Project Art and the State in Croatia from the Enlightenment to the Present (Umjetnost i država u Hrvatskoj od prosvjetiteljstva do danas), funded by the Croatian Science Foundation (Hrvatska zaklada za znanost).
Project duration: 15 October 2018 – 14 October 2022
The project Art and the State in Croatia from the Enlightenment to the Present aims to explore influences of the state regime on art production and interpretation of artworks and artistic heritage. Since the Croatian cultural and political space in the period from the late 18th ct. to 1991 formed part of different states (Austro-Hungarian Empire, Independent State of Croatia, Yugoslavia, Republic of Croatia), the project researchers will attempt to show the degree and nature of the impact the state-based bodies exerted on artistic production and cultural and educational policies. Croatian art will therefore be contextualised with artistic developments in the neighbouring countries or the areas of political association with Croatia, due to which the implementation of the project entails numerous field researches (urban space, museums, libraries, archives). In terms of its goals, the project is divided into two major groups of activities – research on the impact of the state on different areas of artistic production through commissions, grants and censorship, and the impacts on the process of artistic heritage production and care and on formal and informal education in the field of visual arts. In addition to the principal investigator the project includes 14 researchers (2 doctoral students and 6 postdoctoral researchers) to whom this project is of great importance for the development of their academic careers. By engaging researchers from heritage institutions (museums and conservation departments), the project contributes to the promotion of interinstitutional cooperation and ensures multidimensional views on intricate relationships between art and the state. Project results will be published in journals, books, proceedings, catalogues and the like, as well as through exhibitions and conferences. The team plans to organize two project-related scientific conferences and a workshop.
Project team
- Dragan Damjanović, PhD, associate professor, principal investigator
- Josipa Alviž, PhD, senior research assistant
- Marina Bregovac Pisk, PhD, museum advisor
- Matea Brstilo Rešetar, senior curator
- Sandi Bulimbašić, PhD, senior adviser-conservator
- Frano Dulibić, PhD, full professor
- Ivan Kokeza, PhD student
- Silvija Lučevnjak, curator
- Lovorka Magaš Bilandžić, PhD, assistant professor
- Zvonko Maković, PhD, full professor
- Željka Miklošević, PhD, senior research assistant
- Jasminka Najcer Sabljak, PhD, assistant professor
- Jasmina Nestić, PhD, assistant professor
- Patricia Počanić, PhD student
- Sanja Zadro, PhD