NEWS
PARTICIPATION IN ART/MUSEUMS CONFERENCE
4 – 5 September 2025, Zagreb, Croatia (https://partim.ffzg.unizg.hr/)
The conference seeks to explore the complex and evolving relationship between (visual) arts, participation in public space, and art-based institutions and organisations through the lens of cultural democracy, where art is not just for the elite or professionally trained but a practice open to all members of society.
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
We are pleased to invite proposals for the upcoming conference, “Participation in Art / Museums”, which will take place on 4 – 5 September 2025 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, Croatia.
This conference seeks to explore the complex and evolving relationship between (visual) arts, participation in public space, and art-based institutions and organisations through the lens of cultural democracy, where art is not just for the elite or professionally trained but a practice open to all members of society.
The central notion of the conference is citizens’ engagement in decision-making at different levels of art-based projects in public spaces or institutional / organisational settings – from initiation and planning to design and implementation.
By encouraging participation and dialogue, visual arts can help to foster greater social cohesion, challenge dominant narratives, and amplify the voices of individuals and communities that might otherwise go unheard. Through collective creativity, visual arts can spark change, inspire action, and build bridges between people from diverse backgrounds, reinforcing the notion that art is not just something to be admired from afar, but something to be experienced, shared, and lived. However, participation in art is not without challenges, so it is also important to critically examine the underlying assumptions, power dynamics, ethical implications, and implications for cultural production.
We encourage submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:
Community Empowerment and Development – how art and art-based projects empower marginalised communities, produce urban commons, etc.
Collaborative and Co-Creative Art Forms –new collaboration models between artists and communities in creating meaningful cultural expressions, etc.
Art as Social Change – exploring the potential of art to challenge dominant power structures and facilitate social transformation, solidarity, social integration etc.
Institutional Practices and User Involvement – innovative curatorial or managerial strategies and educational programs promoting co-creation, participative management, collaborative learning, etc.
Technology and Participation – using digital tools and virtual spaces for participatory art forms and community involvement.
Critical views on participation – approaches of critical, postcolonial or feminist theories to the understanding of participation, ethical dimensions of participation in art, issues of representation, consent, authenticity, exploring boundaries between the artist and participants, value of the work, artistic integrity, autonomy, etc.
Historical Perspectives – the evolution of participation in art and museum contexts throughout history, tracing the roots of participatory art practices in relation to earlier art movements, etc.
We invite contributions that present theoretical views, research findings, academic analyses or real-world projects (case studies) by a range of scholars (in art, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, urban studies…) as well as, artists and cultural practitioners (museum and gallery professionals, art/culture mediators).
The languages of the conference are English and Croatian.
For more information please visit: https://partim.ffzg.unizg.hr/
Vlaho Bukovac kao portretist bana Teodora grofa Pejačevića – Jasminka Najcer Sabljak
Project member Jasminka Najcer Sabljak published the paper “Vlaho Bukovac kao portretist bana Teodora grofa Pejačevića”, in Vlaho Bukovac: umjetnik i njegovo djelo, (eds.) Irena Kraševac, Petar Prelog, 2024, 191-209,.
Nagrada HAZU za najviša znanstvena i umjetnička dostignuća u Republici Hrvatskoj za 2024. godinu, za područje likovnih umjetnosti – Jasminka Najcer Sabljak i Silvija Lučevnjak
Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti je na redovitoj sjednici Predsjedništva dana 26. ožujka 2025. donijelo Odluku kojom se dodjeljuje Nagrada HAZU za najviša znanstvena i umjetnička dostignuća u Republici Hrvatskoj za 2024. godinu, za područje likovnih umjetnosti izv. prof. dr. sc. Jasminki Najcer Sabljak i Silviji Lučevnjak, prof., kustosici i ravnateljici Zavičajnog muzeja Našice.
Nagrada je potaknuta dugogodišnjim istraživačkim radom na području likovne baštine slavonskog plemstva, a osobito konceptom i realizacijom izložbe i istoimenog kataloga „Umjetnost slavonskog plemstva – vrhunska djela europske baštine“, kojom su se od travnja do srpnja 2021. u Galeriji Klovićevi dvori u Zagrebu predstavili odabrani predmeti širokog kulturološkog raspona – od umjetnina, preko umjetničkog obrta do arhivskog gradiva i srodne građe s naglaskom na djelima likovne umjetnosti – slikarstvo, kiparstvo, grafika, arhitektura. Izložba je realizirana u partnerskoj suradnji i s Muzejom likovnih umjetnosti te Muzejom Slavonije u Osijeku.
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Na tekstu kataloga izložbe suradnici su bili prof. dr. sc. Dragan Damjanović (Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu) i doc. dr. sc. Daniel Zec (Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Osijeku).
Nagrada HAZU je dodjeljana na Svečanoj sjednici u povodu Dana HAZU, 29. travnja 2025. godine u Knjižnici HAZU, na Trgu Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Zagrebu.
Conference: Visual Arts, Narrative and Social Class, Turku, 24 – 25 April, 2025 – Željka Miklošević and Patricia Počanić
Project associates Željka Miklošević and Patricia Počanić participated in the international scientific conference Visual Arts, Narrative and Social Class with the paper “Digital narratives – reshaping or reinforcing the social system of the art museum?”.
Public presentation of the project, Zagreb, March 11, 2025 – Dragan Damjanović
The second public presentation of the project Representation, Development, Education, Participation – Art in Society in 19th-21th Centuries was held on Thursday, March 11, 2025 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. It was organized as part of the Art History Day, held on the occasion of the 147th anniversary of the Department of Art History.
Carlo Sbisà: D’Annunzio detta la Carta del Quarnaro u palači Albori u Rijeci – Julija Lozzi Barković
Project member Julija Lozzi Barković published the paper “Carlo Sbisà: D’Annunzio detta la Carta del Quarnaro u palači Albori u Rijeci “, in Ars Adriatica 14, 2024, p. 337-362.
Pero i Melko Čingrija: umjetnost pod okriljem politike – Sanja Žaja Vrbica
Project member Sanja Žaja Vrbica (with coauthor Kornelija Bašica) published the paper Pero i Melko Čingrija: umjetnost pod okriljem politike, in Ars Adriatica 14, 2024, p. 319-336, ISSN 1848-1590 (print) 1848-7459 (online).
Baština Samostana Svetog Duha franjevaca konventualaca – Dragan Damjanović
Principal investigator Dragan Damjanović published the book Baština Samostana Svetog Duha franjevaca konventualaca as part of the project activities. The book was published by Croatian Province of Saint Jerome of Franciscan Conventuals.
The Imperial-Royal austrian exhibition in London: Representing Dalmatia – Sanja Žaja Vrbica
Project member Sanja Žaja Vrbica published the paper “The Imperial-Royal austrian exhibition in London: Representing Dalmatia” preceedings of papers: Art and the State in Modern Central Europe (18th – 21st Century), editors: Josipa Alviž, Dragan Damjanović, Jasmina Nestić, Jeremy F. Walton, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia, FF press, 2024, p. 129-141, ISBN 978-953-379-048-0.
Conference: Znanstveno-stručni skup Aleksandar Srnec 100, Zagreb, July 2, 2024 – Lovorka Magaš Bilandžić
Project associate Lovorka Magaš Bilanžić participated in the scientific-professional conference Aleksandar Srnec 100: znanstveno-stručni skup povodom stote obljetnice rođenja (1924.–2024.) with the paper „Aleksandar Srnec kao grafički dizajner“.
Conference: ASEEES 56th Annual Convention, Boston, November 21-24, 2024– Dragan Damjanović
Principal investigator Dragan Damjanović participated in the ASEEES 56th Annual Convention, with the paper “Architecture as Liberation: The Nationalization of Architecture in Late Habsburg Croatia”.
Conference: VII. KONGRES HRVATSKIH POVJESNIČARA – Zemlja, Osijek, September 25-28, 2024 – Dragan Damjanović
Principal investigator Dragan Damjanović participated in the conference VII. KONGRES HRVATSKIH POVJESNIČARA with the paper „Zgrade društava u Hrvatskoj u 19. stoljeću – urbanistički položaj, arhitektura, interijeri.“
Conference: VII. KONGRES HRVATSKIH POVJESNIČARA – Zemlja, Osijek, September 25-28, 2024 – Dragan Damjanović, Josipa Alviž, Jasmina Nestić, Željka Miklošević, Lovorka Magaš Bilanžić, Patricia Počanić
Principal investigator Dragan Damjanović along with project associates Josipa Alviž, Jasmina Nestić, Željka Miklošević, Lovorka Magaš Bilanžić and Patricia Počanić organized the session“UMJETNOST U DRUŠTVU OD SREDINE 19. STOLJEĆA DO DANAS” at the conference VII. KONGRES HRVATSKIH POVJESNIČARA.
Predavanje: Kaija Kaitavuori, Exhibiting and incorporating participation in art/museums (Izlaganje i integriranje participacije u umjetnost /muzeje), Zagreb, Filozofski fakultet, 18. listopada 2024.
Participacija, odnosno sudjelovanje u umjetnosti može poprimiti mnoge oblike, a sudioniku dodijeliti različite uloge. Institucije, uključujući muzeje, također mogu integrirati participacijske prakse u svoje djelatnosti poput interpretacije, posredovanja, odnosno edukacije ili organiziranje izložbi i upravljanje zbirkama. Pozivanjem članova publike u procese koji su prije bili namijenjeni stručnjacima (umjetnicima i/ili muzejskom osoblju) mijenjaju se načini djelovanja i uvode nove mogućnosti u institucionalni okvir poput širenja kulturne demokracije, povećanog društvenog angažmana, povoljnog djelovanje na zdravlje, odgoj i obrazovanje i sl. Međutim, takve prakse također dovode do postavljanja novih pitanja poput etike sudjelovanja, upravljanja rizikom ili kriterija kvalitete, između ostalog. U predavanju će se razmotriti raspon aktivnosti pod krovnim konceptom participacije (sudjelovanja) kao umjetničke prakse, ali i kao strategije angažmana publike, te načine na koji one mogu oživjeti ili preispitati rutinsko i konvencionalno djelovanje institucije.
Predavanje će se održati u petak, 18. listopada 2024. u 11h na Filozofskom fakultetu u Zagrebu (dvorana D3).
Dr. sc. Kaija Kaitavuori je povjesničarka umjetnosti čija istraživanja obuhvaćaju suvremenu umjetnost, kulturne politike i sociologiju. Njezina poveznica s muzejskom praksom proizlazi iz višegodišnjeg rada u Muzeju suvremene umjetnosti Kiasma u Helsinkiju i Finskoj nacionalnoj galeriji gdje se bavila i upravljačkim aspektom institucija kao i edukacijom.
Danas predaje na Finskoj akademiji likovnih umjetnosti u Helsinkiju, a doktorat je stekla u području participacije u suvremenoj umjetnosti na Institutu Courtlauld u Londonu. Mentori rada bili su Julian Stallabrass (Courtauld, London) i Natalie Heinich (Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Pariz).
Conference: Art for the Community: Artworks Commissioned for Public Institutions, 1945-1989, Ljubljana, September 26-27, 2024 – Patricia Počanić
Project associate Patricia Počanić participated in the scientific conference with the paper Preparing for the Tourist Season: Artworks Commissioned for Hotels in Istria and Kvarner in the 1960s.
Conference: VII. KONGRES HRVATSKIH POVJESNIČARA – Zemlja, Osijek, September 25-28, 2024 – Lovorka Magaš Bilandžić & Patricia Počanić
Project associates Lovorka Magaš Bilanžić and Patricia Počanić participated in the scientific conference with the paper „Stan za naše prilike“ – o kulturi stanovanja, ambijentu stana i oblikovanju namještaja u Hrvatskoj kroz tisak i izložbe (1955. – 1960.).
Conference: THINK ART Conference, Split, September 12–14, 2024 – Dalibor Prančević
Project associate Dalibor Prančević, in collaboration with V. Popović, delivered a keynote address at the international THINK ART Conference, presenting the paper titled “Urban Palimpsest.”
Conference: VII. KONGRES HRVATSKIH POVJESNIČARA – Zemlja, Osijek, September 25-28, 2024 – Josipa Alviž & Jasmina Nestić
Project associates Josipa Alviž and Jasmina Nestić participated in the scientific conference with the paper Kultura stanovanja u kontekstu obrazovanja u drugoj polovici 20. stoljeća u Hrvatskoj.
Conference: Znanstveno-stručni skup u povodu 105. godišnjice rođenja Ane Deanović (1919.‒1989.), Zagreb, September 13, 2024 – Josipa Alviž & Jasmina Nestić
Project associates Josipa Alviž and Jasmina Nestić participated in the scientific conference with the paper Studentski dani Ane Deanović (Bogdanović) na Filozofskome fakultetu Sveučilišta u Zagrebu.
Znanost u funkciji kulturne baštine, Osječki zbornik, 39 (2024)– Jasminka Najcer Sabljak
Project associate Jasminka Najcer Sabljak was a guest editor of the journal, special issue Znanost u funkciji kulturne baštine in Osječki zbornik, 39 (2024)
Žene u plemićkim zbirkama istočne Hrvatske – od slikarica do mecena i kolekcionarki – Jasminka Najcer Sabljak & Silvija Lučevnjak
Project members Jasminka Najcer Sabljak and Silvija Lučevnjak published the paper “Žene u plemićkim zbirkama istočne Hrvatske – od slikarica do mecena i kolekcionarki”, proceedings of papers Žene u/o umjetnosti. Zbornik radova XVII. Dana Cvita Fiskovića (Zagreb, FF Press, 2024, pp. 45-59; doi: 10.17234/9789533791654.05).
Uloga i status znanstvenog rada u muzejskim ustanovama na primjeru istraživanja provenijencije umjetnina iz plemićkih zbirki – Jasminka Najcer Sabljak
Project associate Jasminka Najcer Sabljak published the paper “Uloga i status znanstvenog rada u muzejskim ustanovama na primjeru istraživanja provenijencije umjetnina iz plemićkih zbirki” in the journal Osječki zbornik, 39 (2024), 109-120.
Conference: 6th International Scientific Conference European Realities – SUSTAINABILITY, Osijek, April 11-12, 2024 – Jasminka Najcer Sabljak
Project associate Jasminka Najcer Sabljak, Ph.D., Associate Professor, participated in the international scientific conference with the paper “The challenges of Slavonian nobility heritage in the context of cultural tourism sustainability“.
Conference: Krise neudenken: Erfahrungen, Herausforderungen und Chancen / Rethinking Crisis: Experiences, Challenges and Opportunities, Osijek, June 27-29, 2024 – Jasmina Najcer Sabljak
Project associate Jasminka Najcer Sabljak, Ph.D. Associate Professor, participated in the international scientific conference with the paper The Heritage Of Noble Families Of Eastern Croatia During World War II – Challenges, Experiences And Consequences.
Art History at the Polytechnic (later the Technical Faculty) in Zagreb — the work of Professors Fetisov, Knoll, and Mohorovičić – Josipa Alviž & Jasmina Nestić
Project associates Josipa Alviž and Jasmina Nestić published the paper under the title “Art History at the Polytechnic (later the Technical Faculty) in Zagreb — the work of Professors Fetisov, Knoll, and Mohorovičić“ in the journal Peristil: zbornik radova za povijest umjetnosti (Vol. 66 No. 1, 2023, 117-130)
Ivan Meštrović and the Czech Cultural Space – Dalibor Prančević
Project associate Dalibor Prančević published a critical review of the exhibition “Ivan Meštrović. Sculptor and Citizen of the World” (Prague City Gallery, 2022/2023) under the title “Ivan Meštrović and the Czech Cultural Space” in the magazine Hrvatska revija (1-2024).
