ZAGREB, 3 Aug, 2021 - AEPO-ARTIS, a non-profit organisation that represents over 650 performing artists, has sent a letter to the Croatian culture minister criticising Croatia for being late with the adoption of new copyright legislation and missing a deadline for the implementation of two EU directives, the Croatian Musicians Union said on Tuesday.

The organisation said that the implementation of the Copyright Directive and the Directive on online transmissions and retransmissions was being delayed because Croatia was late with the adoption of the new Copyright and Related Rights Act.

The letter, signed by AEPO-ARTIS secretary general Ioan Kaes, says that the COVID-19 pandemic has widened the gap between the growth of profit by online giants and individual artists because the latter do not participate in the fair distribution of this turnover.

The situation is particularly dramatic because in the new business circumstances the turnover of online platforms has become a dominant source of income for the music industry. For over a year and a half, performing artists have been denied their basic source of income - live performances, while at the same time the use and turnover of their recordings increased and performers could not enjoy their rights equally with others. Although their works still reach wide online audiences, artists receive small or no remuneration for them, according to the letter.

The institute of performers' inalienable right to remuneration is not incorporated into the proposal for the new Copyright and Related Rights Act, and under the proposal, record companies would be given an additional three years to adjust their business. This would allow Croatian record companies to continue their unfair and unethical practice of blackmailing performing artists and not paying them for the performances that have been used by online services for years, the letter said.

AEPO-ARTIS concluded by saying that introducing the inalienable right to remuneration, which artists would be able to exercise through their collective management organisations, is the best, if not the only, solution that guarantees that artists receive appropriate and proportionate remuneration for their work.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 4 May, 2021 - The French Institute in Croatia has on the occasion of its 100th anniversary launched a Hospitality programme which in cooperation with various institutions enables close public contact with artists.

The programme is adapted to Croatia's specific context, featuring the consequences of the health crisis and earthquakes that hit Zagreb and Sisak and Petrinja in central Croatia and is aimed at developing a programme of valorisation of Croatian artists in the premises of the French Institute where they can present their works and establish contact with a new audience.

The planned encounters are aimed at enabling a privileged experience and relationship with artists and their works, something that has been absent during this period of restricted encounters.

The institute has called on artists to participate in the programme, saying that they will be issued with a 'carte blanche' to take over the institute's premises for specific encounters with the public and to present their works.

For more about diplomacy in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

April 20, 2021 - With a five-year tradition already in place, VukovART 2021 promises a month of fun and exciting activities for Vukovar with visual eye candy as souvenirs to last.

A unique concept in the culture and art of Vukovar, the VukovART festival will be held from May 15 all the way to June 15, writes HRTurizam.  

With a five-year tradition, the streets and squares of Vukovar will once again host numerous exhibitions and workshops, debates, children's programs, film, and literary programs, panel discussions, colorful lectures, and concerts. This event, organized by the City of Vukovar and Val Kulture association, co-financed by the European Social fund, promotes Vukovar as a Port of Art, changing the visual identity of the city making it a beautiful place to live. In addition to the local community, tourists also enjoy the eye candy of the city's open-air gallery. Artists Boa Mistura (Spain), BustArt (Switzerland), Jana Brike (Latvia), Mr Woodland (Germany), Victor Splash (Russia), Artez (Serbia), Juandres Vera (Mexico), Kerim Musanović (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Marion Ruthardt from (Germany), and Croatia's own Forest are ten artists who will come this year to give their contribution to the growing visual content of the city.

The festival will be opened by a beloved Croatian band Vatra (Fire), with performances of Mia Dimšić, musical composition CLUE, and vocal composition Watercolor in the following days too. During every larger event of the festival, „a superb craft scene and street food“ offers will be offered to visitors too. 

© VukovArt - Art Harbour

Famous Croatian singer from Psihomodo Pop with a neck in painting as well, Davor Gobac will exhibit his paintings and also host Motivational and Art Workshop for children.

„There will also be an active weekend led by the Vukovar Half Marathon, and for a slightly more relaxing activity, a bicycle race will be organized to tour previous works of art“, says HRTurizam article.

Domagoj Jakopović Ribafish, Dusan Bučan, and Robert Knjaz will host travel lectures and the full program and more details can be found on VukovART official website and on social networks.  

Learn more about Croatia's festivals on our TC page.  

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ZAGREB, 18 January, 2021 - The government decided on Monday to financially support independent artists, self-employed and independent culture professionals, tasking the finance and culture ministries to set aside an additional HRK 20 million this year as direct support to the culture sector.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek said the support was envisaged for an activity that was not covered by Croatian Employment Service coronavirus relief measures and that it would come from a special culture ministry fund.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said the decision sent the message that culture was important also in times of a pandemic and earthquakes.

