DESCRIPTION:

Karas Gallery is an exhibition space of the Croatian Association of Fine Artists (HDLU) with a long tradition in the contemporary art scene. After many years of activity at Praška 4, since 2018, it now operates at the address Kralja Zvonimira 58. Recognizing the need to redefine and create a new cultural identity for the neighborhood where Karas Gallery is located, within the EU project CreART 3.0, a collaborative artistic program titled KARAS + KVART is organized, envisioned in a collaborative and co-creation model between one local artist and one artist from the network. Artists will explore the neighborhood for 3 weeks, and the final result will be an artistic work or initiative in the public space of the gallery neighborhood in October. As part of the KARAS+KVART 2026 project, Vana Gaćina has been selected to participate, and an international artist will be selected through an open call.

The artist Vana Gaćina has conceived the project FluctuHood, which explores sustainable biorefineries whose potential the author recognizes as key to our shared future. The project stems from a research interest in questions of energy accessibility in the contemporary urban context, examined through the lens of interdisciplinary artistic practice. The focus of the research is the neighborhood surrounding Gallery Karas in Zagreb, considered as a micro-ecological system within which neglected material flows can be identified—such as bio-waste, ambient heat, solar energy, acoustic patterns, and water—that possess the potential to be converted into useful forms of energy.

The aim of the work is to develop an interactive, energetically self-sustaining installation based on locally available materials and the specific environmental conditions of micro-locations within the aforementioned urban district. The research methodology includes mapping selected micro-locations in order to identify and collect biodegradable and secondary raw materials (e.g., organic waste, plant biomass, paper, coffee grounds, wastewater, salt), which are then used for the experimental fabrication of bioelectrochemical batteries as the primary energy source of the installation, enabling its operation without external power supply.

Preference will be given to artists who are interested in and/or are expressing themselves through art and science (bioart, biohacking, DIY/DIWO), experimental medias and interactive installation, and sustainable energy.

VANA GAĆINA graduated in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 2005, after which she completed a Master’s degree in Video Art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana in 2012. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Visual Arts, with a focus on the Aesthetics of Artificial Intelligence, at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana.

During her studies, she began working with multimedia installations that connect classical art with contemporary technology. Her main field of interest lies in the exploration of classical form and its reproduction through analog and digital media, realized as interactive installations. She is a member of HDLU (Croatian Association of Fine Artists) and HZSU (Croatian Freelance Artists’ Association).

She has exhibited extensively both in Croatia and internationally. Her solo exhibitions include: Zvuk soli at Gallery Idealni Grad, Zagreb; VR TOČKA at the LGBT Center, Split; III/IV at the Scheier Building, Čakovec; Kod at the Gallery and Cultural Center Varaždin; Kod at the Meštrović Atelier, Zagreb; Kod at Greta, Zagreb; Slika / pokret / zvuk at Gallery Praktika, Split (with Tanja Minarik); Vestigium at the Gallery and Cultural Center Varaždin; Točka at Gallery PM (HDLU), Zagreb; Habitat 4 at Teatar ITD, Zagreb; the film premiere Microcinetik at the MM Center, Student Center Zagreb; Sedma poplava at Nano Gallery, Zagreb (with Miro Župa); Metamorfoze at Kazamat, HDLU Osijek; Toplo–Hladno at Green Room, Zabok; and a video installation in the wagons of the Eastern Railway Station, Zagreb.

 

WHO CAN APPLY

• Artists of younger generation born or residing in one of the cities in the project network: Kaunas (Lithuania), Liepaja (Latvia), Skopje (North Macedonia), Aveiro (Portugal), Valladolid (Spain), Lublin (Poland), Venice (Italy), Clermont-Ferrand and Rouen (France), České Budějovice (Czech Republic), Oulu (Finland), Regensburg (Germany)
• Ukrainian artists through our collaboration with the Lviv Artistic Council “Dialog”

 

GRANT CONDITIONS:

The Organizer (HDLU) will provide:

• Three-week accommodationfor artists in residence (May 2026)
• Round-trip ticket expenses to and from Zagrebup to a maximum of 400 EUR
• Artistic feein the amount of 1,200 EUR/gross
• Daily allowanceof 30 EUR/day
• Production cost of new artwork(s) in the amount of 5,000 EUR/gross, resulting from the joint action and collaboration between artists.
• Report: Upon return from the residency, artists are required to submit a brief narrative report containing evidence of newly created works (in English), and boarding passes if traveling by plane.
• Contract: Before going to the residency, the artist will sign a contract with HDLU, committing to participating in CreArt promotional activities until the project ends in 2026, in agreement with HDLU.

 

Only complete and timely applications will be considered.

Selection Committee: Nika Šimičić, Mihaela Zajec, and Vana Gaćina

The Committee is not obliged to justify the selection decision.

HOW TO APPLY:

Send an email to: karas.hdlu@gmail.com with the subject: KARAS+KVART, including the following documentation:

• Artists need to register on the CreArt website and upload their portfolio:LINK
• ID card or passport (scanned)
• Motivational letter (max 500 words) and a brief written project proposal (one A4 page)
• Curriculum vitae in English
• Portfolio of works and artistic activity (in PDF, max 7 MB; for video works – include links to online publications in the PDF)

 

DEADLINES:

Applications accepted until: 28 February, 2026

Announcement of results: by March 15, 2026

Contract signing with HDLU: two weeks before departure

Submission of report: 1 week after the end of the residency

 

QUESTIONS:

The contact person for all questions is Mihaela Zajec, karas.hdlu@gmail.com. Questions will be accepted only via email.

 

Within the project:

Partners:

Co-funded by:

   

Co-funded by the European Union – CREA-CULT-2023-COOP. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them. [Project number: 101128499]

Project is co-financed by the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs.

The views expressed in this announcement are the sole responsibility of HDLU and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs.