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What twenty years of running cultural events taught me about people
After more than twenty years of working with people, I can honestly say that culture has never been only culture.
People do not come to an event only for the play, the film or the concert. They come for the emotion, for the belonging, for the feeling that they are part of something.
Over the years I have met thousands of people. There were all kinds of destinies, several generations and a great many life stories. But one thing they all have in common: everyone needs connection.
Especially in the diaspora. Here people often live very fast: work, obligations, routine… Day after day, it can happen that a person drifts away both from others and from themselves.
That is why I have come to understand that an audience does not only remember the programme — it remembers the atmosphere and how it felt. That makes my task bigger and my responsibility more serious. I have also learned that people sense sincerity far more than they sense perfection. You can have a big production, but if there is no emotion, the audience recognises it immediately.
And the other way round. Sometimes it is the very smallest events that create the most beautiful energy.
Perhaps that is the greatest thing I have learned through my work with HELSE: what people lack today is not only entertainment. What they lack is belonging.
That is exactly why culture still holds so much value for me — and why my work still has meaning and importance.
— Evica
Our stories
Why people from the Balkans leave so often, yet find it so hard to stop thinking about it
Evica Marković1 October 2026When you have lived away from the country you came from for a long time, your relationship with it becomes more complicated than you imagined at the start. Distance sometimes sharpens the view and sometimes clouds it with nostalgia…
Read moreEleven days when Zurich lives through film
Evica Marković23 September 2026Every autumn the area around Sechseläutenplatz changes almost overnight. Festival signs appear, queues form in front of the cinemas, around town you hear more and more conversations about films nobody has had the chance to see yet, and people who might otherwise never meet end up in the same auditorium because they picked the same title from the programme…
Read moreWhen design steps out onto the streets of Zurich
Evica Marković17 September 2026There are things we use every day and almost never think about. The chair we sit on, the glass we drink water from, the sign at the stop that tells us where to go, the light in a restaurant that keeps us there longer than we planned, or a poster on the street that makes us stop…
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
HELSE is a Swiss cultural association that fosters exchange between Switzerland and Serbia. Through theatre, film, music, stand-up and children's workshops we build cultural bridges — alive, inspiring and open to everyone.
Our programme is diverse: theatre performances, film screenings, stand-up comedy, concerts, readings, seminars and children's workshops.
Events run year-round — the current schedule lives in the Events section.
Tickets are sold online via each event's page and, for some programmes, at the door before the show. HELSE members receive discounts on selected events.
Membership is open to anyone who wants to support the association. The annual fee is CHF 70, with reduced rates for students and pensioners.
Sign up via the Membership page — for any additional questions, write to info@helse.ch.