Government sends parliament report on COVID measures

The government sent to parliament a report on the effects of COVID-19 measures adopted in line with the law protecting the population from infectious diseases. Parliament tasked the government to submit such reports three times a year for as long as a decision on the COVID-19 epidemic, adopted on 11 March 2020, remains in force.

Health Minister Vili Beroš said the report presented the effects of the measures in healthcare, social welfare, the economy, social activities, science and education, and home affairs.

December 2, 2020 – Streets have been noticeably quieter over recent days, although not by one building in Rijeka and a roadside in Dobrinj, Krk island, where renowned street artist, Zagreb's Lunar, has left two huge new murals

The cafes are closed but, what's more, there's a chill in the air. It's not only the lockdown that has made the streets of Croatia more quiet than usual at this time of year. Over recent days, temperatures have dropped to around zero when the sun falls. And it falls early. The light can be gone by 5pm.

Rijeka

Exercise or a simple pleasant stroll around the Christmas lights have been all that's been drawing folks out onto the streets after dark, save for the food delivery guys whose bikes whizz past you faster than ever in the chill. Even during the day, the streets of Croatia are quieter than normal because of the lockdown.


Dobrinj

But, these days haven't been anything other than normal for acclaimed artist Slaven Kosanovic aka Zagreb's Lunar. The cooler temperatures have only meant wearing more clothes and the quieter streets have not made his careful craftsmanship any quicker. His sometimes vast murals often require him to be above pedestrians passing below, up a ladder or even on a crane.

Dobrinj

The two new paintings of Zagreb's Lunar definitely fall at the larger end of the works he has produced over the last 25+ years. One towers above street level on an entire building facade in Rijeka. So tall is the painting that trying to take it all in could strain your neck in the wrong wind. The other piece, in Dobrinj, Krk island, is just as epic, although this vast canvas lies horizontal, by the roadside.

The Rijeka mural is dedicated to the city's music scene - you can spot some of the names of famous Rijeka bands in the painting

The Rijeka mural of Zagreb's Lunar, which he painted alongside his brother, with whom he often collaborates, is a four-story wall of cats dedicated to Rijeka's famous music scene. The mural took two days to complete. In the mural, you can spot the names of many Rijeka music groups like The Siids. Let 3, Denis & Denis and Jonathan. The mural is another part of the manifestations organised in celebration of Rijeka 2020 Capital of Culture.

Dobrinj

Krk island is a well-known tourist destination, but the pretty inland village of Dobrinj is far from the regular path of visitors. Anyone travelling past the enormous mural Zagreb's Lunar and his brother have left here will surely remember the name of Dobrinj. It may well entice some to come looking for it – it is by far the largest piece of public art on the island. It was facilitated by the community organisation Kulturni Dobrinj.

Dobrinj

All photos © Antonija Diklic (Rijeka) Damir Jevtic (Dobrinj)

Dobrinj, with the artist, Slaven Kosanovic aka Zagreb's Lunar, on the right

August. 28, 2020 - On Thursday, August 27, 2020, with the opening of the exhibition "Jazz Greats in the Ethnographic Museum", the Split Open Jazz Fair 2020 began. It is a photographic exhibition of portraits of jazz musicians by Davor Hrvoj from Zagreb, the doyen of Croatian jazz journalism ("It's time for jazz").

Hrvoj started working in journalism in the 1980s and published his works in numerous Croatian newspapers, such as Jutarnji list, Vijenac, and Gloria. He was a member of the international jury for the  European Jazz Prize and is currently a member of several cultural councils and a leader of jazz events in Croatia. Besides, he is a permanent member of the Croatian Journalists' Association as a freelance journalist and the Croatian Music Union, the Croatian Society of Composers, and the Croatian Association of Independent Artists.

"Why portraits? Because in this way, with the help of a telephoto lens, it's possible to get closer to the gestures of artists and the spirit of jazz music and what musicians feel and the way they think. Unlike most other photographers, I like to wait for the end of a concert, when artists are already losing control of their behavior and their gestures. Then I catch them in those moments when they are truly natural when they are truly what they are", the author explains.

After the opening, there will be two concert evenings at Đardin as part of the Urban Culture Review - EVO RUKE 7 with, as always, free admission. The exhibition is open to visitors until 18.09.

"Since jazz is my life, as is theirs, this is how I try to capture the essence of jazz", Hrvoj concludes.

The program for two evenings of the concert program can be found below.

On Friday, 28.08.2020. perform:

21:00 - Peter Smith & The Hosters, Split,
22:00 - Elena Stella & A.J.Jazz Trio, Zadar/Biograd

On Saturday, 29.08.2020. perform:

21:00 - Doringo, Zagreb,
22:00 - Just Jazzy, Split

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Meet the Butterfly Cycle by Danijel Jaman. 

There are many galleries in Croatia just waiting to be discovered.

I remember, it happened a few years ago. I walked through the narrow stone streets of my beautiful Dalmatian City of Split when I noticed a lively, spacious place. It immediately attracted my attention.

I had no choice but to go in and ask what all this was about. I was told that this is the art gallery of the well-known artist Danijel Jaman. Since the moment I set foot in the gallery until this day, I remained fascinated by every detail of his work – and now, years later, I finally got to meet him personally.

All TCN readers already had a chance to meet the artist through an interview that you can read by clicking here. Since this interview, Danijel Jaman has realised some new artistic ideas which I find very interesting, so this was the perfect opportunity to find out everything about his latest work: ''Butterflies Cycle''.

The "Butterflies Cycle” represents a true optical sensation. It was inspired by his previous painting called ''I <3 U 2''. This painting was created exclusively for the oldest brewery in Norway - ''AASS''. He visited ''AASS'' once and familiarised himself with the entire beer production process.

Danijel claims that this painting was very important for his artistic work because it was the inspiration for the creation of several other paintings, including "Charlie" and "Bang Bang". The ''Bang Bang'' piece has butterfly installations with LED lights attached to the back of each butterfly in such a fashion that they reflect upon the painted surface emphasising the colours. ''Bang Bang'' and ''I<3 U 2'' were the inspiration for the ''Butterflies Cycle''.

The artist claims that butterflies are powerful symbols for transmitting messages and ideas so to convey these messages he has created 13 different butterfly sculptures, each of them incredible and colourful. Most of the butterflies are portrayed with a microphone between the wings – so that you can hear the artist’s messages loud and clear. Also, every butterfly sculpture has a cap, hat or other headgear as a symbol of pop art and popular culture.

All the sculptures are made of Plexiglas and they include the stand with the artist’s signature. There are few phases in the production of these unique sculptures: first, the artist makes the design and drawings after which the companies from Split and Zagreb realise his ideas.

1) Love Butterfly - Danijel Jaman

This playful butterfly sculpture represents the contrast between love and anger, peace and war. Peace and love are represented through love inscriptions and symbols on the butterfly’s wings while the smoking gun in the middle stands as a representation of anger and war. The contrast between these emotions deepens even further once you notice that the soldier, otherwise tough character, has heart-shaped glasses as a symbol of love. This butterfly also has on the popular NYC cap which again represents popular culture.

2) No. 5 Butterfly by Danijela Jaman

This sculpture is inspired by the famous Van Gogh’s piece called “Starry Night” but it represents a pop-art take on this imagery. Instead of the stars, there are turquoise dots and yellow bananas instead of the moon. A banana is the artist’s signature and it’s present on almost every painting as a symbol of humor, irony, and sarcasm.

3) ECG Butterfly by Danijela Jaman

The butterfly has a colourful cap with a heart motif, heart-shaped glasses and a face mask (like the ones doctors use) with the heart-love motif. On its wings, you can notice the ECG graph – the rhythm of the heart. The symbolism here is deeply rooted in the idea that everything revolves around love (the heart) - physically and emotionally. The artist also wanted to show something as serious as an ECG in a playful way. This butterfly sculpture was designed in pink and blue colour.

4) Hibiscus Butterfly by Danijel Jaman

This butterfly is inspired by the important painting called "BubbleGum Girl" which we’ve mentioned earlier. The hibiscus flower appears as an important part of the painting and here, within the butterfly sculpture, it has an even greater significance. The hibiscus motif is intertwined here with several symbols of pop culture: the banana again as a symbol of humour, irony, and sarcasm; the British military cap as another powerful and remarkable symbol of pop art and culture; deep turquoise manga eyes which represent the reflection of our souls.

5) Banana Butterfly by Danijel Jaman

This sculpture is specifically devoted to bananas – the artist’s famous signature and a symbol of humour. He presents two bananas from two paintings: one from the famous "NY" painting where the banana is dressed as a sheriff and another one from the "Revolution" painting – where it is holding a love banner. The paintings, as well as a butterfly sculpture, are representations of a modern lifestyle – of which the business and consumerism are a large part. By placing bananas in this context, the artist wanted to show the sarcastic and ridiculous side of modern lifestyle.

