16.5.2019
The HT Competition Exhibition Award for Contemporary Art, carried out by MSU in cooperation with Hrvatski Telekom, was announced by MSU Director Snježana Pintarić on May 16 at the press conference. She emphasized that it is the exhibition of one of the most important awards for contemporary visual creativity in Croatia, which in the true sense of the word allows following current trends in the field of contemporary visual art, which is why this year's campaign is under the motto “Now”.
MSU Director Snježana Pintarić, Nina Išek Međugorac, Director of Corporate Communications of HT, Curator of MSU Ivana Kancir
“It is very important for us to follow the recent production, and with this award, we follow what is most current, what is happening in contemporary Croatian art now, and therefore the emphasis of this year's campaign is indeed “now”. This year, the selection of artists re-affirms the focus of the competition and the exhibition on current trends, with many new names, and is again the selection of different generations and media that discuss different artistic or social topics, “ said Snježana Pintarić.
Ivana Klancir, the curator and jury member confirmed that it is a truly recent place for presenting the cross-section of Croatian contemporary art and emphasized that only works that are not older than two years can be seen at the exhibition. “There were 265 works on the competition, 34 of which were exhibited, with five competing in the new category of young authors up to 27 years,” she said.
The International expert jury will select four works for prizes: the first in the amount of 75 thousand kunas, the second in the amount of 45 thousand, the third in the amount of 40 thousand, and the new, fourth prize for the young artists, worth 20 thousand kunas. The redeemed works will become part of the MSU Zagreb collection, i.e. the HT@MSU Collection. The prizes will be awarded at a ceremony on Friday, May 17, at the HT prize exhibition space. The audience will also be able to select their favorite, who will be awarded the Audience Award in the amount of 10 thousand kunas at the end of the exhibition, after counting votes.
Traditionally, the exhibition also features works by three invited artists. This year they are Andreja Kulunčić, Vesna Pokas, and Nora Turato. Turato will have the performance at the opening, whose recording will be shown on the MSU's Media Facade, and the opening ceremony will also feature the artist Amela Frankl.
The exhibition brings a wide range of works, from classical media such as painting, sculpture or photography, through films, videos, multi-channel multimedia video installations, documentary material, performances, site-specific ambiance, etc. The abundance of photography medium was noticeable, and the share of artists from Slavonia, as many as 30, was significant, indicating the existence of an active contemporary art scene in the region.
Handywoman and restoration of the Croatian Constitution
The applied works have shown the reflection on existing things, legality, and social norms. So “Handbook for handywoman” by Nika Rukavina is the book of instructions for home repairs/works that are attributed to male sex in traditional societies. The criticism of the societies that entered the economic and political sphere, especially the ethical-moral crisis, is more explicit in the work by Tanja Dabo “Reforming the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia”, in which the artist takes the text of the Constitution and upgrades it with proposals for incorporating necessary social corrections and other freedoms necessary for a democratic society. A young artist Ivana Stečuk has a more indirect approach in the “Lyrical Diaries” and intervenes in existing texts by means of subjective decisions on what words will be deleted and which will be kept.
The exhibits this year include those by Grgur Akrap, Željko Badurina, Neven Bilić, Domagoj Burilović, Marijan Crtalić, Jana Dabac, Tin Dožić, Amela Frankl, Ana Horvat, Nikica Jurković, Tjaša Kalkan, Sven Klobučar, Matej Knežević, Vladislav Knežević, Božena Končić Badurina, Kristina Marić, Mario Matoković, Niko Mihaljević, Damir Očko, Petra Orbanić, Lav Paripović, Igor Ruf, Lana Stojićević, Miran Šabić, Daniel Šuljić and Leo Vukelić and in the category of young artists, Denis Butorac, Mario Javoran, Nikolina Kuzmić, Denis Svirać and Nives Žarković.
HT Corporate Communications Director Nina Išek Međugorac expressed her satisfaction that this “brilliant and successful example of cooperation between the corporate and cultural sector” was extended to young authors as well. “The HT Award is one of the biggest and most important prizes in Croatia for modern creativity in which over 13,5 million kunas have been invested so far,” Išek Međugorac