Ksenija Pantelić

What drives you?
I love most when my work makes people laugh. That always gives me a boost and pushes me to keep exploring within myself, while at the same time observing the world around me. I’m motivated by love, sometimes by sadness, definitely by a brilliant sentence in a book, a phenomenal performance, or the blue light that occasionally appears on stage. Working on a fun project where my hands are completely free and I can play is incredibly motivating.

What else do you do?
Besides my personal production, for over a year I’ve been working in parallel with the organizations Mikser and Liceulice. In both organizations, I work in graphic design. For Liceulice, I serve as art director, while at Mikser I collaborate closely with Maja Lalić on creating visual materials and publications. Lately, Mikser has been involved in numerous sustainable development projects, so I try to learn a lot and apply it in my everyday life.

What should an artist possess, traits and skills?
I think an artist must have multiple personalities within themselves, which they manage to tame through their work. They should be curious, quickly realizing that failure and setbacks go hand in hand with applause, praise, and awards. They must constantly fight—against personal weaknesses and an environment that may undermine them. Alongside a certain egocentrism, they should still have a sense for other people and their surroundings. They should know how to give sound to a silence that might have suffocated someone else.

Criticism? Who or what can influence your work?…presentation of your work?
Even before university, my wonderful friend Bojka explained to me that I need to listen to criticism in order to potentially learn something new, to push myself out of a personal zone where I feel comfortable. Criticism helps me build my filters, allowing me to separate what is important from what is not. Now, what criticism actually is in the world of visual art today—that’s perhaps the better question.

Who is your superhero? Who are today’s superheroes?
I have several superheroes. More or less, they are members of my family, both born and chosen. Ordinary people whose lives have led them to great deeds—changing their surroundings for the sake of their children, giving a smile in someone’s final moments… those are my heroes.

What is isolation to you?
At certain moments, isolation is a natural state for me. Unfortunately, this is not that kind of isolation. I try to do everything I can to turn this separation to my advantage. Sometimes I succeed, and sometimes I don’t.

What good can come out of this situation?
I sincerely hope that we will manage to learn something from all of this. I hope we will return to some values from the past that are today considered moments of weakness. I hope we will start putting forward the idea of a healthier, more humane, and more noble future for all of us, instead of the egocentric and rushed race for prestige and money.

Do you have a TV at home?
I don’t have a TV.

Do you listen to the radio?
Yes. When I wake up in the morning, I turn on Radio Belgrade 2 and the show Klasiku molim. Besides this show, I like to listen to Igla na vinilu on the same radio station on Saturdays at noon.

Bicycle or sand?
On foot.

Are you vegan or vegetarian?
I haven’t narrowed my diet down to one or the other yet.

Beer or wine?
Wine.

Do you recycle?
I participated in the “Say NO to Plastic” campaign launched by UN Women Serbia in collaboration with the Mikser organization. The project aimed to educate people about recycling and sorting trash. After this project, I realized that my ecological contribution is still not enough, but I try.

Book / Film?
Courtyard of Walnuts – Miljenko Jergović

And music…?
A bit of everything, mostly French online FIP radio.

Recommend a website/portal/app…
Well, let’s go with the online radio station mentioned above.