Conference: Exhibitive Cartographies III: Critical Instrumentation, Exhibitive, and Curatorial Narratives, Split, May 14, 2024 – Dalibor Prančević
Project associate Dalibor Prančević was invited to participate in the international scientific conference Exhibitive Cartographies III: Critical Instrumentation, Exhibitive, and Curatorial Narratives with the paper “Peripheral Discourses: Davor Matičević and His Influence on the Art Scene in Split During the 1980s.”
Otto Wagner and Croatian Architecture – Dragan Damjanović
Principal investigator Dragan Damjanović published the book Otto Wagner and Croatian Architecture as part of the project activities. The book was published by Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb and FF Press.
Povijest izgradnje i opremanja župne crkve Duha Svetoga u Lonji – Dragan Damjanović
Principal investigator Dragan Damjanović published the paper “Povijest izgradnje i opremanja župne crkve Duha Svetoga u Lonji“ in the journal Croatica Christiana periodica : časopis Instituta za crkvenu povijest Katoličkog bogoslovnog fakulteta Sveučilista u Zagrebu (47/92, 2023., 43-61)
Predstavljanje zbornika ART AND THE STATE IN MODERN CENTRAL EUROPE (18TH – 20TH CENTURY)
Predstavljanje zbornika Art and the State in Modern Central Europe (18th – 20th Century) održat će se u četvrtak, 9. svibnja 2024. u 18h u Nacionalnoj i sveučilišnoj knjižnici u Zagrebu, u sklopu Festivala povijesti Kliofest. Zbornik je rezultat istoimene međunarodne konferencije održane na Filozofskom fakultetu u Zagrebu 30. lipnja – 3. srpnja 2021., organizirane u sklopu znanstvenoga projekta HRZZ pod nazivom Umjetnost i država u Hrvatskoj od prosvjetiteljstva do danas (voditelj prof. dr. sc. Dragan Damjanović, https://ascep.ffzg.unizg.hr/). Urednici zbornika su dr. sc. Dragan Damjanović, dr. sc. Josipa Alviž, dr. sc. Jasmina Nestić, dr. sc. Jeremy F. Walton).
Conference: Unpacking the Implications of ICOM’s New Museum Definition in Italy and France, Bologna, March 18-19, 2024 – Željka Miklošević
Project associate Željka Miklošević (with Anna Chiara Cimoli) participated in the conference From Linguistic Innovation to Cultural Transformation: Unpacking the Implications of ICOM’s New Museum Definition in Italy and France with the paper “Between Intervention and Experimentation – The Open-ended Project of a Community Museum”.
Public presentation of the project, Zagreb, March 11, 2024 – Dragan Damjanović
The first public presentation of the project Representation, Development, Education, Participation – Art in Society in 19th-21th Centuries was held on Monday, March 11, 2024 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. It was organized as part of the Art History Day, held on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Faculty and 146th anniversary of the Department of Art History.
Conference: Ivan Meštrović, Croatia and the World. Conference on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of the birth of Ivan Meštrović, Zagreb, February 26-27, 2024 – Dalibor Prančević
Project associate Dalibor Prančević (with I. Pervan) participated in the conference called Ivan Meštrović, Croatia and the World. Conference on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of the birth of Ivan Meštrović with paper “Pervan’s Photographic Research on Meštrović’s Sculptural Achievements”
Conference: Kaleidoscope of Childhood – Research Perspectives in Croatia, Zagreb, February 15-16, 2024 – Jasmina Najcer Sabljak
Associate Professor Jasminka Najcer Sabljak from the Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek gave a lecture at the International scientific conference Kaleidoscope of Childhood – Research Perspectives in Croatia, held on February 15-16, 2024. The conference was organized by the Institute of Archaeology and the Institute of Anthropology in Zagreb. The topic of her lecture was “Portraits of Children in Noble Collections of Eastern Croatia.”
Conference: Heritage and New Horizons: Croatia and Croatians in a Global Context Conference, Croatian Studies Foundation, Macquarie University Sydney, February 8– 11, 2024 – Dragan Damjanović
Principal investigator Dragan Damjanović participated in the conference Heritage and New Horizons: Croatia and Croatians in a Global Context Conference, with the paper “Croatian Cities at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries: Architecture and Society in the Fin-de-Siècle Austro-Hungarian Monarchy”.