Old crafts colony in Stapar
The seventh colony in Stapar near Sombor was held from September 20th to 23rd, organized by the Ethno Network, the City of Sombor and NALED, and under the auspices of the Embassy of the United States of America and the Ministry of Agriculture. This colony is organized differently than the previous ones, because the traditional weaving colony is enriched with additional techniques such as gold embroidery, felting, knitting and lace making.
During the four days, 13 participants from Pancevo, Indjija, Sremska Mitrovica, Stapar, Sombor, Odzaci, Veliko Gradiste, Loznica, Sokobanja and Bela Palanka made a rose motif from the Stapar rug. This year, excellent weavers, embroiderers and felters were joined by an extremely talented young man from Sokobanja, as well as many elementary school students from Stapar who keep the heritage of their place.
The program of the colony, which was held in the House of Culture, included an expert lecture on the topic of protection of intangible cultural heritage, which was held by Bratislava Stefanovic from the Museum of Vojvodina. The participants of the colony also visited the City Hall in Sombor, where a painting of the Battle of Senta was exhibited, the dimensions of which represent the largest work of art in the oil on canvas technique in Serbia.
As part of the diplomatic day, the colony was visited by the ambassadors of Slovenia and Albania, the wife of the ambassador of Canada, the Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Tatjana Matic and the Provincial Secretary for Economy and Tourism Nenad Ivanisevic. The mayor of Sombor, Antonio Ratkovic and the president of the Ethno Network, Violeta Jovanovic, also addressed the gathered, expressing their gratitude to the patrons for their support and opportunities for women who deal with handicrafts to create a source of income and employment.
Thanks to the members of the association "Staparska ruza", as well as the educators Katarina Dmitruk, Jelena Alargic and Nela Pejcic, the participants of the colony successfully mastered the tasks and deservedly received certificates for participating in the colony of old crafts. The award for the best work in the technique of embroidery was given to David Van de Kamp, in the technique of felting by Suzana Petrović from Sremska Mitrovica, and from the same city, in the technique of weaving, the recognition was won by Anica Jelenković.
