IMPRESSUM

Jagoda is artist run space and non profit art organisation founded by artist Nina Kurtela

VJEŽBE TEAM

Nina Kurtela (artistic director, producer)
Ana Jelušić (friend of a project)
Lana Grahek (designer)
Ivan Idžojtić (photographer)
Sanja Merćep (photographer)
Mario Mu, Luana Lojić, Zrinka Užbinec, Karla Šuler, Matej Knežević, Igor Koruga, Roberta Milevoj, Hana Miletić (hosts 2024)
Neja Tomšić, Željka Blakšić, Ana Jelušić, Petar Sarjanević, Anna Javoran, Nina Gojić, TBA (hosts 2025)

Vježbe project is supported by Kultura Nova Foundation and City of Zagreb.

FUTURE REPAIRS TEAM

Nina Kurtela (artist and researcher)
Sara Simić (researcher)
Lana Grahek (designer)
Darija Jelinčić (photographer)

We would like to thank all the people who generously shared their time, knowledge, experiences and memories:
Leila Topić, Ana Zubić, Želimir Koščević, Leonida Kovač, Željko Serdarević, Ana Tajder, Ivor Ivezić, Lujo Parežanin, Tomislav Augustinčić, Nikolina Pahanić-Lugar (Grad Karlovac), Patricia Počanić, Jasenka Ferber-Bogdan (Arhiv za likovne umjetnosti HAZU). 

Future repairs research is supported by Kultura Nova Foundation.

WEB

EDITORS
Nina Kurtela and Ana Letunić

TEXT
Ana Letunić and Sara Simić

DESIGN
Lana Grahek and Leo Kirinčić

DEVELOPMENT
Nikola Greiner

Web supported by The Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia

info@j-a-g-o-d-a.com

THE CONTEXT

Jagoda relies on Kaloper’s artistic legacy which stems from the context of the Yugoslav avant-garde and conceptual art scene whose interdisciplinary and internationally oriented artistic practices in the interstices between performing and visual arts were transgressive, radically political and deeply transformative phenomena. Nowadays, the post-Yugoslav independent contemporary arts scene is directly shaped by these practices and experiences as it strives to implement alternative models of organizing, producing and programming. Therefore, Jagoda also directs its own organizational culture towards the ecology of collective care and solidarity, thus attempting to resist the precarious and individualistic working conditions of the contemporary arts scene. By connecting artists from different disciplines, generations, affinities and aesthetics, as well as encouraging togetherness, discursive thinking and intermedia collaborations, we aim to create an inclusive and open space for exchanging ideas, critical thinking about one’s own and others’ work, consequently enticing transformative engagement towards related communities.

THE SPACE

Jagoda is founded by artist Nina Kurtela who in 2017 gained the right from the City of Zagreb (Croatia) to use the studio where conceptual artist and film actress Jagoda Kaloper* worked until her final days (2007-2016). Upon entering the studio, Kurtela inherits the physical space as well as various objects residing in it, and encounters valuable but forgotten Kaloper’s artistic legacy. Referring to the monograph “In the Mirror of the Cultural Screen: Jagoda Kaloper”* , which views the artist’s oeuvre through the prism of “patriarchal, misogynistic and sexist culture”, in which: […she gained recognition as a “fresh” female body but not as a creative person whose critical thought is articulated in her own work of art and public action]”, we critically reflect on the concept of stereotyping male gaze and exploitation of the female body and politics of forgetting conditioned by gender and institutional power regimes. Thus, although this studio is only 25 m2, Kaloper’s and now Kurtela’s “room of one’s own” persists as a safe space to engage in uninterrupted development of different artistic knowledge as well as everyday life as an artistic practice.

Jagoda is a non-profit art organization dedicated to research, discursive exchange and slow production betwixt (and between) contemporary performing and visual arts while examining gender, class and institutional power dynamics within the field.

We explore connections between the artistic, the theoretical and the academic that intertwine, complement and fluctuate through various media and formats.

