8,372 Coffee Cups for Srebrenica Victims Placed in Venice

VENICE, (Patria) - On the 24th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, where 33 victims were buried today in Potočari, a unique performance by Bosnian-American artist Aida Šehović titled "ŠTO TE NEMA" was held today in the Italian city of Venice, reports the Patria news agency.

As a response to the denial of genocide, she created the nomadic monument "ŠTO TE NEMA" as a form of remembrance for the 8,372 victims of the Srebrenica genocide (stotenema.org). Šehović has been collecting for years the small coffee cups traditionally used for drinking coffee in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which simultaneously symbolically represent the number of genocide victims in Srebrenica. Since 2006, together with local communities, Šehović has been organizing the installation of the "ŠTO TE NEMA" monument in public squares every July 11, each time in a different city around the world. In 2006, the International Criminal Court officially termed the events of July 1995 in Srebrenica as genocide.

"Every successful installation of the monument represents a victory over the forces that advocate for the denial and negation of genocide, and that encourage ignoring past crimes in order to prevent the healing process necessary for the recovery of post-war society. Given the inclusive and universal spirit of the monument, passersby are invited to participate in its realization by filling the cups with Bosnian coffee, which will, symbolically, remain undrunk in the square where the monument is installed," said Šehović.

The "ŠTO TE NEMA" monument in Venice was installed this morning at 10 a.m. as part of the exhibition "Artivism: The Pavilion for the Prevention of Crimes" organized by the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR), an international non-governmental organization dedicated to preventing mass atrocities. This exhibition is also one of the pavilions of the Venice Biennale.

In the Serra dei Giardini square in Venice, passersby are filling the cups with coffee and arranging them up to the number 8,372. The action is being carried out until 8 p.m.

The project "Artivism: The Pavilion for the Prevention of Crimes" highlights the work of artists and collectives who use art as a means to confront and combat identity-based violence and its consequences. The exhibition presents works by artists in response to six different cases of genocide and other mass crimes, each simultaneously representing different parts of the world: Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Indonesia, Iraqi Kurdistan, and South Africa.

In addition to the "ŠTO TE NEMA" installation and the other five related exhibits, Artivism seeks to turn visitors into activists, emphasizing the power of the individual to play a role in preventing crimes, both in their homeland and around the world. Therefore, the final room of the pavilion highlights the work of AIPR and three other international human rights organizations, each of which has created a series of actions that visitors can take lasting 60 seconds, 60 minutes, or 60 days, representing their contribution to the prevention of identity-based hatred and violence.