DUGMETARA REVISITED / music workshop with Ana Horvat
DUGMETARA REVISITED / music workshop with Ana Horvat
Led by: Ana Horvat
April 13, 20, and 27, 6-8 p.m.
Radiona, Nova cesta 186
In three workshop sessions, we will dive into the heritage of Dugmetara, the former button factory on Savska Street, which, in the early 2000s, became a vibrant, unique place of music production. It was a rehearsal space for numerous bands that were part of Zagreb’s alternative music scene at the time, comprising various genres, but united in its devotion to music outside of commercial and professional flows.
Under the baton of composer Ana Horvat, who focuses on electronic music, as well as interdisciplinary and DIY practices, we will deconstruct Dugmetara’s music heritage and reconstruct the sound of the space. The workshop is designed as a gradual immersion into a space that does not have this function any more, but we can still hear it resonate. In the first session, we will focus on the history of Dugmetara and the bands that played there. Through archival materials, recordings, and photographs we will enter the atmosphere of the place and try to understand its significance. During the workshop, each participant will create their own soundwalk – a short audio story, a personal experience, or an interpretation of that heritage. By creating an electronic miniature, using pre-recorded materials or our own recordings, we will revive Dugmetara’s sound.
Besides interest and creative impulse, you should bring to the workshop your own laptop and headphones. We are going to use audio editing programs, adapting the level to the participants’ degree of experience with the software. No prior experience with making music, music education, or knowledge of music played in Dugmetara are prerequisites, but this information is relevant for our preparation.
The number of participants is limited! Please, apply online via this form by Thursday, April 9. The workshop is free of charge. For all additional questions, write to blok@blok.hr.
Ana Horvat, workshop facilitator
Ana Horvat is a composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic compositions, music for sound installations, film, dance performances, opera, radio plays and performances, and a co/author of various art installations and multimedia works. She is interested in interdisciplinary art projects, and she often works with collectives and collaborates with other artists, roboticists, multimedia artists, IT engineers, and DIY and DIWO enthusiasts. She graduated in electronic composition from the Academy of Music in Zagreb where she studied under Zlatko Tanodi. She also studied composition with Marko Ruždjak and Srđan Dedić. Compositions and projects she participated in were presented in concerts, festivals, exhibitions, residencies, workshops, and panels, both in Croatia and abroad. She is an active member of Zagreb’s makerspace Radiona. Besides composing, she teaches at the Academy for Arts and Culture in Osijek.
About Dugmetara:
The factory on 160 Savska Street has been operational since the beginning of the 20th century. It first produced wire mesh, then buttons, and after WWII, the factory was extended and partially modernized. Some people still remember the sounds of industrial production, workers’ cafeteria, and the mandatory practice for students from nearby schools who helped sort the buttons. With the breakup of Yugoslavia and the collapse of socialist economy, factory production gradually shut down, and its halls emptied. With the new millennium, new tenants came. In search of an adequate, affordable space, which would be far enough from the neighbors, the first bands found the old factory and its friendly janitor. by accident The information about the rehearsal space (probaona) spread by word of mouth, through personal contacts, and other informal channels. The sounds of punk, noise, metal, post punk, dub, indie rock, and ambient music started vibrating in production halls and offices. It is probably easier to list those who did not use Dugmetara – from around 2003 to 2013 it hosted the following bands: Amok, Analena, Antenat, Chang Ffos, Cripple And Casino, Death Disco, Don't Mess With Texas, Drotweiler, Joe 4, Mika Male, No More Idols, Peach Pit, Polja Lavande, Ponor, Senata Fox, Seven That Spells, Storms, Šank, Tanker, Tena Novak, Tigrova Mast, ŽBuka/Žen – to list just a few. Today some parts of the space have been reconstructed, and other still keep memory of the long history of the factory and music production. Today, a workers' hostel and a commercial music club are a contemporary continuation of the working class-music history.
Design by: Nikola Križanac
Dugmetara Revisited workshop is part of the project “Trešnja trešti! Sketches from the neighborhood’s music past and present”. The project is financially supported by the City of Zagreb. It is carried out in partnership with the Trešnjevka Cultural Centre and in cooperation with Radiona. BLOK's annual program for 2026 is supported by the “Kultura nova” Foundation.
