JIAO GUO
THE GRASS IS STALKING YOU
29.10.-16.11.2025.
KARAS GALLERY
On Wednesday, 29th of October Jiao Guo opens her solo exhibition entitled The Grass is Stalking You at 7 pm in Karas Gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).

In her foreword, Petra Galović emphasizes:
“The intermedial installation titled The Grass Is Stalking You by the artist Jiao Guo is a kind of case study of such an experiment in re-imagining and remapping the meaning of a non-human entity – ordinary grass. (…)
By dissecting the models of existing and possible perceptions of grass in a branched intermedial installation, Guo takes the position of a subtle storyteller who poses a series of questions to the viewer and sets out a spectrum of possibilities of what grass is and what it could be. By juxtaposing different media – from original and modified photographs, collages, objects found in nature, wood engravings, her own poems and those of canonical authors, printouts from web pages to an interactive projection – Guo questions our perception of such concepts as the natural and artificial, analogue and digital, organic and geometric structures, as well as our need to inscribe certain meanings into them and occasionally obscure their boundaries.
Biography:
Jiao Guo (Shenyang, 1987) is an intermedial artist based in Zagreb. She currently focuses on materiality, the ways in which narratives about nature are constructed, the overlaps between geology, ecology and contemporary life, and how bodily experience intertwines with technology and non-human entities. Her practice is often process-oriented, and she creates assemblages using materials gathered both from nature and from everyday environments – often recycling objects that have lost their original function.
The exhibition will be open during the period from 29.10. to 16.11.2025.
Working hours of Karas Gallery
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 4pm – 8pm
Tuesday, Saturday 10am – 1pm
On Sundays and Mondays closed.
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http://karasarthub.eu
Organizer: HDLU
With the support of: Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb

From October 10 to 12, 2025, two new exhibitions by international artists will be on view at Jochen Hempel Art Gallery – “Between” by Kristaps Priede (Latvia) and “Dear Babies…” by Klara Rusan Klarxy (Croatia). The exhibition is part of the residency De/Construction of Painting, as part of the European project CreArt 3.0.
DE/CONSTRUCTION OF PAINTING CONCEPT:
The project De/construction of Painting encourages and addresses contemporary artistic practices within the context of the visual arts center of Eastern Germany, Leipzig, which has transformed into a global hub for the arts with a focus on the painting scene. The former industrial complex Spinnerei in the Plagwitz district spans 10 hectares and has been almost entirely renovated, now serving as the heart of the local and international art scene with 12 galleries, the non-profit art center Halle 14, and around a hundred resident artists. The residency program De/construction of Painting tries to answer the following questions:
Part of this year’s residency program takes place within the EU project CreART 3.0, a European network of medium-sized cities aimed at exchanging experiences and best practices to promote contemporary art through a continuous transnational mobility program for emerging artists, curators, and cultural workers, in order to maximize the economic, social, and cultural contributions that creativity can bring to local communities. As part of the EU project CreART 3.0, 4 residencies will take place in Leipzig in 2024, each lasting 5 weeks, including 2 Croatian and 2 foreign artists from the network of cities.
Project web page: https://residencyleipzig.hdlu.hr/
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Kristaps Priede (b. 1990, Latvia) is a Latvian conceptual artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans painting, sculpture, documentary photography, installations, and performance. His work delves into contemporary social, political, and environmental issues, using contrast and transformation as central tools to explore destruction and renewal. Priede adapts his methods to each project, often blending natural and man-made elements to challenge perception and provoke reflection. Rooted in both critical inquiry and emotional depth, his art invites viewers to confront inner and societal tensions—offering space for identification, catharsis, and change. With a strong commitment to environmental and human rights concerns, Priede’s practice seeks not just to raise awareness, but to inspire dialogue and collective action through art.
Klara Rusan (b. 1993, Croatia) earned a bachelor’s degree at Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb at the department of Animated Film and the New Media. Plans of pursuing a career in animation were superseded by her receiving a Masters in Authorial Illustration at the Falmouth University of Art in 2017. Her graduate thesis earned recognition as she was the recipient of the ‘Masters of Art Illustration Authorial Practice: Award for Outstanding Creative Writing’. While being a participant in a number of group exhibitions (36 Mountains festival of illustration, Erste fragmenti, To be continued…comics and visual culture in Croatia), she held her debut solo exhibition at the Oris House of Architecture in 2018 where she presented her first graphic novel Where Do People Go After They Die?. In 2024. she had her first international solo exhibition ADHD – Pool of thoughts.
Address: Jochen Hempel Art Gallery, Spinnereistrasse 7, Halle 4, Leipzig, Germany.
Opening: October 10 at 7:00 PM.
Opening hours: October 11 and 12, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Within the project:
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Partners:

Co-funded by:
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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.
CREART 3.O. / KARAS+KVART
DANYIL MERKULOV & PETAR VRANJKOVIĆ
TEMPORARILY ABANDONED SPACES
9.-24.10.2025.
KARAS GALLERY

This years’ Karas+kvart residency program brings intertwined works by Croatian transmedial artist based in Barcelona, Petar Vranjković and Ukrainian sound artist and musician based in Berlin, Danyil Merkulov together.
The residency began intensely with prior meetings, brainstorms and open discussions which looked at the topics of spaces, its functions and liveability. Once in Zagreb, artists quickly started to notice the complex relations of private and public spaces, physical and digital extensions, the city’s beauty and collective neglect of in-between spaces. In this context, Karas Gallery courtyard was chosen as it illustrates Zagreb’s modernist architecture, which pays special attention to shared and public space, as well as urban planning, but nowadays, the same are often out of its original function, sometimes abandoned, other times just forgotten. This type of “opposition”, or better said, two-sides of the same, is the driving force in the processual sound piece.
“Temporarily abandoned spaces” is an exploration of dualities that shouldn’t be seen as contrary, nor exclusive, but rather co-existing and leaving enough room for a re-write. Therefore, the central artwork is a soundscape that records and brings the slow and abandoned reality of the courtyard to the gallery, serving as an intangible reminder of the spaces we wish not to confront. The soundscape, though, isn’t a fixed “place” nor a static gesture, but rather it opens itself towards further meanings, including the ones which will be gathered through the public program, further exploration and reflection of the living and vivid spaces of its close neighbourhood.
PROGRAM
Soft launch of the still-in-process project
Thursday, 9th of October at 6pm
Come and hang, listen and share
Contact mic workshop (w/ Tin Dožić)
Wednesday, 15th of October at 10am
Make your own contact mic and listen to usually secluded sounds. Apply via karas.hdlu@gmail.com as there is a limit
Reli po galerijama
Friday, 17th of October, from 5 to 10.30pm
Participate in the manifestation Reli po galerijama and visit us at the closing, as we are preparing an ambient DJ session
Field recording / Favorite places*
Saturday, 18th of October at 10am
The workshop will be held by artists-in-residency and is intended for children (10 years and up). Translation to Croatian is provided, as well as all the equipment. Apply via karas.hdlu@gmail.com as there is a limit
Opening of the layered soundscape
Tuesday, 21st of October at 6pm
Come and hang out and listen (some) more
*In case of large interest, there is a possibility to organise another workshop (for kids and/or grown-ups), just let us know.
Stay tuned!
Karas Gallery working hours:
Tuesday – Friday: 2 – 7pm
Saturday: 10am – 2pm
And if you want to meet the artists, join us at the gallery on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 5 and 7pm.
About the artists
Danyil Merkulov
As an Ukrainian artist based in Berlin, I create music that crosses borders between electronic sound, visual art, and live performance. My goal is to connect Berlin with other European creative hubs through collaboration, touring, and residencies. I believe in building sustainable networks that allow artists to share ideas, strengthen communities, and grow together.
Petar Vranjković
Petar Vranjković (b. 1997) is a transmedial artist and researcher who uses objects from archives, photography, video, printmaking, and design in his research– and artistic–based processes. He is interested in shaping memories and the idea of storytelling through artistic narratives. One of the central themes of his work is the intimate history of the individual, which is an interpretation of the heritage, tradition, and culture of a community and time.
Within the project:
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Partners:

Co-funded by:
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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.

