Trans Balkan is a documentary project that focuses on the transgender community of the Balkan region in Southeast Europe. The exhibition is scheduled to open on 15 September at 7 p.m. at the SKC Gallery (Kružna 8, Rijeka).

Aleksandar Crnogorac travelled across the region to meet, interview and photograph people of various ages, nationalities, religions, social and educational backgrounds and, most importantly, at different stages of transitioning. He has collected the portraits and personal stories of people from Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Slovenia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Greece and Turkey.


Aleksandar Crnogorac

By placing special emphasis on their personal and individual experiences, the Trans Balkan exhibition invites the public to become more familiar with the trans community. The project aims to increase the visibility of the Balkan transgender community by urging the wider public to forge a deeper understanding of this minority.

The exhibition showcases around 30 documentary photographs of transgender people from the Balkans that contextualise their personal stories, challenges and problems, while also delving into the issues that the community is facing. The photographs on display are complemented by biographical information about each person, as well as quotes and excerpts from the interviews that provide the observer with a direct view of the more personal side of the transgender experience.

Violinist Isabel, a French transformal artist who has been living in Croatia for many years and has made an indelible mark through collaborations with Darko Rundek on projects such as the Paris-based Cargo Orchestra and the Cargo Trio will be performing at the opening of the exhibition. In addition to the exhibition opening, Isabel will be playing Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, continuing presentation of this part of Bach’s opus, which this transformal artist has been exploring for several years.

The exhibition premiered in Belgrade and has so far visited Novi Sad, Zagreb, Skopje, Prishtina, Sofia, Sarajevo, Tuzla, Podgorica, Tirana, Rome and Oslo.