matija Štifanić
Mihajlo Srđević
Miljana Mirić
Mirjana Vojčić
Pavle Panić @vuna.kico
Photobyjoja
Svetlana Blaženović
Tamara Radosavljević
Tara Simonović
Lunja01/11/2025*Introduction text is based in and adjusted from Wikipedia text about one-year protests in Serbia.