As part of the programme Narratives and the Pathos of Political Populism, organised by Domino Association throughout May and June, a series of discussions, performances, artistic interventions, and installations examines the impact of populist political narratives on culture, artistic freedom, and public space. The programme explores how processes of social polarisation, culture wars, and ideological conflicts shape the boundaries of freedom of expression, and how critical voices increasingly find themselves under political, institutional, and social pressure.
Within the framework of the programme, and in collaboration with Oliver Frljić, Domino Association continues its series of conversations on formal and informal attacks on socially engaged artistic practices. Following discussions with Slovenian artist and ecofeminist Maja Smrekar and Polish art historian and curator Małgorzata Kaźmierczak, Zagreb welcomes Gabriela Manda Seith, a researcher and curator whose work focuses on art in relation to migration, ecology, gender, and postcolonial questions, with a particular emphasis on wartime art in Sarajevo and its reception within global contexts.
The discussion will take place on Thursday, 25 June, at 6:00 PM at Pogon, Kneza Mislava 18, Zagreb.
Through following questions the conversation considers artistic practices that address annihilation in Gaza and in Bosnia within repressive political contexts: What power does art hold in the midst of ongoing genocide? And how can it challenge silencing as cultural institutions fail to stand in solidarity?
The conversation with Gabriela Manda Seith will explore artistic practices in conditions of political violence, as well as the ways in which art is interpreted, restricted, or instrumentalised across different European contexts. Particular attention will be given to the role of cultural institutions and the space available for critical artistic practice today, positioned between ethical responsibility and political pressure.
The programme Narratives and the Pathos of Political Populism is supported by the Alliance for Socially Engaged Arts.
Gabriela Manda Seith is a researcher and curator focusing on the local and global dynamics of art in relation to migration, ecology, gender, and postcolonial and decolonial issues from an intersectional perspective. In her doctoral dissertation, she contrasts Sarajevo’s wartime art—locally creating a communal space for hope, mourning, preservation, self-representation, and resistance—with its international reception in the context of globalisation and the resurgence of Balkanist narratives.
As an independent curator, she has (co-)curated exhibitions and projects at institutions including the neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst, Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Neues Museum Nürnberg, the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Goethe-Institut Sarajevo, the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the War Childhood Museum in Sarajevo.
Oliver Frljić graduated in Philosophy and Religious Culture in 2002 and in Theatre Directing and Radio Broadcasting in 2008 from the University of Zagreb. He began directing professionally while still a student at the Academy of Dramatic Art and soon gained recognition across the region and internationally.
He has worked in Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Austria, Germany, Poland, and Belgium. His productions have been presented at theatres and festivals throughout Europe, North and South America, and Asia, including major Croatian festivals such as Split Summer Festival, Gavella Evenings, Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Marulić Days, Festival of Small Stages, Rijeka Summer Nights, Contemporary Dance Week, Golden Lion Festival, and Osijek Summer of Culture, as well as important regional and international festivals including Borštnik Meeting, BITEF, Sterijino Pozorje, MESS, KotorArt, MOT, Ex Ponto, Week of Slovenian Drama, Desire Festival, Wiener Festwochen, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Dialog Festival, Lessingtage, Neue Stücke aus Europa, and Divadelná Nitra.
Alongside his directing work, Frljić has served on the editorial board of the performing arts journal Frakcija and as president of the Centre for Dramatic Arts. He also worked as a contributor to the Croatian Radio programme Kazalištarije and has published in journals including Scena, Hrvatsko glumište, Kazalište, and Frakcija. In 2012, he served on the jury for the Marin Držić Award for dramatic writing.
His work has received numerous awards and recognitions in Croatia and internationally.
