Medical Deserts Exhibition

The Medical Deserts exhibition examines structural inequalities in access to healthcare in Serbia, starting from the experiences of women from rural areas. It is based on ethnographic research carried out during 2025 in villages in the Central Banat, North Banat and Zaječar districts, and raises questions about the availability of public health services, the invisible labor required to reach them, as well as the relationships between female patients and healthcare institutions.

Project and research team

The exhibition is prompted by the project "WARM — Women's access to reproductive care in medical areas with insufficient services", which is carried out by a research team consisting of:

• dr Ljiljana Pantović — Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju Univerziteta u Beogradu
• dr Jelena Ćeriman — Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju Univerziteta u Beogradu
• dr Sara Nikolić — Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju Univerziteta u Beogradu
• dr Ivan Đorđević — Etnografski institut Srpske akademije nauka i umetnosti (SANU)

Artistic contribution

The themes opened by this research were addressed by artists with their video works, while Branko Milošević created a map of medical deserts in Serbia. By interdisciplinary linking of research and engaged artistic practices, the exhibition problematizes the experiences of women trying to exercise their formally guaranteed right to public healthcare, as they face infrastructural and institutional barriers.

Visitor participation

Visitors are also invited to share their own experiences with the healthcare system. These will, through the participatory segment of the installation, become part of the exhibition and of ongoing anthropological research.

Support

The exhibition was realized with the support of Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju Univerziteta u Beogradu.