The City of Lublin is opening a recruitment process and inviting artists from the CreArt network to apply for a 4-week artistic residency in Lublin, from November 5 to December 6, 2025.
CITY OF LUBLIN
Lublin is a medium-sized city in eastern Poland. It is a thriving scientific and cultural center. Considered a city at the crossroads of Eastern and Western culture, in the past it had an international character, with a large Jewish population living here. Lublin is home to numerous cultural institutions, museums and galleries, as well as non-governmental organizations that animate cultural life. There are large festivals such as Carnaval Sztukmistrzów, Night of Culture, East Of Culture – Different Sounds and others. Lublin is competing for the title of European Capital of Culture 2029.
WARSZTATY KULTURY (WORKSHOPS OF CULTURE)
Warsztaty Kultury is a local government cultural institution of the city of Lublin, established in 2009. The institution conducts long-term development and education programs based on a community of Lublin cultural operators and recipients, working together and supporting each other. The institution is located at 5a Grodzka Street and 7 Grodzka Street in Lublin’s Old Town.
The mission of Warsztaty Kultury: “We are the heart and mind behind a variety of open and non-standard activities in Lublin. Our programming focuses on promoting the practice of “active culture”. We enthusiastically support and implement long-term development plans based on a sense of community among Lublin’s cultural operators and recipients, acting together and supporting one another. We create culture that is modern, interactive, interdisciplinary and innovative.
We cooperate with artists and institutions from Poland and abroad. We have developed highly efficient methods of cultural education, management and animation. The everyday application of modern technologies in cultural education and in the promotion of cultural heritage also form the core of our mission.
We also organize the four largest summer festivals in Lublin: Night of Culture, East of Culture – Different Sounds, Carnaval Sztukmistrzów and Re:tradition – The Jagiellonian Fair. All of them are rooted in Lublin’s history and traditions, have become an integral part of the city’s cultural landscape and activate the local community”.
More info:
https://warsztatykultury.pl/pl/
https://www.facebook.com/WarsztatyKultury/
CREART AiR PROGRAMME
Within the framework of CreArt 3.0, the city of Lublin and the Warsztaty Kultury launch a residency for 2 artists of younger generation, one from Lublin and one from the CreArt network. Artists in residence will have a mentor to help them to establish in the city (information on cultural institutions, events, useful places…), for their presentation to the artistic community in the city and support in the development and presentation of the project. The last week will be spent putting together a small exhibition, open studio or performance so the residents can share their final works (selected by the mentor and the organization) with the citizens of the hosting town and have some foreign feedback.
RESIDENCY DURATION: 4 weeks
RESIDENCY DATES: November 5 – December 6, 2025
WHO CAN APPLY?
We invite artists working in any field of art – regardless of medium, discipline, or form of expression (e.g., visual arts, music, literature, theater, dance, performance, interdisciplinary activities). A university degree in art or documented artistic achievements demonstrating equivalent competences are required.
Applications must be strictly individual. Applications submitted by artist collectives will not be accepted.
Proposed activities must be site-specific – meaning they must be directly linked to the context of the location and public space. We are interested in projects that involve the temporary capture of space, creating new ways of experiencing the city and its surroundings.
GRANT AND CONDITIONS
DOCUMENTS
The following attached documentation is required in a single PDF document:
Evaluation criteria
We will pay particular attention to projects that:
APPLICATION
Only complete and timely applications will be considered. Artists will be selected by a jury of Lublin contemporary art professionals from Warsztaty Kultury. The committee is not obliged to provide reasons for its decision. The shortlist will be published on the CreArt website. The participation in this call implies the acceptance of these bases, and the artists selected should include a reference in all their future communications that they have been selected to participate in the CreArt Artists in Residence program in Lublin, project co-funded by the European Union – Creative Europe program.
In case of any questions, please contact: creart3.0@lublin.eu.
Within the project:
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Co-funded by:
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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.
TONKA MALEKOVIĆ & SOPHIA FREIDHOFF
COMPOSITIONS OF FLOW
1.-12.10.2025.
MEŠTROVIĆ PAVILION PROGRAM
ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM IN ZAGREB

