In July 2023, the Zagreb Serbian Cultural Center (SKC) hosted a three-day event to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the execution of Ivan Goran Kovačić.
Ivan Goran Kovačić, one of the most significant Croatian poets, joined the Partisans together with Vladimir Nazor, where he wrote some of his most important works. His poem Jama (The Pit) describes war crimes with such intensity that it is considered one of the greatest works of anti-war poetry in the world. He adopted the nickname Goran as a sign of his connection to his native region.
The event opened with recitations by poets Goran Čolakhodžić and Enes Kišević, a reading by actress Ksenija Marinković, and a performance by the Academic Choir Ivan Goran Kovačić. The exhibition featured, among other things, photographs, wartime and postwar editions of the poem Jama, graphic portfolios by Edo Murtić and Zlatko Prica, illustrations by Frano Baće and Pablo Picasso, as well as posters dedicated to the Goran’s Spring festival.
The visual identity of the event Goran: 80 Years Later brings Kovačić back to life through the use of a vivid color palette. The name Goran, occupying almost the entire format, draws attention to parts of Goran’s figure, highlighting his hat, cigarette, coat, and the notebook in his left hand.