We engage in non-hierarchical exchange on process-based artistic practices in relation to the concepts of collaboration, authorship and interpretation, invisible and maintenance work and critically examine different relationships of body, space, time and performance.

We also focus on empowering the community and context in which we operate and aim to connect local and global initiatives to provide a safe, caring and inviting space for artists, researchers and local communities.

FUTURE REPAIRS – ROOM OF LEISURE, CARE AND PERSISTENCE

Future repairs is one of the first projects initiated by art organisation Jagoda. This artistic research explores the practice of Yugoslavian artist and actress Jagoda Kaloper* (1947 – 2016) and its unexpected correlation with contemporary artist Nina Kurtela* through the working space they share in different times.

Upon entering the former Kaloper’s artist studio, Kurtela inhabits the space with her own artistic practice while carefully acknowledging Kaloper’s overlooked art legacy. Further on, Kurtela, together with the researcher Sara Simić*, critically engages with the very space, its histories, memories, traces and leftovers while looking at it both as a physical entity but also as an experiential, conceptual and intergenerational space. 

While looking at the “atelier” as a place of intermediate, hybrid and fluid exchange of strategies, they explore mechanisms of knowledge, experiences and actions transfers from one generation to another, from physical room to a Room of One’s Own.

Based on Kaloper’s self-reflexive, self-critical and politically-aware artistic practice, the goal of this research is not only to build an archive, raise visibility and give tribute to her artistic estate but also to (re)contextualize her position as a female artist in this specific historical and political context and its impact to today’s practices and working conditions of contemporary makers within the art field in local context. 

As one of the research outcomes, five maps have been arranged that manifest different aspects of Kaloper’s life and practice. In correlation with the current context they aspire to open up the space for new understandings, (re)interpretations, formation, realisations  and future collaborations: 

Map No. 1. Legacy_and_Archive.pdf
Map No. 2. Appearance_and_Presence.pdf
Map No. 3. Traces_and_Objects.pdf
Map No. 4. Theory_and_Premise.pdf
Map No. 5. Unfolding Futures 

REHEARSALS / VJEŽBE

Since it’s foundation, one of the backbone activity of art organization Jagoda is a discursive program “Vježbe” which hosts various actors of Zagreb independent art scene in order to activate a space for reflection, exchange of ideas and methodologies with the goal to contribute to the visibility, development and progress of artistic processes and practices within the local context.

”Vježbe” have been continuously held in various formats and manifested through gatherings and exchanges such as reading groups, film screenings, exercises, games, lectures, presentations, performances, dinners, artists talks, workshops, etc. developing methodologies around unconventional ways of transmitting knowledge and experience by imagining, creating, playing and rethinking the notion of artistic production and creation.

Organising various events in the Jagoda studio with experts from different fields within contemporary art, theory and science the aim is to reexamine important current topics such as – processuality of artistic creation, immaterial art practices, the ecology of collective care, togetherness, inclusiveness, gender equality, solidarity, (mental) health, sustainability, local production, climate change, eco-feminism, influence of digital technologies, etc.

The program is constructed from diverse disciplines and backgrounds from different contributors and it ranges from the artistic to the scientific, from somatic to visual, from movement based to object based. It offers non-competitive, informal and safe social space for creativity, healing, rest, play and collective wellbeing that hopefully complements more and more precarious and stressful environment and unsustainable production conditions within the art field. To participate in this collective exchange is to take time to slow down, to experience, to share, to listen, to observe, to smell, to touch, to taste, to rest, to move, to be together, to be present, to recuperate, to rethink, to reconnect, to engage with local community. 

VJEŽBA No. 01

MARIO MU
Spatial Examples (lecture)
Atelje Jagoda / Sat 09.03.24 at noon

The lecture draws upon two pieces by Croatian artist Jagoda Kaloper, “Unnamed Ambient” (1970) and “Woman in the Mirror” (2010), to explore the intersection of film history with contemporary digital tools, computer-generated imagery, and gaming. Concepts of image space and performativity in the digital realm are guiding us towards the reckognition of the transience in bodily movement, surveillance as a form of observation, mirroring, and the sequence of interactions within political and social contexts.

Mario Mu is an artist and filmmaker living in Berlin, Germany. He has has been working on a series of events as an author and collaborator with numerous institutions including Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb, Singapore Art Museum, WHW Collective, V2 Institute for Unstable Media, MGLC Ljubljana, MAAT Lisbon, Research Center for Proxy Politics, and The School of Machines.

VJEŽBA No. 02

LUANA LOJIĆ
an Ordinary Mortal’s list (mini disorder)
Atelje Jagoda / Mon 08.04.24 19h

an Ordinary Mortal’s list is a storytelling playlist that draws and extracts facts, notes from my working memory-sewer starting in 2020, music, and occasional screensavers. It describes the impossibility of dealing with all of them at once, the feeling of connection with forms of words and glyphs as nocturnal blooming logics. It exercises associative storytelling in one person for multiple people. Its has a preference for discarded things and idea-pleasing palpitations, playing, fun, sensations, and surprises.

Luana Lojić (Pula, Croatia 1991) imagines sensory data as a wide, autonomous, free, chaotic, elastic and promiscuous being, making no difference between words and acts, videos, sound sculptures or drawings. She obsesses over media translations, hyper-informational dust dialogues, delicate entities and love gestures in a time of viruses and debts. One of her biggest dreams is to recycle all her works forever, until no sensual waste remains. She shares her life with her dog Ulla and constitutes one sixth of the art collective Ljubavnice (the Lovers).

VJEŽBA No. 03

ZRINKA UŽBINEC 
vignettes on cuteness–violence
Atelje Jagoda / Mon 13.05.24 19h

It all started in a research seminar. After reading a piece I wrote for that occasion, the professor stressed the importance of giving up on my cuteness.
It started with a colleague reflecting on the work of art, saying how cute it was.
At the same time, a person accused another person of manipulating the situation by playing cute to avoid physical conflict.
It might have started within a domestic sphere; a lover playing cute, announcing they were leaving.

It could start with a doll-like body. A doll-like body could lie naked on the lawn, float in the river, stare from the car. She could be frozen in the fridge, covered in plastic on the riverbank, lying in bed as if nothing had happened. A doll-like body could be missing; a day, missing for two, for a week, 96 hours with the hope to reappear, placed perfectly, washed neatly, always in the same pose, waiting to be found, seen on screen, avenged.
It will start with a doll-unlike body sitting still.

Zrinka Užbinec dances and works with choreography, crafting it with various mediums and diverse materials. Zrinka lives between Croatia and England, which undoubtedly influences their artistic, economic, and emotional relationships. They often choose to work in collaborations, taking a feminist approach and exploring the emancipatory potentials of the dancing body. After long-term freelance work and an MA in Choreography and Performance, Zrinka flies solo doing the PhD practice research at C-DaRE, CU, exploring the metastability of choreographies of cuteness and violence.

VJEŽBA No. 04

KARLA ŠULER & MATEJ KNEŽEVIĆ 
concilium – discourse on body repair
Atelje Jagoda / Wed 29.05.24 19h

Concilium – to summon an assembly of the people to assess the matter, form a strategy, and consider various factors.
What is the future of the human body? Can we transfer a human consciousness into an algorithm?
Taking the form of a medical council, Karla Šuler and Matej Knežević are inviting the audience to ‘dissect’ the intricate politics surrounding the human body, explore the idea of immortality as a democratic right, and ponder the postmortem forms of our existence.Discussing future body enhancements, euphoric euthanasia, digital human remains, utopian medicine, and ethics, we are exploring the space where ideologies intersect with corporeal realities, shaping perceptions, limitations, and possibilities. Join us as we navigate the complex terrain where the physical, the ideological, and the speculative converge.

