Discover Dim: the offbeat bar at the heart of Belgrade’s DIY art scene | The Escapist

Where?

Belgrade, Serbia

What?

When it comes to creativity and cocktails, Dim Bar knows no boundaries. Named after the Serbian word for smoke, this creative hub is a melting pot for Belgrade’s art scene. Tucked away in an industrial building in Cetinjska, the city’s emerging artistic district, Dim was originally conceived to be the bar and art gallery extension to Drugstore, Belgrade’s raucous techno nightclub. It opened in February 2019, and has already earned a name for itself as one of Belgrade’s landmark cultural hubs, as well as an absolute must-see to experience life for the young and creative in the Serbian capital.

Hidden down a dark, concrete alley, with a single red carpet acting as its sole entrance sign, Dim is as unassuming as it is exciting. As you walk in, a concrete staircase descends into a large room illuminated by an enormous mushroom-like pillars. Boasting opulent gold and exposed concrete in equal doses, its shabby chic interiors match its creative, edgy crowd. Expect to walk in on an avant-garde drag show, a world-class classical music concert or an immersive live DJ set, irregardless of the day of the week. The offbeat cultural schedule is designed to remodel unlikely spaces and create a community-driven platform to promote interdisciplinary artistic experiments.

The bar and the art gallery are just the beginning: there are plans underway to add a music studio and an arts residency to the Dim kaleidoscope. In partnership with Belgrade-based studio Digimedia, the the team hope to create a space where young DJs can try out musical fusions, interact with experienced artists and record tracks for free, ultimately leaving the records behind as a legacy to the venue.

What not to miss in the city:

— After grabbing a couple of cocktails at Dim, hit the crowds at Drugstore. What was once the biggest slaughterhouse in the Balkans is now a dystopian techno temple boasting an experimental line up with renowned local and international names.

— Explore the newly re-opened Museum of Contemporary Art. Located in an angular, glass-and-steel modernist building by the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, its impressive collection includes works by Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh and Belgrade-born Marina Abramović.

— Grab a bite at Blaznavac, a nouveau cuisine gallery cafe in a stunning 19th century villa. Come for the inventive food and cocktail menu, stay for the quirky interiors — featuring everything from eccentric furnishings from paper mâché animal heads to old sewing machines turned into tables.