Girls Rock Camp / Vila
The ‘Girls Rock Camp’ project is a unique camp in this region which will gather girls who want to learn the basics of playing the guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboards, and music production in Vrdnik on 5 June as part of the ‘Vila’ festival.
This non-profit programme is intended for girls aged 11 to 14 and is held every year in another Serbian city. It is designed so that mentors – young musicians – work intensively with the girls for 7 days, helping the participants form their own bands which perform at the concert on the last day of the camp.
Girls Rock Camp strives to change today’s image on the alternative music scene: according to statistical data from 2016 (the results of research from 2019 and 2020 are pending), there are only 6.5% of girls and women on domestic rock music charts. Also, they try to offer girls an opportunity and incentive that they do not encounter so often because guitar and drums are often considered ‘male instruments’, and rock, metal, punk and jazz are viewed as ‘male music genres’.
Through this programme, the camp organisers are trying to raise awareness of new possibilities for girls and to encourage them to pursue their musical interests for which they often do not have an opportunity. In addition, the participating girls are offered new and interesting cultural and creative content. It is important to note that participation in the camp does not end after 7 days – the organisational team, together with the mentors, remains in contact with the girls throughout the year, giving them the opportunity to participate in other programmes and perform at various events. In 2019, the girls from the first and second rock camps had the chance to perform every night at the Exit Festival, the largest music festival in our country.
Girls Rock Camp is intended for girls from all over Serbia, regardless of previous music education and experience. Girls who want to play rock music but so far haven’t had the opportunity to develop their interests are especially welcome. Girls who are in some way different from most are additionally encouraged to apply to the camp. In the selection process, the organisational team strives to include girls from as many different places across the country, different levels of musical background, and to have participants of different ages evenly represented. The only thing that is important for participating in the programme is that the girls know the Serbian language and have the physical ability to play the chosen instrument.
The final concert, which is held every year on the last day of the camp, is a special event because the audience has the opportunity to see an incredible amount of rock n’ roll energy, and it is primarily spread by girls who go on stage and cheer each other during the concert. The Girls Rock Camp project is important on so many levels, and although it may sound pretentious, I honestly think that these girls are the ones who will change the world. Little by little, with instruments in hand and music as their strongest means, good energy will expand and attract only more people who will see that such projects contain what we call a ‘better tomorrow’, Katarina Mitić, one of the organisers of the Girls Rock Camp, wrote in an author’s text for the Balkanrock portal.
As the organisers believe that decentralization is one of the important factors in building stronger and more active participation of women in the domestic music scene, the camp is held every year in a different city. The first Girls Rock Camp in this part of Europe was held in 2017 in the children’s resort ‘Šuplja stena’ on Avala. The following year, the camp was held in Sremski Karlovci, while the third edition in 2019 was realised in Knjaževac. Due to the worsening situation caused by the pandemic, the fourth edition of the Rock Camp was realised online, while the Fifth Girls Rock Camp was organised in a hybrid online-live format in three cities in Serbia (Užice, Niš, and Zrenjanin). The sixth Girls Rock Camp will be held in Kruševac between 11 and 17 July 2022.
Who organises the Girls Rock Camp?
Behind the Girls Rock Camp is a team of young and dedicated women from the FEMIX collective, which has been collaborating with numerous organizations, collectives, and artists since 2010. Femix encourages the work of artists and provides them with resources, connects artists and activists from different fields, engages in various forms of education, conducts research, engages in dialogue with decision-makers and promotes the values of gender equality and openness, adhering to high standards of professionalism in order to make the cultural scene of Serbia and the region fairer and more accessible to all.
Erste Bank is the partner of the Heroine programme arch.
Photo: Promo