We continue the Meštrović Pavillion Program with solo exhibition of Tonka Maleković and Sophia Freidhoff – COMPOSITIONS OF FLOW, which will open on Wednesday, October 1st at 7PM at Ethnographic Museum in Zagreb (Trg Mažuranića 14). The exhibition remains open until 12.10.2025.
In her foreword, Martina Miholić emphasizes:
The project is based on a two-year research of migration movements in the Danube region, carried out in collaboration with scientist Sophia Freidhoff, and through an interdisciplinary approach it intertwines artistic practice with the methodology of social sciences. Compositions of Flow investigates the interwoven effects of migration on both social and individual levels, addressing diverse groups affected by migration, and connects symbolic, geographical, cultural, economic, and phenomenological aspects with the aim of encouraging dialogue on an empathetic level and shifting the understanding of this complex phenomenon.
The video installation Compositions of Flow (2023) invites viewers to look from Regensburg’s historic Stone bridge toward the Danube, where water streams past a massive pier—suggesting motion and change while the pier itself remains firm and stable. This visual metaphor articulates the inner tension and ambivalence many migrants experience when contemplating the decision to leave their homeland – how their lives change, to what extent they improve, and which alternatives remain open. The installation, inherently site-specific, strategically links the historic bridge, a symbol of transition and movement, with Maximilianstraße, the main pedestrian and traffic axis of the contemporary city, underscoring the ways in which migration generates and reshapes the dynamics of urban space. Project participants actively contributed to the installation by donating or lending personal items – suitcases symbolizing transition, travel, and the baggage of life – which were later transposed into the video format.
Biographies:
Tonka Maleković is a visual artist and a planner of socio-spatial transformations toward sustainability. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb and at RWTH Aachen University. Since 2003, she has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions, received several awards and grants, and participated in various artist-in-residence programs. She is a co-founder of Loose Association, the City at the Second Glance project, and the outdoor gallery for ephemeral interventions LiberSPACE. Maleković often works collaboratively, creating site-specific, participatory actions and temporary installations in public space. In her projects, she reassembles existing contexts to uncover hidden narratives.
Sophia Freidhoff holds a master’s degree in eastern european studies and a bachelor’s degree in history, classical philology, and southeast european studies from the university of regensburg. She has lived and studied in Romania and is currently based in Erfurt, Germany, where she works as a Counselor on Labour and Employment Rights for EU migrants. Her research interests include migration and the freedom of movement in the EU, and in 2023 she co-conducted in collaboriation with the artist Tonka Maleković a sociological study on labor migration as part of the socio-artistic project Compositions of Flow.
Organizer

Partner
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Supported by

Realizes as a part of: AiR Interventions 2023, donumenta e.V. Regensburg
Special thanks to the organisation Novi prostori kulture

A site-specific intervention by Nora Turato on the façade of the Meštrović Pavilion, also the artist’s largest work realised in Europe, represents a strong and consistent response to the central theme of the 60th Zagreb Salon of Visual Arts, Choreography for the Finish Line, organised by HDLU and curated by KUĆĆA collective, and a monumental finale of the artist’s pool7 series which has begun a year ago with a mural of the same name at Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna and the exhibition I Hear You, I Hear You at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. The series focuses on physical forms of expression: voice, gestures, and non-verbal communication that transcends language.
On the rim of the Meštrović Pavilion, which is closed for a complete renovation from 2025–2026, Turato inscribes a raw vocal expression Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!. The installation is accompanied by an audio recording that can be heard once a day, precisely at noon. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! is a universal, primal expression that evokes the origins of language, as well as a reflexive human reaction. The installation spatially draws upon the pavilion’s circular architecture, creating a range of diverse visual and auditory experiences. The sound is activated periodically, akin to a ritual, making the voice present in the space. With this gesture, Turato symbolically positions the future renovated exhibition space of the Croatian Association of Fine Artists (HDLU) as a place for play, risk, and openness, further engaging both visitors and casual passers-by.
This intervention also marks Zagreb-born, Rijeka-raised and Amsterdam-based Nora Turato’s first solo exhibition in Zagreb, opening on Saturday, 11 October 2025, and running until the end of January 2026.
Opening event:
October 11, 5 p.m, Oris (Street Kralja Držislava 3)
Free entrance

Photo: El Hardwick
Nora Turato (born 1991 in Zagreb; raised in Rijeka, Croatia, lives and works in Amsterdam) explores the instability of language and its performative nature. From a range of articles, conversations, subtitles, and advertising slogans encountered daily, she constructs visual-linguistic compositions through video works, installations, books, murals, and spoken-word performances. In her work, political discourse and pop culture coexist equally, reflecting synchronisations in social relations and consumer mentality. Turato’s visual language is marked by bold typography and her expressive handwriting, which extends across surfaces like rehearsal notes or an artist’s sketchbook. This personal trace evokes a disappearing intimacy in the era of digital communication. In her hands, language becomes a mirror of culture: fragmented, rootless, intense. Nora Turato has had solo exhibitions in leading cultural institutions worldwide, including the ICA in London, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Secession in Vienna, Centre Pompidou in Paris, Mudam in Luxemburg, International Centre of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto, and Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein. She has also participated in the Performa Biennale, Post-Capital, and INFORMATION (Today).

