Opening: Thursday, 22 October, at 12:00
The authors will be present until 14:00 

Exhibition authors: Ljiljana Pantović, Sara Nikolić, Marko Ristić, Ivan Đorđević
Curatorial support: Zorana Đaković Minniti, Senka Ristivojević, Vladimir Bjeličić
Artists: Ana Adamović, Ana Cvetković, Branko Milošević, Ivana Smiljanić, Adrienn Újházi 

The exhibition Medical Deserts addresses structural inequalities in access to health care in Serbia, taking the experiences of women in rural areas as its starting point. Based on ethnographic research carried out in 2025 in villages in the Central Banat, North Banat and Zaječar districts, the exhibition raises questions about the accessibility of public health services, the invisible labour needed to reach them, and the relationship between patients and health institutions. 

The exhibition grew out of the project “WARM – Women’s Access to Reproductive Care in Medically Underserved Areas,” carried out by a research team made up of Dr Ljiljana Pantović, Dr Jelena Ćeriman and Dr Sara Nikolić of the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, and Dr Ivan Đorđević of the Institute of Ethnography of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA). The artists Ana Adamović, Ana Cvetković, Ivana Smiljanić and Adrienn Újházi responded to the themes raised by the research with video works, and Branko Milošević created a map of medical deserts in Serbia. 

By bringing research and socially engaged artistic practice together across disciplines, the exhibition examines the experiences of women trying to exercise their formally guaranteed right to public health care while facing infrastructural and institutional barriers. 

How much time, money and effort does it take to reach a doctor? What happens when a health facility exists, but its services are out of our reach? And what awaits us when our turn finally comes? 

Visitors are also invited to share their own experiences with the health care system. Through the participatory part of the exhibition, these stories will become part of the exhibition and of the ongoing anthropological research. 

The authors are especially grateful to the women who shared their experiences, and to Milica Marković, Slavica Vasić, Dr Jelena Ćeriman, Dr Filip Arnaut and Milena Jevtić. 

The exhibition was made possible with the support of the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade. 

ACCOMPANYING PROGRAMME
Lecture Series in Medical Anthropology 

29 October, 18:00
The Private in the Public: Navigating Maternity Wards in Serbia
Dr Ljiljana Pantović (University of Belgrade, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory) 

3 November, 18:00
Guided Tour with the Exhibition Authors
Ljiljana Pantović, Sara Nikolić, Ivan Đorđević, Marko Ristić 

5 November, 18:00
Humanitarne akcije: When Treatment Depends on Donations
Dr Bojana Radovanović (University of Belgrade, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory) 

12 November, 18:00
Living with Diabetes: Between the State and Civil Society Associations
Dr Jelisaveta Fotić (Institute for Balkan Studies, SASA) 

19 November, 18:00
“That’s How It Is With Us Romani Women”: Obstetric Racism in Maternity Wards
Dr Ivan Đorđević (Institute of Ethnography, SASA) and
Dr Ljiljana Pantović (Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade)