Category: Events
26 October 2026
DAVOR MEZAK
SOLASTALGIA 2 — DREAM OF A RIVER
3.-24.11.2026.
KARAS GALLERY
On Tuesday, 3th of November Davor Mezak opens his solo exhibition entitled Solastalgia 2 — Dream of a River at 7 pm in Karas gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).
In his preface, the artist emphasizes:
„There is a particular kind of sadness that arises when a place to which we belong begins to change before our eyes. We are still physically here, but the landscape we know is gradually disappearing. Rivers dry up or burst their banks, forests change colour, and the seasons lose their familiar rhythm. A once-familiar place becomes unfamiliar.
The Australian environmental philosopher Glenn Albrecht called this experience solastalgia — the feeling of losing one’s home while still living in it. Unlike nostalgia, which implies distance from the place we long for, solastalgia arises precisely because we cannot distance ourselves from the change we are witnessing. Home is still there, but it is no longer the same.
Solastalgia 2 — Dream of a River continues my earlier engagement with climate change, the relationship between humans and the environment, and the sense of uncertainty brought about by transformations in nature that we can no longer regard as belonging to some distant future. In this project, however, I am not attempting to illustrate the climate crisis or present a documentary account of it. What interests me is something else: what does it feel like to live amid changes that we cannot yet fully comprehend?”
Biography:
Davor Mezak studied at the School of Applied Arts in Zagreb and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1995, where he studied under Professor Ante Kuduz. He has exhibited regularly in Croatia and abroad since 1992, participating in more than 100 group exhibitions and holding 30 solo exhibitions. He has received four awards for his work in the visual arts.
The exhibition will be open during the period from 3. to 24.11.2026.
Working hours of Karas Gallery
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 4pm – 8pm
Tuesday, Saturday 10am – 1pm
On Sundays and Mondays closed.
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Organizer: HDLU
With the support of: Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb
21 October 2026
Residency period: 16 November–17 December 2026
The City of Oulu invites a professional media artist or an interdisciplinary artist duo of the younger generation from the CreArt 3.0 network to a four-week residency in Oulu. The selected artist or duo will develop a concept for an immersive and spatial media artwork for Visio, the Deep Space environment at the new Museum and Science Centre Tiima.
We Are All Role Models
We Are All Role Models explores tolerance, inclusion and belonging through hope. It invites artists to weave together the voices, values and quiet courage of today’s young people and to consider equality and acceptance as lived realities rather than distant ideals.
In an inclusive space where generations meet, the work may reverse the traditional direction of role modelling: what can young people teach us about courage, community, equality and possible futures? The proposal may address social and political questions, including experiences of exclusion in one’s own city, but should do so thoughtfully and constructively, with attention to participants’ and audiences’ wellbeing.
Possible perspectives include bridges between generations, communities and cultures; everyday courage; agency and individual choices; mutual learning; and interactive encounters that encourage a more inclusive future.
The Residency Project
During the residency, the selected artist or duo will develop a concept design for an artwork intended for Visio. The application must present the envisioned final form of the artwork, or a clear concept aimed at its future realisation. The residency is a focused development and prototyping period: a fully produced final artwork is not required by the end of the residency.
The residency outcome must include at least, if not completed artwork:
- a developed artistic concept describing the intended final artwork;
- a demo or prototype demonstrating its immersive, spatial or interactive approach;
- a preliminary technical plan and description of the audience experience;
- an outline of the further production design.
The concept and demo should aim towards either an approximately 5–7-minute immersive audiovisual work or an interactive experience. Other formats may be proposed if they make convincing use of the environment.
Visio and the Deep Space Environment
Visio is part of the newly opened Museum and Science Centre Tiima in Oulu, where science, art, history and new technologies meet. Its immersive environment uses Ars Electronica’s Deep Space technology and follows the corresponding technical requirements. Applicants should familiarise themselves with the environment and specifications on the Ars Electronica Deep Space 8K website and DeepSpace · GitHub.
The environment supports large-scale wall and floor projection, audiovisual and 3d content, spatial experience and audience interaction. Experience of immersive environments, interactive media, projection-based art, game engines, spatial sound or large-scale audiovisual production is an advantage.
Community and Research
The selected artist or duo may work with local young people, communities or other groups during the residency. Applicants may, if they wish, outline the types of local communities or groups they would be interested in engaging with, and/or possible approaches to involving them in the development of the artwork. This could include dialogue, shared research, storytelling or other forms of exchange.
The precise working method will be developed together with the artist, the curator of Visio and the CreArt Oulu team.
The residency may also build on the artist’s previous community-based work, research or artistic material from their own city. Such material may be brought into dialogue with local perspectives in Oulu, creating connections between communities across the CreArt network.
Participation must be based on informed consent, respectful facilitation and appropriate handling of personal and audiovisual material. The artist should avoid placing an unreasonable emotional burden on participants when working with sensitive experiences such as exclusion, racism or discrimination.
Who Can Apply?
The call is open to one professional media artist or an artist duo of the younger generation whose complementary practices may combine media art with sound art, performance, choreography, storytelling, animation, game design or participatory art.
Relevant practices include moving image and audiovisual art, immersive or spatial media, interactive art, digital storytelling, animation or game-engine-based art, sound art, performance and technology, and interdisciplinary media art.
Applicants must be born, resident or professionally based in one of the following CreArt partner cities: Valladolid (Spain), Aveiro (Portugal), Lublin (Poland), Skopje (North Macedonia), Kaunas (Lithuania), Rouen or Clermont-Ferrand (France), Venice (Italy), Liepāja (Latvia), České Budějovice (Czech Republic) or Regensburg (Germany).
Also eligible are members of the Croatian Association of Fine Artists (HDLU); Ukrainian artists applying through Artists Council Dialogue in Lviv; and artists connected to the associated partners Atelierhaus Salzamt in Linz and Bluecoat in Liverpool.
What Should the Application Include?
All documents listed below must be submitted in English in a single PDF file:
- Concept proposal, maximum 2-3 pages, presenting the central artistic idea and its connection to We Are All Role Models, including the envisioned final form of the artwork, its immersive, spatial and/or interactive approach, the intended audience experience, and any local or participatory elements. The proposal should also outline how the concept could be demonstrated during the residency through a demo or other work-in-progress presentation at the end of the residency. Applicants may include a storyboard, mood board, sketches, visual references or relevant links to support the proposal.
- Preliminary technical idea, including the anticipated use of image, sound, interaction, software or equipment, maximum 1 page.
- Outline work plan for the five-week residency, maximum 1 page.
- Artist CV or CVs and a portfolio or links to relevant previous works, maximum 3 works.
- Brief motivation for working in Oulu and in the Visio environment.
- For duos, a short description of roles and responsibilities
- A scan of your ID card or passport.
Selection
The selection will be based on the artistic quality and originality of the proposal, its relevance to the theme, its use of the immersive environment, and its feasibility within the residency period. The selection will be made by representatives of CreArt Oulu and Museum and Science Centre Tiima / Visio.
Residency Support and Artist Fee
The selected artist or duo will receive:
- artist fee of €3,500 for one artist or €6,400 in total for an artist duo;
- travel to and from Oulu;
- accommodation in Oulu for the residency period;
- daily allowances;
- local curatorial and technical support and access to Visio at agreed times;
- support in connecting with relevant local communities when needed.
Any later full production of the final artwork will be subject to a separate production agreement and budget.
Schedule
Open Call published: 20 October 2026
Application deadline: 1 November 2026 at 23:59 CET
Selection: 2–3 November 2026
Selected artist or duo notified: 4 November 2026
Arrival in Oulu: 16 November 2026
Residency: 16 November–17 December 2026
Concept presentation and demo: 16 December 2026
Final delivery and departure: 17 December 2026
Optional departure date: 18 December 2026, subject to travel arrangements
The schedule is fixed because the CreArt 3.0 project period ends on 31 December 2026.
How to Apply
Submit the application through the CreArt Open Calls platform by the stated deadline.
For more information:
Taina Kulmala, Project Coordinator, CreArt Oulu, taina.kulmala@ouka.fi
Maria Gullsten, Curator, Oulu Museum and Science Centre Tiima, maria.gullsten@ouka.fi
Photo credits: Hennamaria Rantakeisu
Within the project:
Partners:
Supported 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]
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
14 October 2026
How do cultural initiatives emerge from local needs, survive in conditions of limited resources and uncertainty, and gradually transform the cultural and social life of their communities? These questions were discussed at the panel Transformation of Cultural Policies through Best Practices of Autonomous Cultural Centers in Smaller Communities, held on 6 October 2026 in the Council Chamber of the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, as part of the Re:Create Europe project. The panel was conceived by Josip Zanki.
Drawing on three examples from Croatia, the panel discussed cultural autonomy, the sustainability of the independent cultural scene, the management of shared spaces, and how practical experience can inform cultural policy development.
The discussion featured Marino Jurcan, who presented the Community Center Karlo Rojc in Pula; Marijana Stanić, who spoke about the work of Gallery 90-60-90 in Zagreb; and Marko Simić, who presented the activities of the Lončari Association and Pueblo Escondido, located near Gornji Karin.
Three Examples of Cultural Autonomy and Resilience
The Community Center Karlo Rojc demonstrates how a former military building can be transformed into important infrastructure for the cultural and civil society sectors through the collective efforts of the organisations based there. Its experience highlighted the importance of shared spaces, cooperation, knowledge exchange and collective governance, as well as the need for established structures to evolve over time and create opportunities for new generations.
Gallery 90-60-90 presented an example of the long-term development of independent artistic practice despite spatial and financial uncertainty. One particularly interesting example was the project Sound Image, in which works originally created for radio were presented in a physical exhibition space, with ten cars serving as listening spaces. This project demonstrates how limitations and unconventional spaces can stimulate experimentation and inspire new exhibition formats.
The Lončari Association and Pueblo Escondido demonstrated how artistic practice can be connected with local needs, environmental action, community-building and intercultural exchange. One of the examples highlighted was the initiative It’s Not Too Late, which addressed the problem of a large waste dump on the road leading to a protected natural area and involved approximately 100 people.
From Local Initiatives to Cultural Policy Change
A key conclusion of the discussion was that cultural policy does not always precede cultural practice. Independent initiatives are often the first to identify the needs of local communities and develop practical responses. Over time, their experience can become a valuable source of knowledge for institutions and policymakers.
The discussion particularly emphasised the importance of long-term continuity, adaptability in conditions of limited resources, and forms of participation that go beyond simply attending cultural events. Meaningful participation creates opportunities for different groups to actively contribute to programmes, collaborate, take on roles and help shape the cultural life of their communities.
The examples of Rojc, Gallery 90-60-90 and the Lončari Association offered three complementary approaches to resilience in the cultural sector: developing shared infrastructure and collective organisational models; sustaining artistic practice while embracing experimentation; and connecting culture with community needs and the creation of new social relationships.
The panel again raised how to better recognise the knowledge generated through the long-term work of independent cultural organisations and create conditions to share and apply it in cultural policymaking, particularly in smaller communities and areas with limited cultural infrastructure.
Photo: Juraj Vuglač
Within the project:
Partners:
Co-funded by:
Co-funded by the European Union – CREA-CULT-2025-COOP. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position 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: 101255481]
02 October 2026
The City of Aveiro invites two artists of younger generation to engage in creative work as part of the “Boas Festas” cultural programme. The residency, scheduled for 23th November to 11th December, 2026, is being held as part of the cultural programme for the Christmas and New Year in Aveiro, that includes concerts, performances and installations and that engage all cultural spaces in Aveiro and mainly the public space.
RESIDENCY DURATION: 19 days
RESIDENCY DATES: 23th November – 11th December 2026
APPLICATION DEADLINE: 4th of November
SELECTION RESULTS ANNOUNCEMENT: 11th November
WHO CAN APPLY?
The open call is open to:
- Artists of the younger generation born or residing in one of the cities within the CreArt network: Kaunas (Lithuania), Liepāja (Latvia), Skopje (North Macedonia), Aveiro (Portugal), Valladolid (Spain), Venice (Italy), Clermont-Ferrand and Rouen (France), Regensburg (Germany), České Budějovice (Czech Republic) or Oulu (Finland).
- Artists-members of HDLU (Croatian Association of Fine Artists).
- Ukrainian artists through the collaboration with public organization Lviv Artistic Council “Dialog”.
We invite artists working in the field of visual arts – with a particular focus on practices involving public space, art light and sound installations and performance art. We are interested in projects that emerge at the intersection of disciplines, combining various media, techniques, and perspectives.
We are looking for individuals who engage in a dialogue with their surroundings, work with sensitivity to the Aveiro historical centre and local traditions, and are open to collaborating with the local community. The works may take the form of interventions or ephemeral actions, with their specific form and location to be determined jointly through curatorial discussions. The installations set-up would take place during the last days of the residency and in case of performative art until the 17th of December.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
- The city of Aveiro will pay a grant of 2 500 euros, to each artist, related to travel, subsistence and other expenses, with the transference taking place until the terminus of the residency;
- Renting of sound and light equipment, if needed, to be supplied by the Municipality of Aveiro;
- Studio and accommodation will be provided by the city of Aveiro in the city centre;
- Applicants must hold a valid European Health Insurance Card or an equivalent document.
DOCUMENTS
All documents listed below must be submitted in English in a single PDF file:
- A scan of your ID card or passport.
- A document confirming a connection to a city within the CreArt 3.0 network.
- A CV (max. one A4 page).
- An artistic portfolio containing examples of your work (max. 10 pages and 10 images; links may be included).
- A project proposal (max one A4 page) explaining why you would like to participated in the residency in Lublin. Please include estimated material requirements, a list of technical needs and any other relevant technical details regarding the execution of the work that might help the Organizer understand the project.
APPLICATION
To apply, please register on the CreArt website https://creart2-eu.org/open-calls/, upload your portfolio and attach the documents listed above (all in a single PDF file).
Application deadline: 4th November 2026
Only complete applications containing all the information mentioned above will be considered. Submissions will be evaluated and selected by the internal jury. The jury is under no obligation to provide reasons for its decisions. Participants will be informed of the selection results by 11th November. The list of selected artists will be published on the CreArt website. Participation in the open call implies acceptance of these terms and conditions; selected artists are required to acknowledge in their CVs and all future communications (press, digital media) their selection for the CreArt Artists Residency Program in Aveiro, part of the CreArt 3.0 #stringing_together project, co-financed by the European Union.
In case of any questions, please contact us at: museusdeaveiro@cm-aveiro.pt
About Aveiro
Located in the center of Portugal [halfway of Porto and Coimbra], by the sea, Aveiro is one of the major cities of the country. Nowadays its relevance and increasing number of inhabitants comes from the presence of the University [founded in 1973] and from the industries and companies operating, mainly, in the technological areas and ceramics, as well as from the improvement of the harbour facilities, seen as an important gateway to Europe and a strategic point to international trade.
Aveiro is also placed by the central national railway which contributes to the easy traveling to everywhere in the country. All types of services are available as well as sports and cultural facilities to serve the population and the visitors. Museums, a municipal theater, a congress center and a large number of culture associations and culture agents [CCI] create the pleasant and dynamic cultural atmosphere of the city, highlighted by the canals festival and, mainly, the International Biennale of Artistic Ceramics [since 1989]. Encompassing the cultural dynamics, Aveiro was the first Portuguese Capital of Culture, in 2024.
A city full of history, of several former monasteries, baroque churches, Art Nouveau facades, colored tile panels and with a long tradition in ceramics, fishing [including the famous codfish] and salt production. Side by side with the city’s remote history, is the university campus, a complete catalogue of the Portuguese contemporary architecture design by renowned architects such as the Pritzker’s awarded Álvaro Siza Vieira and Eduardo Souto Moura.
The weather conditions are pleasant, on both summer and winter, and the brightness provided by the large lagoon and the ocean brings a special glow to the city and the buildings colors.
The beaches around Aveiro [Barra, Costa Nova and São Jacinto] are a main holiday center for people from center Portugal and Spain [Galicia and Castilla y León]. Barra’ beach is also a significant spots for surfing all entire year. Besides that, the lagoon [European protected area – Natura 2000 network] attracts a large number of visitors and researchers to appreciate and study the landscape and the biodiversity [mainly the birds]. The saltpans still producing according to artisanal methods are one of the major local touristic spots. Art Nouveau heritage is a significant cultural attraction too [it is part of the Art Nouveau European Cultural Route], side-by-side with the moliceiro’ boats and the street art produced by local, national and international artists.
Within the project:
Partners:
Supported 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]
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
02 October 2026
As part of the CreArt 3.0 project, the City of Lublin and Warsztaty Kultury invite applications for an artist residency for two individuals of younger generation: one from Lublin and one from a partner city within the CreArt network. Participating artists will receive support from a curator and a coordinator, who will supervise and assist with the creative process. The residency will culminate on November 27 with a public presentation of the work.
RESIDENCY DURATION: 17 days
RESIDENCY DATES: November 12–28, 2026
APPLICATION DEADLINE: October 23, 2026
SELECTION RESULTS ANNOUNCEMENT: by October 30, 2026
THE GLOBE
The starting point for the residency is an existing object – a movable globe with a diameter of 1.5 meters, created for the “Planet Lublin” installation, which was exhibited in the centre of Lublin several years ago. Designed and built for a specific public space project, the object now serves as material for a new artistic undertaking.
We invite two artists of the younger generation to participate in the residency; their task will be to collaboratively develop a project that takes the existing globe – its form, scale, structure, function, previous use, or history – as its point of reference.
We do not prescribe how artists should approach the object. The globe may be treated as a substrate, a medium, an element of a larger concept, or a ready-made object incorporated into a new work. Approaches ranging from altering its surface and transforming its original character to changing its existing form and function without fundamental modification are all possible. What matters is that the proposed work stems from an artistic engagement with the object as found.
The form and execution technique remain open, subject to the globe’s technical properties and the conditions of its subsequent public display. As the object is movable and rotatable, any interventions directly on its surface must take into account the fact that it will be touched and handled. Solutions involving additional structural elements will require approval during the project preparation stage.
The residency entails a collaborative working process between two artists. We do not expect two independent works placed on a single object, but rather a concept developed jointly, while preserving the autonomy of each artist’s practice.
The outcome of the residency will be a new artwork using the existing globe, to be presented in the public space of Lublin.
WHO CAN APPLY?
The open call is open to:
- 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), Regensburg (Germany), České Budějovice (Czech Republic) and Oulu (Finland).
- Artists-members of HDLU (Croatian Association of Fine Artists).
- Ukrainian artists through the collaboration with public organization Lviv Artistic Council «Dialogue».
Applicants must hold a university degree in the arts or possess a documented artistic track record demonstrating equivalent qualifications.
Applications are accepted from individual artists only; applications submitted by artist groups or collectives will not be considered.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
- A grant of EUR 800 gross for selected artists (a fixed exchange rate of PLN 4.3355 applies to the project); payment will be made within 21 days after the residency. For artists from abroad, the payment will be reduced by a 20% income tax deduction.
- Material/production costs per artist: up to EUR 460 gross.
- For an artist from CreArt city, the Organizer covers the cost of flight tickets (direct flights from the partner city or the nearest airport to Warsaw or Lublin; travel from Warsaw to Lublin is the artist’s responsibility), as well as accommodation and meals (two meals per day). In the event that an artist from Ukraine is selected, travel costs will be included in the contract for the performance of the work.
- Prior to the start of the residency, artists will sign contracts with the Municipality of Lublin.
- Applicants for the residency must hold a valid European Health Insurance Card or an equivalent document.
- By the final day of the residency, the artist undertakes to submit a final report in English, comprising the title, project description, objectives, and a visual dossier (minimum 6 pages).
DOCUMENTS
All documents listed below must be submitted in English. A single PDF file must contain:
• A scan of your ID card or passport.
• A document confirming a connection to a city within the CreArt 3.0 network.
• A CV (max. one A4 page).
• An artistic portfolio containing examples of your work artistic activities (max. 10 pages and 10 images; links may be included).
• A project proposal (max. one A4 page) explaining why you would like to participate in the residency in Lublin. Please include estimated material requirements, a list of technical needs, and any other relevant technical details regarding the execution of the work that might help the Organizer understand the project.
HOW TO APPLY?
- To apply, please register on the CreArt website (https://creart2-eu.org/open-calls/), upload your portfolio, and attach the documents listed above (all in a single PDF file).
• If you encounter any issues with the application process, you may submit your application via email to creart@fmcva.org, using the subject line: “open call Lublin”.
• Application deadline: October 23, 2026.
Only complete applications containing all the information mentioned above will be considered. Submissions will be evaluated and selected by an internal jury from Workshops of Culture (Warsztaty Kultury). The jury is under no obligation to justify its decisions. Applicants will be notified of the selection results by October 30, 2026. The names of the selected artists will be published on the CreArt homepage. Participation in the open call implies acceptance of these terms and conditions; the selected artist is required to acknowledge in their CV and all future communications (press, digital media) that they were selected for the CreArt Artist Residency Program in Lublin—part of the CreArt 3.0 #stringing_together project, co-funded by the European Union under the Creative Europe Programme.
Should you have any questions or doubts, please feel free to contact us at creart3.0@lublin.eu.
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 organise 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/
Within the project:
Partners:
Supported 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]
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
02 October 2026
Dr. art. Melinda Šefčić presented her ten-year artistic and research practice in the field of artistic interventions in hospital environments at international events in New York and Boston dedicated to the role of visual arts in healthcare and patient well-being. Her work encompasses continuous research into the possibilities of rehumanizing and re-aestheticizing healthcare environments, with an important part of this development comprising projects realized in collaboration with the Croatian Association of Fine Artists (HDLU), from her earliest interventions in hospital spaces to the international European project Healing Nature.
As part of UNGA Healing Arts Week 2026 in New York, organized by the Jameel Arts & Health Lab in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Šefčić participated in the panel Public Art as Public Health: The Role of Visual Art in Hospitals, held at the Museum of the City of New York. She presented ten years of artistic practice and research into murals and artistic interventions in hospital environments in Croatia, with a focus on the rehumanization of healthcare environments and the well-being of their users. The panel was organized by NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine and brought together artists, researchers, healthcare professionals and policymakers.
More information is available on the official UNGA Healing Arts Week website.
Following her presentation in New York, Šefčić also presented her work at the international symposium Bridging Visual Arts & Healthcare: Impact, Innovation, Research, held from 23 to 25 September 2026 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. The symposium was organized by the Visual Arts in Healthcare Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, with the programme delivered by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Mass General Brigham and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The symposium focused on exploring the impact of visual arts in healthcare environments, innovative approaches, and the development of research at the intersection of arts and health. More information is available on the official symposium website.
As part of the Boston presentation, Melinda Šefčić and Nika Šimičić, representing HDLU, also presented the European project Healing Nature – Animation for Health and Well-being in Children Hospital Environments, for which Šefčić is a co-author and artistic director. The project is implemented by the Croatian Association of Fine Artists in international partnership with Universidade Lusófona/COFAC in Portugal and New Bulgarian University in Bulgaria, with the cooperation of healthcare institutions in Croatia, Portugal and Bulgaria. Through murals, participatory processes, animation and augmented reality, the project explores the possibilities of connecting art and nature in the rehumanization of hospital environments and in improving the experience of patients, healthcare staff and other users. More information about the project is available on the official project website.
Ten Years of Artistic Interventions in Hospital Environments
Melinda Šefčić’s artistic and research practice in the field of rehumanizing hospital environments has developed over the past ten years through more than 15 artistic and research projects that have brought together contemporary art, healthcare institutions, research and education. At the time of the first initiatives, artistic interventions in Croatian hospitals were relatively rare, making her work one of the pioneering examples of systematic research into the possibilities of applying art in healthcare environments.
One of the first projects was Aestheticization and Rehumanization of Public Space: Art as Therapy (2017), implemented as part of the European CreArt project, in which HDLU participated as a partner. The project explored the possibilities of transforming hospital environments through art, with the aim of creating more welcoming spaces for patients, visitors and healthcare professionals.
This was followed by the project Aestheticization and Rehumanization of Hospital Space: Art for Health (2019), organized by HDLU, with Melinda Šefčić as its author and project leader. The project expanded artistic interventions to several healthcare institutions, including University Hospital Centre Zagreb, the Children’s Hospital Zagreb, and the Clinic for Women’s Diseases and Obstetrics. Through mural interventions and collaboration with hospital staff, it explored possibilities for improving patients’ experiences and rehumanizing the spaces in which they spend time. It also developed a model of collaboration between artists, healthcare professionals, patients and educational institutions, with the aim of establishing a long-term connection between art and healthcare.
The results of ten years of artistic and research practice were also consolidated and published in the academic paper Walls that Heal: A Decade of Murals and the Rehumanization of Hospital Space in Croatian Healthcare Environments (2025) https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/499682, which synthesizes the findings of research and artistic interventions carried out between 2016 and 2025. The foundations of this research direction were established in Melinda Šefčić’s doctoral dissertation Rehumanization and Re-aestheticization of Hospital Space – An Example of an Artistic Solution for a Hospital Department, defended in 2018 at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb. The doctoral research developed an interdisciplinary model combining art theory, her own artistic practice, and empirical research into the effects of artistic interventions in hospital environments. Her artistic and research practice subsequently expanded to penitentiaries and prisons, while since 2020 she has been teaching the course Aestheticization of Public Space through Art at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb, passing on the knowledge and methodology she has developed to new generations of artists.
Since 2019, Šefčić has been collaborating more intensively with Dr. phil. Lea Vidaković, expanding their research into mural art towards animation and moving image as new forms of artistic intervention in hospital environments.
The first pilot project of their collaboration, Digital Fauna (2021/2022), explored the possibilities of using animation in hospital environments. The results of the project were presented in 2022 at the symposium Animafest Scanner – Symposium of Contemporary Animation Studies. Their second pilot project, Animated Forest World in the Hospital Space (2023), further developed research into animated environments and the possibilities of integrating them into hospital spaces. These experiences provided the foundation for the development of the Healing Nature project, which combines mural art, animation, augmented reality and participatory processes.
The ten-year continuity of Melinda Šefčić’s work across numerous artistic, research and educational projects demonstrates how artistic interventions in hospital environments can evolve from individual mural projects into interdisciplinary research and international initiatives. Through collaboration with HDLU, healthcare institutions and educational organizations, art becomes part of a broader reflection on the quality of public spaces, the well-being of their users, and the possibilities of connecting culture and healthcare.
24 September 2026
GOBLIN FERMENTATIONS
GOBLIN SCAVENGING
6.-27.10.2026.
KARAS GALLERY
On Tuesday, 6th of October Goblin Fermentations collective opens their solo exhibition entitled Goblin Scavenging at 7 pm in Karas gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).
In her forward, Iva Jurić emphasizes:
“The work Goblin Scavenging, whose title is also a fairly precise description of the process through which the Goblin Fermentations collective has been diligently building its imaginary post-apocalyptic–mutated–speculative world of eco-horror for several years, continues their practice of collecting, reshaping, and connecting materials found in abandoned and devastated spaces. Zagreb is an important point of departure for their work, but they also bring back what they find from other places they pass through. Such spaces are not merely a backdrop, but a kind of field archive from which they extract textures, sounds, objects, and forms. What connects them is not location, but the condition of the space: what remains in it after human use, what has changed, and what can still emerge from these remnants.
Scavenging can therefore be understood as a way of working with what is already present. Found materials carry traces of the places they come from and of the processes to which they have previously been subjected, and when relocated into an artwork, these traces become part of new combinations. In a process of sorts of Frankensteinization, animal bones, wood, natural resin, and leather encounter synthetic resin, plastic, and latex, while bleaching, thermal treatment, sewing, soldering, woodworking, modelling, and binding give them new forms. This direct and experimental relationship with materials is also connected to the artists’ long-standing interest in DIY practices. It gives rise to objects that cannot always be clearly defined: they may appear as artefacts, sculptures, props, or remnants of a culture whose rules remain unknown.”
Biography:
The Goblin Fermentations collective was formed in early 2023 and consists of Vina Ćurčija and Mihael Čuček. The collective operates with the aim of building a world named GOBL1N_F3RM3N74T10NS – a hybrid posthumanist metaverse inspired by eco-horror and motifs from pre-industrial history, constructed using a combination of natural and artificially created materials. The collective operates between Berlin (Germany) and Zagreb (Croatia).
Associates: Kmet (music composer), Andy Aquarius (sound mastering)
The exhibition will be open during the period from 6. to 27.10.2026.
Working hours of Karas Gallery
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 4pm – 8pm
Tuesday, Saturday 10am – 1pm
On Sundays and Mondays closed.
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Organizer: HDLU
With the support of: Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb
MEŠTROVIĆ PAVILION CLOSED DUE TO RENOVATION
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