NewsThe Great B

The Great B

The Great B, Some Call Us Balkans, Banja-Luka, 2022, image by Mary Marinopoulou, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Great “B” is an audio walk along the most notable points in any Balkan city: the mosque, the river bridge, the outdoor market and the orthodox church. During the walk, the listener becomes witness to everyday encounters, fragmental conversations, music, minor interruptions, all together, the characteristics of the Balkan life. The listener becomes one with the place and its local history, yet they remain free to orchestrate it, fast it forward or pause it and continue it in another Balkan city.
The audio walk, created in Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina), is the prototype of a walk that can be experienced in any Balkan city, and which listeners are encouraged to try in various settings. Its name, given by the shape of the walking route, is not a restriction on how the listener must navigate themselves along these points, but, rather, a visual symbolism of the cultural commonalities in the Balkans. The Great “B” can be reversed, distorted, or be placed up-side-down, it can take longer or shorter to walk, or, simply be experienced as a soundscape.
Title:
The Great B
Medium:
Audio walk with theatrical elements
Location:
Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Distance:
3,2 km
Duration:
38min
Concept:
Mary Marinopoulou
Date:
May 2022, 13:20pm
Voice actors:
Lea Blau, Jelena Jandrić, Bojan Kolopić
Sound edit and mastering:
Dragan Bosnjak
The texts are based on the open script Some Call Them Balkans by The Ground tour Collective.

Instructions

1. Find the equal distance between the most important mosque and church in the city. This will be the start and final point of your walk.
2. From there, walk towards the mosque. Once you reach it, move towards the direction of the river bridge.
3. Once you reach it, walk along the river, with a direction to the outdoor market.
4. Once you are there, start heading back to towards the orthodox church.
5. You can now start walking back to the starting point of your walk.
6. Once you arrive at the starting point, the walk is completed.
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