The Croatian Association of Fine Artists is the lead partner of the European project Healing Nature – Animation for Health and Well-being in Children Hospital Environments, implemented in collaboration with Universidade Lusófona / Cofac from Portugal and New Bulgarian University from Bulgaria. Most of the current artworks in hospitals consist of traditional murals, paintings, and sculptures, while there is a lack of contemporary interactive works and animations in children’s hospital waiting areas—artworks aimed at supporting mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. The HEALING NATURE project will create an interactive experience using augmented reality (AR) with animated content to provide a welcoming and soothing hospital atmosphere, offering a calming and distracting experience for children. The project builds upon two previously realized pilot projects authored by Dr. art. Melinda Šefčić and Dr. phil. Lea Vidaković, implemented in the Zagreb Clinical Hospital Center in 2021 (Digital Fauna) and 2023 (Animated Forest World in Hospital Spaces). The project includes: 3 murals in hospitals in Croatia, Bulgaria, and Portugal, 3 augmented reality experiences in hospitals in Croatia, Bulgaria, and Portugal, 6 workshops with children, 1 research study on the impact of such content on patients and hospital staff, 1 digital booklet presenting the project’s results, 3 press conferences to present the project outcomes.
Category: Events
20 May 2025
JOSIP KRESOVIĆ
THE SHIFT
27.5.-14.6.2025.
KARAS GALLERY
On Tuesday, 27.5.2025. Josip Kresović opens his solo exhibition entitled The Shift, at 7 pm in Karas Gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).
In her foreword, Antonela Solenički emphasizes:
“In the exhibition The Shift, Josip Kresović exposes the complex interplay between two seemingly distinct domains – his psychological practice and his artistic work. As a psychologist who spent years working at the Centre for Sexual Health, Kresović witnessed firsthand the emotional tensions, the silence of shame, and gestures of caution that permeate everyday medical practice. The idea that professional sterility remains confined to the workplace is an illusion, and in this series, the artist reveals that the boundaries between work and art are not only fluid but also substantive. What is experienced in the Centre – the colours of tests, the texture of cotton wool, the smell of disinfectant, eye contact – translates into a visual language in which the material and the emotional, the personal and the systemic, become inseparable.”
Biography:
Josip Kresović (Zadar, 1992) is an interdisciplinary artist and psychologist. He graduated in Psychology from the University of Zadar in 2018, focusing on the psychology of art, with a particular interest in visual-aesthetic sensitivity and the relationship between art and mood. Alongside his studies, he developed his own artistic practice, in which he explores the relationship between the individual and their environment and how this relationship shapes identity, through a personal iconography. His work spans a range of media, including sculpture, collage, installation, and performance. Since 2017, he has had solo and group exhibitions and performances in Croatia and, on two occasions, he has received support from the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia for visual artists (Roller, 2021 and Plivati kao ti ne može svatko / Not Everyone Can Swim Like You, 2023). In 2023, in collaboration with the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art, he won the ICOM Award for his work Sun Worker. In 2024, following his participation in the Situation exhibition at the Youth Salon, he was awarded a special recognition from the Croatian Association of Fine Artists for his work 11. In 2025, he was selected for the Takeover 2025 (CreArt 3.0) project, through which he exhibited at the Brigada studio in Zagreb, and in parallel, he also began an artistic collaboration with the Forum för levande historia in Stockholm (Sweden), where he exhibited a site-specific installation as part of the museum’s educational programme. Kresović is also active in the fields of stage and graphic design.
The exhibition will be open during the period from 27.5. to 14.6.2025.
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
29 April 2025
TAKEOVER
European Month of Creativity
Curator: Antonela Solenički
Artists: Marlen Ban, Sanda Črnelč, Josip Kresović, Stela Mikulin, Branimir Štivić
For this year’s European Month of Creativity, the Croatian Association of Fine Artists, within the EU project CreART 3.0, has organized a small festival of contemporary art in business premises—TAKEOVER.
Emerging artists (Marlen Ban, Sanda Črnelč, Josip Kresović, Stela Mikulin, Branimir Štivić), selected by the curator Antonela Solenički, will “take over” spaces within recognized companies operating in or related to the fields of cultural and creative industries, like Brigada, Google Croatia, Grupa, Intera or architectural studio Randić and Associates.
During the artwork selection process, the curator considered both the typologies of the spaces encountered in the project and the production of content within those spaces, aiming to establish a content-related interaction between the artistic projects presented and the employees who will encounter these projects on a daily basis.
The artists will exhibit their work in the companies and present it to the employees. Each intervention will also be presented to the public through open-door events and conversations with the artist.
ARTISTIC INTERVENTIONS:
MARLEN BAN, No Time for a Revolution, 2025
No Time for a Revolution questions the current state of society through the statement Nobody is going to start a revolution. This seemingly passive message opens space for a critique of the status quo, in which systemic control, censorship, and the normalization of authoritarian practices erode faith in the possibility of change.
The work oscillates between personal reflection and collective uncertainty, questioning why – despite access to information and technology – we remain passive in the face of injustice and dehumanization. It does not call for revolution, but for contemplation: why does revolution feel so distant?
Without taking a direct political stance, the aim is to prompt the viewer to reconsider power, identity, and everyday passivity, and to open a space for critical dialogue about social norms we often take for granted.
Artwork detail No Time for a Revolution, by Marlen Ban
SANDA ČRNELČ, I Discovered Something Between Two Bricks, 2025
Space and object—motifs that conceptually link the artist’s previous works—have initiated the development of a new idea that visually leans toward the abstraction of form, while conceptually driven by a desire for self-reflection. By moving away from the brick as a material, she explores the visual potential of color and volume, aiming to question her own fear of occupying space.
Artwork detail I Discovered Something Between Two Bricks, by Sanda Črnelč
JOSIP KRESOVIĆ, Ti si bija baš sritno dite (You Really Were a Happy Kid), 2025
The spatial installation You Really Were a Happy Kid is a collection of materialized sensory memories from a moment in childhood. At the same time, it is a record of nervous gestures, of the ritual of cleaning, scratching, peeling. A channel for anxious energy that is released pathologically, because no one ever showed it where to go.
It is also about music you can’t hear—perhaps best evoked through the visceral reaction of the body and mind when you catch the scent of a long-forgotten perfume and shivers rush over you.
The starting point of the work is an event, chronologically blurred, yet so vividly etched. There is singing. It’s hot. You are being watched. Fingers in your pockets try to reach your thigh bone. The skin resists. It burns. You don’t feel it. You’re fine.
Artwork detail Ti si bija baš sritno dite (You Really Were a Happy Kid), by Josip Kresović
STELA MIKULIN, Intimate Dialogue, 2025
In the absence of real dialogue, where a meeting has not yet been possible, the need arose to nonetheless create a space — to shape it as an open possibility, as a preparation, as a silence that anticipates speech. This phase of the project Intimate Dialogue does not arise from the certainty of a finished form, but from the process of an uncertain search for an approach, for a language that would not harm, for a space that could truly be shared.
The work consists of two levels:
On a tactile platform, placed in the space as a physical object, questions are inscribed that deliberately remain open and undefined. They are not posed to steer the conversation in a specific direction, but are shaped to invite future participants — migrants — to define the themes, needs, and ways of communication themselves. This platform does not function as a representation of an existing dialogue, but as its announcement, its quiet anticipation. In this way, a position of power is avoided, and instead, a framework is created that can, in future live encounters, be transformed according to what the community wishes to share.
Jean-Luc Nancy speaks of being-in-encounter (être-en-rencontre) — a state in which the subject is not yet complete, but is shaped in anticipation of a relationship. It is precisely this phase of pre-encounter, where the “other” is not yet present, but whose presence is felt as necessity and hope, that forms the core of this platform. It materializes anticipation, but does not dare to speak on behalf of the other. It does not question, does not offer answers, does not interpret — it waits.
The analogue segment of the work, extending through space as a series of handcrafted fragments — poetic questions, illustrations, and photocollages — reflects the internal process of the author: her thoughts, doubts, fears, and questions that arise in the attempt to shape a work that does not speak in place of others. These questions are not posed to be answered; they are traces of a personal process, self-inquiry, a confrontation with one’s own gaze and position. In them, one recognizes the awareness of the boundary between one’s own perception and the experience of others.
The platform, in its silence, remains a functional structure, creating the conditions for an encounter that is yet to come.
Artwork detail Intimate Dialogue, by Stela Mikulin
BRANIMIR ŠTIVIĆ, DOTWORK [256x320px], 2025
The work DOTWORK [256x320px] is a generative video installation composed of low-resolution LED screen modules. By integrating video displays into material, three-dimensional objects made from aluminum structures and 3D-printed plastic—onto which the LED modules and electronics are mounted—I explore the physicality of the pixel and its “invisibility” within the framework of consumer electronics.
By layering multiple monochromatic visuals and employing dithering and dot-based algorithms, the piece generates a low-resolution image that examines the graphic potential of point-based raster patterns. The 3mm spacing between individual pixels, commonly used in advertising panels, is significantly larger than that of modern smartphone, computer, or smartwatch screens. This allows for the original medium of light to be perceived as a constructive element of the display, functioning simultaneously as ambient lighting within the surrounding space.
Artwork detail DOTWORK [256x320px], by Branimir Štivić
About the curator:
Antonela Solenički is an independent curator and researcher. She holds a degree in Visual Arts and Curatorial Studies from NABA in Milan, and a bachelor’s degree in Art History and Spanish Language and Literature, which she studied in Zagreb. As part of the NOVAci project, developed in collaboration between WHW and Pogon, she curated the exhibition At the Tip of the Tongue (2022) at Gallery Nova in Zagreb. She is currently working as a curator at the Miroslav Kraljević Gallery in Zagreb.
About the artists:
Marlen Ban (b. 1999) earned her undergraduate degree at the Department of Animation and New Media at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. She is currently completing her studies in Public Administration at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb. As of May 2025, she is undertaking a professional internship at the Office of the Ombudsperson for Gender Equality. She works as a production assistant at the Miroslav Kraljević Gallery and leads art workshops at the Association and Club Zajedno, within the Sveti Ivan Psychiatric Hospital. Through her artistic practice, she explores social and personal relationships, as well as her own emotional states and fears. Using site-specific installations, she examines the ideas of space and the people within it. She has participated in group and solo exhibitions in Croatia and abroad, including No More ‘I’m Sorry’ (Miroslav Kraljević Gallery, 2023), the 37th Youth Salon, Situation (AMZ Gallery, 2024), and Amore ist gone (Karas Gallery, 2025). She is a recipient of the 19th Erste Fragments scholarship and received a special mention from the jury at the 37th Youth Salon.
Sanda Črnelč (b. 1997, Zagreb) graduated in 2023 from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, Croatia, Department of Art Education, painting program, in the class of Assistant Professor Marko Tadić, Art.D. She is an active member of the artistic community in Croatia and abroad, with several solo exhibitions and participation in numerous group projects. She is the recipient of the Rector’s Award for a group artistic project during the 2017/2018 academic year at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb, and the Chinese Government Scholarship for the 2019/2020 academic year, through which she spent a year at the China Academy of Art as part of the IMFA program. In 2024, she was part of the sixth generation of participants in the WHW Academy. Through a procedural artistic practice, she seeks to delve into the complex relationship between matter and concept, exploring the states and spaces that exist between the initial idea and its realization.
Josip Kresović (b. 1992, Zadar) is an interdisciplinary artist and psychologist. In 2018, he earned his master’s degree in psychology from the University of Zadar, specializing in the psychology of art, with a focus on visual-aesthetic sensitivity and the relationship between art and mood. Alongside his studies, he developed his own artistic practice, exploring personal iconography as a means to investigate the relationship between the environment and the individual, and how that relationship can influence personality formation. His work spans various media, including sculpture, collage, installation, and performance. Since 2017, he has exhibited and performed both independently and in group shows across Croatia. On two occasions, he received support from the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia for visual artists (Roller, 2021, and To Swim Like You No One Can, 2023). In 2023, in collaboration with the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art, he was awarded the ICOM Prize for his work Sun Worker. In 2024, following his participation in the Youth Salon’s Situation exhibition, he received a special recognition from the Croatian Association of Visual Artists for his piece titled 11. He is also actively engaged in stage and graphic design.
Stela Mikulin (b. 1996) is a visual artist and holds a Master’s degree in Art Education. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, and her work focuses on themes of identity, memory, and space. She has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Croatia and abroad, including projects such as Poetics of Place and Archive of the Absent, as well as festivals like Trienal Tres Pesos in Mexico. She has participated in international projects such as ECO CURVE and Soundgate Zagreb, and was a member of the fourth generation of the WHW Academy. She is a recipient of the Izidor Kršnjavi Plaque awarded by the Department of Art History at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb.
Branimir Štivić (b. 1991, Cerić) graduated in New Media from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb (2021) and in Information and Software Engineering from the Faculty of Organization and Informatics in Varaždin (2015). His artistic work focuses on sound and light installations, audiovisual performances, live cinema, expanded cinema performances, programmed art, industrial technologies, and sound for contemporary dance. He has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions and has received the professional award from the Museum of Contemporary Art at the 37th Youth Salon, as well as the Golden Watermelon 7.0 award.
His works stem from a deep interest in the physicality of media and materials, as well as their interrelations within the contemporary technosphere and the Anthropocene. Through the development of various methods of industrial production, human labor, technology, programming code, video, and sound, he opens up new spaces for multidisciplinary research. He places particular emphasis on the physicality of pixels and contemporary LED technology, as well as the transcription of digital works into natural and synthetic materials such as wood, metal, and plastic.
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The Takeover program provides art with the opportunity to “coexist” with the bustling everyday life of workspaces. In doing so, artistic works become active participants in the non-artistic world, blurring the sharp boundaries between the corporate and artistic sectors, while retaining their ever-present power to reshape our reality.
For locations and dates for public art talks follow HDLU social media pages and official Takeover program website: www.takeover.hdlu.hr
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CreArt is a network of 13 medium-sized European 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. At the same time, CreArt 3.0 pushes boundaries beyond visual arts, empowering other artistic practices such as performing arts or music, and has also initiated a new collaboration with a non-governmental organization based in Lviv to support Ukrainian artists. The participating cities are: Kaunas, Liepaja, Skopje, Aveiro, Valladolid, Lublin, Venice, Clermont-Ferrand, Rouen, České Budějovice, Oulu, and Regensburg. The project includes 45 residency programs in 15 European cities, over 39 public events to celebrate the European Month of Creativity in 13 network cities, 13 educational programs to strengthen creativity and knowledge of contemporary art, 18 Street Art festivals, 10 annual festivals in galleries in 9 cities, and 6 European conferences and study visits.
Within the project:
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.
24 April 2025
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:
- To what extent is the idea of an image/painting still a cultural construct within various dichotomies (Western-Eastern, industrial-post-industrial)?
- How does the media in which the painting is formed correspond to the concepts of representing different realities?
- What is individual in the image/painting and what is symbolic or universal?
Part of this year’s residency program will take 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.
In this year’s edition of the project De/Construction of the Painting, as part of the EU project Creart 3.0, the participants are: Kristaps Priede (LV), Klara Rusan (HR), Shima Salehi (FI) and Lana Zubović (HR).
Project website: https://residencyleipzig.hdlu.hr/
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.
Thinking About Ukraine, 2022
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.
ADHD – Pool of Thoughts, 2024
Shima Salehi (b. 1991, Iran) is a multidisciplinary visual artist based in Oulu, Finland. Her work explores themes of gender justice, women’s empowerment, and environmental sustainability, blending traditional influences with contemporary techniques. She blends different artistic styles, pushing boundaries to create innovative works that aim to raise awareness and inspire social change. Her creative process is driven by a desire to make an impact and spark meaningful conversations through art.
Girl Trilogy, 2024
Lana Zubović (b. 2001, Croatia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice encompasses printmaking, performance, video, painting, installation, and drawing. She earned a Bachelor’s degree (Baccalaurea) in Printmaking from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 2023, and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Fine Art Print (MFA Print) at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin. Her work often explores layered narratives through diverse media, with a particular emphasis on collaboration and conceptual depth. Zubović is the recipient of several awards, including the Rector’s Award in 2022 for the interdisciplinary opera-fairytale Animal Farm, created in collaboration between three academies and the Faculty of Textile Technology. In 2023, she was longlisted for the RDS Visual Art Awards in Dublin, Ireland.
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.
23 April 2025
DORIAN PACAK
RETRO-MACHO
29.4.-20.5.2025.
KARAS GALLERY
On Tuesday, 29.4.2025. Dorian Pacak opens his solo exhibition entitled Retro-Macho, at 7 pm in Karas Gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).
In her foreword, Franka Puharić emphasizes:
With his exhibition, Retro-Macho, Dorian Pacak effectively parodies this contemporary issue by crafting character-sculptures in ceramics – a medium associated with quality, expense, and a long-standing tradition – in contrast to their well-known plastic counterparts (action and scale figures). By presenting carefully selected characters as busts, typically reserved for historically significant figures or wealthy patrons, Dorian elevates their overall value – whether monetary or sentimental. Through the predominantly traditional medium of ceramics, he continues to explore ideas rooted in “popular” collecting, which are particularly evident in the various versions of the He-Man busts. One is painted entirely white to suggest rarity and desirability, similar to the “holographic versions” of Pokémon cards, while simultaneously referencing the unpainted sculptures of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The same goes for the Ninja Turtle busts, whose names, borrowed from old masters, ironically point to a strong connection with tradition.
Biography:
Born on 5 May 1996 in Zagreb. He graduated from the Fifth Gymnasium in Zagreb in 2015, and in 2017 enrolled in Art Education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. He graduated in sculpture in 2023 under the mentorship of Ivan Fijolić. He has exhibited in five solo exhibitions (Crta Gallery, Lauba (Šalji dalje), Polica Gallery, M23 Gallery, Šira Gallery), and in several group exhibitions (Šira Gallery, Karas Gallery, Pallas Projects/Studios Gallery, Canvas Gallery, Bačva Gallery, SC Gallery, etc.). He has also participated in art projects such as Art in the Community: Redefining the Legacy of the Zemlja Group, Grand Tour: Postcolonial Pilgrimage and Age of Pyramid (Mexico), and Staring at the Sea (Ireland). He lives and works in Zaprešić.
The exhibition will be open during the period from 29.4. to 20.5.2025.
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
Aveiro invites 2 artists of younger generation from the CreArt Network to work in Aveiro AiR, between 16th May to 13th June curated by Patrícia Sarrico.
Artists accepted
- Aveiro will receive two [2] visual artists of younger generation to work on artistic ceramics in the scoop of 17th International Biennale of Artistic Ceramics of Aveiro.
- During the residency, the artists will have a diversified cultural program, which will aim to widen their knowledge of technology and styles of ceramic production in collaboration with professionals. The projects might focus on object production, design and innovation on tiles and ceramic plates.
- The final works created will be presented to the public as part of the 17th International Biennale of Artistic Ceramics of Aveiro program, between 18th October 2025 and January 18th 2026. A catalogue will be published.
- The arrival to Aveiro on May 16th allows the artists to attend the activities of the Bom dia Cerâmica! 2025 program [17th and 18th May], an European event to celebrate de ceramics, from heritage perspective, to crafts production and industrial innovation, from utilitarian uses to artistic approaches and research.
Who can apply?
- The AiR is open to local artists of younger generation – born or resident – in any of the cities taking part in the CreArt | Network of Cities for Artistic Creation: Artkomas, Kaunas [Lithuania]; Aveiro [Portugal]; Valladolid [Spain]; České Budějovice [Czech Republic]; Clermont-Ferrand and Rouen [France]; Lublin [Poland]; Liepaja [Latvia]]; Lviv Artistic Council “Dialogue” [Ukraine]; Oulu [Finland]; Regensburg [Germany]; Skopje [North Macedonia], and Venezia [Italy], as well as members of HDLU [Croatia];
- Preference is given to artists with experience or education/training in artistic ceramics. In case of the applicants without university level, proof of equivalent ability must be provided through his/her artistic career.
Proposals are accepted for artworks based on tile’ experimentation. The artists should plan a project that can be realized during the residency.
Conditions and stipend
- The organization will cover production costs and will pay a grant of 2.000€ to each artist for travel, subsistence, and other expenses.
- The artists must have a European health card or equivalent.
- Studio and accommodation will be provide by the organization in the city centre of Aveiro.
- The artists will work in a local ceramic factory.
Aveiro AiR | CreArt programme
- _Aveiro will provide the support to guide the artists in their work as well as to install in the city and which will organize events to introduce the artists in the local artist’s community, promoting the possibility for the CreArt artists to present their work.
- _The two selected artists will develop their proposals with a curatorial assistance to define, mature and adequate the projects.
- _The final public presentation of the works created during the residency will take place as part of the 17th International Biennale of Artistic Ceramics of Aveiro program.
- _The artists are committed to attend daily and work in the residence. A final report must be produced at the end of the residency.
- _Part of the works produced must remain in Aveiro and will be incorporated in the Museums of Aveiro Contemporary Ceramic Art Collection – Museum of Contemporary Artistic Ceramics.
Are you interested?
Requirements:
- ID or passport (scanned copy);
- A short version of your resume/CV [one page A4]
- Documentation material, recent and related to the project, with technical specifications [maximum 5 examples of representative artworks, 5 pages and 5 pictures. links can be included];
- A short written project proposal [one A4]. This document should also contain a list of specifications, technical needs and other relevant details, which can help the organization to understand the project.
- Artists need to register on the CreArt website and upload their portfolio: https://creart2-eu.
org/open-calls/
Only applications with complete information will be accepted. The applications must be submitted before 27th April. Aveiro will inform of the results until 5th May. The shortlist will be published in the CreArt website.
If you have any problem to complete the application form please send the portfolio in PDF to creart@fmcva.org
The participation in this call implies the acceptance of these bases, and the artists selected should include a reference of in all their future communications that have been selected to participate in the CreArt Artists in Residence program, in Aveiro – project co-funded by the European Union – Creative Europe program.
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.
Healing Nature is an innovative project created by Dr. art. Melinda Šefčić and Dr. phil. Lea Vidaković. The core idea of the project is based on a holistic approach to healing, recognizing art and culture as key elements in promoting mental, spiritual, and physical well-being. At the European level, the project supports interdisciplinary research on the impact of art on the well-being of individuals and communities, with a special focus on inclusivity and sustainability.
The workshop segment of the project is aimed at fostering social inclusion through workshops on art, animation, and technology with children, whose contributions and creative outputs will become an integral part of the final artworks. These workshops are conducted with specifically selected groups of children, such as those without parental care and children with special needs, thereby further emphasizing the project’s commitment to social engagement. These activities encourage artistic creativity, imagination, motivation, play, and social integration among children. The “from child to child” principle applied during the workshops supports the project’s goals and raises awareness of the importance of social engagement.
In Bulgaria, workshops will be led by a team of psychologists and artists working with children with special needs and children without parental care, and the results will serve as the foundation for the final mural and animation design. The Portuguese partners will focus on the technological aspect through workshops held after the mural is installed, working with children from school communities in collaboration with the Monstra Animation Festival. The project includes six workshops (two per country), involving up to 90 participants.
As part of the project, the Croatian Association of Fine Artists (HDLU) organized two art workshops with children without adequate parental care. The aim of these workshops was to encourage children’s creative expression and to incorporate their artwork into the final mural design, which will become part of an interactive experience in a hospital setting.
The first workshop was held on February 24, 2025, at Kuća sv. Franje in Vugrovec and was attended by 15 children aged 6 to 14. Under the guidance of artist Melinda Šefčić, the children created drawings of endangered animals, birds, and insects using markers and colored pencils. Through both structured and free drawing sessions, a total of 30 artworks were produced. In addition to creative expression, the workshop included an educational component about nature conservation. The children also took the initiative to create a picture book and drawings with supportive messages for hospital patients.
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The second workshop took place on March 18, 2025, at SOS Children’s Village Lekenik, with 12 children aged 6 to 11 participating. Following a similar program to the first workshop, the children, guided by artist Melinda Šefčić, created 25 drawings themed around endangered animals and were also given the opportunity to draw freely. The workshop had educational and therapeutic dimensions.
In total, 27 children participated in the two workshops, creating 55 drawings, which will be incorporated into the final mural. These workshops significantly contributed to the children’s emotional development, strengthened their sense of connection to the community, and increased awareness of the importance of nature conservation and social inclusion through art.
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Within the project:
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
[Project Number: 101173267]
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Co-funded by the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Republic of Croatia. The views expressed in this release are the sole responsibility of the Croatian Association of Fine Artists and do not necessarily reflect the stance of the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Republic of Croatia.
02 April 2025
MARLEN BAN
AMORE IST GONE
8.4. – 26.4.2025.
KARAS GALLERY
On Tuesday, 8.4.2025. Marlen Ban opens her solo exhibition entitled Amore ist gone, at 7 pm in Karas Gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).
In her foreword, Tena Bakšaj emphasizes:
„As in the previous work, text forms the central element of this site-specific installation. In this case, the text takes the form of a message sent to a loved one after the end of a relationship, which serves as a representation of pathos and youthful innocence in the pursuit of romantic attachment, but is also a kind of self-reflection or an attempt to break the illusion we have created about someone but also functions as self-reflection, an attempt to dispel illusions created around another person. The title itself, using three different languages in one sentence, subtly hints at a subcontext – the virtual quest for a partner often leads to relocation abroad, and relationships with foreigners frequently culminate in a moment of parting. Whether it is the fear of separation or of connection, of intimacy or the economic opportunities that lead to moving, Marlen Ban skilfully reflects broader social phenomena and mechanisms through the synthesis of personal thoughts and emotions, weaving social engagement into her chosen themes.”
Biography:
Marlen Ban (b. 1999) holds a BA in Animated Film and New Media from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. She is currently completing her studies in Administrative Law at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb. Through her artistic practice, she explores social and personal relationships, as well as her own emotional states and fears. Her site-specific installations examine the concepts of space and the individual within it. She has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Croatia and abroad. She is currently a member of the production team at the Miroslav Kraljević Gallery and volunteers at the Sveti Ivan Psychiatric Hospital, where she manages art workshops.
The exhibition will be open during the period from 8.4. to 26.4.2025.
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
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