Photo:
The Home of the Croatian Visual Artists building, also known as the Meštrović Pavilion, is one of the key achievements of modern Croatian architecture. The conceptual design for the building was done by the prominent Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović. This impressive, modern rotunda with colonnades and a spacious hall was designed for various exhibition purposes and is today considered a unique example of modern architecture. The building was inaugurated in 1938 with the exhibition Half a Century of Croatian Art. However, due to its central location and monumental appearance, its function quickly changed; by political decision during the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), it was converted into a mosque (1941–1944), and after World War II, the Museum of the Revolution (1945–1990). Each repurposing brought spatial interventions: from a concrete dome and minarets (architects Zvonimir Požgaj and Stjepan Planić) to the radical transformation of the interior carried out by Vjenceslav Richter. In the 1990s, the building was returned to artists, and in the 2000s, the first renovation began according to Andrija Mutnjaković’s design, which started to restore the building to its original form. Today, as the Meštrović Pavilion, the building is a recognisable symbol of the city of Zagreb, and a space for numerous contemporary artistic programs and exhibitions.
With Turato’s intervention, the Croatian Association of Fine Artists particularly aims to emphasise that the building, despite its turbulent past and various uses, was built as and will remain in the future a space for exhibiting contemporary visual art.
At the beginning of 2025, HDLU commenced the long-awaited comprehensive and energy-efficient renovation of the Meštrović Pavilion, based on the project by architect Saša Randić. The aim is to restore the building’s original state while incorporating improvements that will meet the needs and technical requirements of a contemporary gallery space. The completion of the works is expected by the end of 2026.
Organiser Croatian Association of Fine Artists
Producer Ivana Andabaka Vujičić, director of HDLU
HDLU management board Tomislav Buntak, Josip Zanki, Ida Blažičko, Fedor Fischer, Vida Meić, Romana Nikolić, Tomislav Hršak
Curators of the 60th Zagreb salon of visual arts salona KUĆĆA kolektiv
Design Nora Turato
Design adaptation Duje Medić
Artist’s assistant Marta Perović, Turato studio
Public relations Inesa Antić
Production assistents Nika Šimičić, Martina Miholić
Special thanks Kia Tasbihgou, Sam de Groot, Kunsthalle Wien
Contact hdlu@hdlu.hr, +38514611818
Supported by the Zagreb Tourist Board, the City of Zagreb’s Office for Culture and Civil Society, the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, Oris House of Architecture, company Belina, and media partner Večernji list.

LAURA STOJKOSKI
STADIUM
10.-25.9.2025.
KARAS GALLERY
On Wednesday, 10.9.2025. Laura Stojkoski opens her solo exhibition entitled Stadium at 7 pm in Karas Gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).

In her foreword, Monika Sinković emphasizes:
“This exhibition is based on the idea of creating a unique space where art and football converge, two spheres that shape identities and communities in different yet deeply interconnected ways. The gallery is transformed into a place that evokes the atmosphere of a stadium, conveying the dynamism, passion and sense of togetherness that characterise football culture. (…)
The exhibition invites us to reflect together on how the collective energy of the stadium is translated into artistic expressions, and how new forms of understanding culture and community emerge in this transition.”
Biography:
Laura Stojkoski (1998, Zagreb) is a student of Art Education, majoring in Sculpture, under the mentorship of Assistant Professor Vojin Hraste at the Art Education Department of the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb. Her work centres on the exploration of collective identities and their interrelations, while her artistic practice is focused on the exploration of colour in sculpture. She has participated in group exhibitions and is a three-time recipient of the Rector’s Award.
The exhibition will be open during the period from 10.9. to 25.9.2025.
Working hours of Karas Gallery
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 4pm – 8pm
Tuesday, Saturday 10am – 1pm
On Sundays and Mondays closed.
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http://karasarthub.eu
Organizer: HDLU
With the support of: Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb