COVID-19 can't stop Zagreb's exciting art scene.
The city has expanded its rich cultural offering to include a novel outdoor art project called "Beyond the Boundaries".
The city as an open-air museum
Some of Zagreb's most beautiful and historic public buildings are the setting for this project. Their heritage, history, and importance to the city inspired artists to adorn the buildings' external facades with art installations.
Artists designed the pieces with modern realities in mind, too. This project is a story of renewal, of a city rebuilding in the wake of the ongoing pandemic and an earthquake earlier this year.
Museum of Arts and Crafts & School of Applied Arts and Design
Ida Blažičko's Hommage to Bollé takes the spotlight at these sites.
The Museum of Arts and Crafts and School of Applied Arts and Design are housed in a historic palace built between 1887 and 1891. The building was constructed in the the German Renaissance style, and dedicated to iconic architect Herman Bollé. After an earlier earthquake brought destruction to the city in 1880, Bollé became known as the restorer of Croatia's capital.
Blažičko's Hommage to Bollé installation is highlighted by striking blue lighting that gives the museum a glowing new face.
The hope is that after this year's earthquake, Zagreb will become an even more beautiful city through the lens of new, contemporary artists.
Just as it did in 1880.
Art Pavilion
Maša Barišić and Jelena Malenica's New Landscape is a stunningly interactive metal sculpture of ivy. The golden vines will continue to expand and intertwine across the entrance steps of Zagreb's Art Pavilion over the course of this month.
After the earthquake, the Art Pavilion temporarily closed. With their installation, the artists hope to replace loss with life.
They show that like a leafy garden, life and art continue to bloom, even in the most difficult conditions.
Maša Barišić's Temporarily Closed is a unique installation that gives new meaning to its name. Due to the earthquake, this museum's buildings also had to close temporarily.
The buildings and their treasures within were left without a function, standing empty, and taking no visitors...
... Almost as if waiting for a revival.
Barišić brings just that. She makes the temporary closing a work of art in and of itself, prompting citizens to enjoy from the outside.
Her work brings light from within the building, which pulsates through the windows to the rhythm of a heartbeat. In effect, this is an embodiment of the poetic idea that buildings have their own personality, and soul.
Klovićevi Dvori Gallery and Gradec Gallery
Boris Bare and Ivo Gašparić's Outside showcases framed artworks that spill right out from within the walls of Klovićevi Dvori. The pieces present motifs similar to those on display within the gallery. They cover the facade of the adjacent Gradec Gallery and so transform it into an outdoor masterpiece.
Oversized sculptures stand in front of the pieces, keenly watching them.
Passersby accidentally or intentionally walk by them, becoming a part of the artwork themselves - if only for a moment.
On until November 27
This wonderful project kicked off on October 27, 2020.
You can see the one-of-a-kind installations until November 27, 2020.
Consider this the perfect opportunity to stroll through Zagreb, enjoying the autumn foliage, following the cool November breeze through cobblestone streets, and marvelling at boundary-breaking art.