Karla Šuler is interested in the intangible and notional nature of objects and actions, delving into the underlying mechanisms of life. Reflecting on the accidental and repetitive structure of these actions, she contemplates the futility of artistic work that may or may never be observed by viewers, or utopian ideas that may never materialize physically. Through her exploration of body politics, science, and ethics, she is interested in the culture’s relationship with the body and mortality, particularly how it is portrayed and commodified in contemporary society.

Matej Knežević is a visual artist whose work revolves around themes drawn from everyday life, manifested through multimedia installations. He is the winner of the Radoslav Putar award 2017 for the best young contemporary artist. He runs the “Ligatura”, a hybrid art-medical space in Zagreb. He works as a medical doctor, urology specialist in Clinical Hospital Center Sestre milosrdnice in Zagreb.

VJEŽBA No. 05

IGOR KORUGA
unstable comrades – lecture performance
Atelje Jagoda / Mon 18.11.24 18h

In his artistic practice and choreographic work, Igor Koruga explores such social phenomena as negative feelings, immunity, care and vulnerability – as expressions of criticism and resistance to an omnipresent patriarchal-capitalist reality. Based on asymmetrical, physical and social forces and abilities of queer, feminist, immunocompromised and non-institutionalized precarious dance practices, Igor Koruga seeks public recognition for such forms of criticism. Can we imagine an alternative to the current political practice based solely on our common interests and commitments? This lecture performance examines some of these approaches cognitively, affectively and physically.

Igor Koruga is a Serbian choreographer, dancer, pedagogue and researcher based in Belgrade. Koruga’s choreographic style frequently integrates elements from queer, feminist, and non-institutionalized perspectives, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches that combine physical movement, intellectual exploration, and social commentary. He collaborated with numerous artists and art institutions from the local and international dance scene, and was recipient of many scholarships and awards. Koruga also works as a stage movement choreographer in theater and film, and researcher in a regional team for archiving dance in (post)Yugoslav context.

VJEŽBA No. 06

ROBERTA MILEVOJ
dance dialogues – workshop
Centar mladih Ribnjak / Sun 01.12.2024

In this workshop we will explore how through movement and dance we can better and more deeply relate to ourselves and others. As opposed to our everyday lives where communication is most often verbal or ‘virtual’, Roberta’s pedagogical work focuses on noticing the experience right at hand, emphasizing the importance of our personal somatic experience as a precondition for a holistic way of learning. A key aspect of this practice will be working with the possibility of choice. We can perceive and interpret every instance each in our own and different ways. Therefore, the way we come into dialogue with each other depends on our own self care, our openness and willingness to change. We will work with observing and listening as important factors in being actively present and witnessing an individual dance experience with the goal of creating a positive image of ourselves and others. This practice engages with topics of community and togetherness, offering supportive psychophysical tools, and encourages a space of creative dialogue and the recognition of and respect for the choice of the individual as well as the group.

The workshop is open to all participants regardless of previous dance or movement experience. It is free of charge, but the number of participants is limited so applying early is advisable.

Roberta Milevoj was born in Pula in 1979. Since 1998 she has been an active member of the Croatian dance scene working as a dancer, choreographer and dance pedagogue. She has gained a rich dance education outside of a formal institutional framework participating in workshops and residential programs in the country and abroad (APAP – performing Europe, Tanzfabrik Berlin, Impulstanz, Life Long Burning, MKFM, etc.). In 2021 she graduated from the BA program Contemporary dance – dance pedagogy at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb, Croatia. Since 2022 she teaches contemporary dance technique as associate teacher at the Department of Dance at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb. Her work is based on somatic practices and she is continually educating herself in somatic and therapy work (F.M. Alexander Technique). She has taught classes and workshops in all major dance centers (Zagreb Dance Center, Studio Contemporary Dance Company, Zagreb Dance Company, Tala Dance Center, Liberdance, Istrian National Theater – INK Pula, Mediterranean Dance Center – Svetvinčenat, etc.)