A series of events that showcases the joint activities of Zagreb’s independent cultural scene in the fields of cultural production, urban development, spatial policy, cultural policy and citizen participation.

Previous iterations of Operation:City (in the former Badel factory in 2005 and in the former Jedinstvo factory in 2007) have provided an opportunity to reclaim and transform abandoned industrial sites into public spaces. However, Operation:City 2008 brings together activists, artists, experts, scholars and the general public to consider issues of spatial and social development in Zagreb and in neoliberal cities in general.

Who does the city belong to? Should the public be privatised? For whose benefit? Who is using the city? The organisers of Operation:City 2008 invite people to join them in the search for answers to those questions.

Operation:City offers a variety of events that provide opportunities to learn, discuss and participate.
The programme of Operation:City 2008 consists of three main parts:

• International Conference “The Neoliberal Frontline: Urban Struggles in Post-Socialist Societies” that brings together experts, activists, practitioners, civil society organisations and other relevant actors from East Europe, but also from the West (Europe, USA);
• If You Encounter them on the Streets, Join In: Artistic Interventions in Public Space by a number of prominent artists from Croatia and abroad that provide an artistic articulation of the issues of urban space and citizen participation;
• Exhibition How the City Builds the City that will present the results of urban research on Zagreb and compare two approaches to urban planning: the socialist one and the current approach.

Here you can see the programme of Operation:City 2008.

Operation:City 2008 is financed by Ministry of Culture of Republic of Croatia, City Office for Education, Culture and Sports (City of Zagreb), Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, European Cultural Foundation, Balkan Trust for Democracy.