6) Bubblegum Girl Butterfly by Danijel Jaman

Bubblegum Girl Butterfly is inspired by the painting "Bubblegum Girl". Both the sculpture and the painting show a strong contrast between the good and the bad. Good is represented by a sweet girl with blonde hair who blows soap bubbles from a toy while bad is shown in a character of a girl with messy, colourful hair who is blowing bubblegum bubbles.

7) Graffiti Butterfly by Danijel Jaman

Graffiti Butterfly is inspired by his famous painting “Graffiti”. The interesting image portrayed here is that of a British police officer who is carrying a gift behind his back while at the same time kicking a teddy bear with his foot. The metaphor hiding here is that things are not always what they appear at first sight and yet again the artist is stressing the contrast between good and bad in life. Graffiti sculpture also represents a contrast between graffiti artists as representatives of urban art and stencil artist as a different stream of graffiti art. There is an inscription on this sculpture ''be inspired'' which is also part of Danijel Jaman brand logo.

8) Pope Butterfly by Danijel Jaman

This sculpture shows a strong contrast between war and peace with elements of humor, sarcasm, and irony. Peace is represented by the character of the pope, but instead of the papal cap, there is a NY police officer's cap - a humouristic symbol of popular culture. On the left side of the butterfly wing, there is a recognisable bar code tag – reminding us of the fact that it is so easy to find a reason for war today, as easy as scanning products in the store. On the right wing of the butterfly, as a contrast to the ''war'' inscription on the left side, there is the ''peace'' inscription.

9) Rap Butterfly by Danijel Jaman

The Rap Butterfly appears tough at first sight – with his gang-style necklace and a hat (which are symbols of pop art and culture), but there is something very soft and touching about him as well. The graffiti on his wings are actual love messages people leave on the wall of Romeo and Juliette’s house in Verona. The insight into his soul reveals a romanticist represented by this eternal Shakespeare's piece. Simply put, in this butterfly we see a tough, gangster-style guy with romantic soul.

10) Thor Butterfly

The butterfly is the representation of the Norwegian god Thor shown in a humoristic way. Thor is the mythological god of storm and light and has always been presented as a great and powerful man. But the artist has created the character in a more humorous manner as a way of saying to every one of us that we should be more like children - enjoy life and stay forever playful instead of being constantly immersed in the rush and business of modern life.

11) Napoleon Butterfly

The sculpture is inspired by one character that is often featuring in Jaman’s paintings – the Admiral. He is an important part of several paintings – two of the distinctive ones being Candy Queen and Il Mondo. In both paintings the Admiral is portrayed in his underwear on top of the globe to remind us to be modest in life, otherwise, our ambition could be the end of us.

12) Mickey Butterfly

Mickey is another powerful and remarkable symbol of popular art and culture. The artist has created the figure of popular Mickey in a completely different way - in his own style: the original was deconstructed to make parts for the unique collage the artist had in mind. The result is an extraordinary visual balance of this vibrant and eye-catching sculpture.

13) Smile Butterfly

The Smiley Butterfly is yet another piece in which the artist is dealing with the sharp contrast between love and war. The butterfly has a soldier’s helmet which instantly evokes thoughts of war and hatred. Nevertheless, the butterfly also conveys the message of love with hearts and smileys on its wings – so the idea of optimism is something that the artist wants to imprint onto the mind of everyone who is observing his art.

Danijel Jaman's work is full of symbolism and humour conveyed through his truly unique style - the main feature of which is the use of very vivid colours. The artist states that colours for him have deep meaning so he uses them to provoke all sorts of different feelings in the observer. With advancement in modern science, especially in colour theory, we have plenty of scientific evidence to support this claim.

Colours affect us, and they cause a very special reaction within us.

Another thing that intrigued me was the "Paradise" subway sign at the very entrance to the Jaman Art Center. The Paradise sign is there so that people could connect with the artwork inside with the Candy Queen painting which features the sign.

The art here is very much alive. It is three-dimensional (with a lot of real-life elements popping out from the canvas) and it has the tendency to go beyond the frames and into the space of the gallery in a form of 3D objects or sculptures.

Keep up with our lifestyle section if you're interested in getting to know what's going on up and down the country, from art to culture, to history and heritage.

Meet Maro Kriste, Dubrovnik’s brilliant painter of the moment.

A talented artist from Osijek, Lana Ključarić, is a regular guest at different artistic happenings in Slavonia and Baranja, but her work has also drawn the attention of an audience beyond Croatia.

On Saturday the 7^th April, well-known artists gathered at Hotel Split for a humanitarian action, Total Split was there to witness the magic in motion.