Mamula Island Hotel
Art Program
Various Artists
Boka Bay, Montenegro
.–
Mamula Island Hotel
Art Program
Balkan...Projects is delighted to announce its collaboration with Mamula Island Hotel, nestled in Montenegro's picturesque Boka Bay, for an artist residency, an ongoing exhibition, and a series of performative events set to unfold throughout the summer of 2023.
This project signifies our inaugural partnership with Mamula Island Hotel, a luxury hotel situated within a historic Austro-Hungarian fortress dating back to the 19th century. Together with Mamula Island Hotel, Balkan...Projects aims to spotlight the contemporary culture and identity of the Balkans while fostering connections with artists from both the region and beyond. Our goal is to offer both visitors and the local community a holistic and immersive artistic experience.
Balkan…Projects has extended invitations to a group of accomplished artists, Irena Haiduk, Milica Janković, Angelo Plessas, and Ana Prvački, all of whom possess deep ties to the broader Balkan region. These artists will reside in the hotel and explore the island and its surroundings, drawing inspiration from their own artistic practices, as well as the unique history, ambience, setting, and spirit of the location. Their creative endeavors will culminate in a series of artworks and events.
The artistic journey commences with a week-long residency in June 2023, during which the artists will immerse themselves in the island's context, explore its environs, and share presentations about their artistic practices, encouraging a contemplative dialogue with the audience.
Subsequently, each artist will return to Montenegro on three separate occasions to assemble a modular exhibition replete with public and performative moments. This exhibition will be anchored in the cornerstones of nature, architectural forms, rituals, hospitality, the heritage of sound, and craftsmanship, seamlessly integrated with performative elements and interactive encounters that invite visitors to actively engage their senses. This immersive experience encourages the audience to listen, smell, touch, savor, contemplate, and meditate, creating a multifaceted connection with the art and its surroundings.
For the inaugural weekend of events, Ana Prvački orchestrates an experience designed to challenge our perceptions of daily routines and our connection with nature. Prvački's multidisciplinary approach is firmly rooted in personal narratives and draws inspiration from a myriad of sources, including observations of how our natural surroundings profoundly influence all aspects of our lives.
Irena Haiduk delves into the choreographic and sonic elements of Balkan oral tradition and technology. Haiduk harbors a profound interest in the interplay between aesthetics and the economy, as well as in the construction of an image ecology. Her programmatic works establish spaces where images can accumulate over time in a deliberate and embodied manner, allowing this process to be witnessed by the public.
Angelo Plessas operates at the crossroads of spiritualism and technology. In his event at Mamula Island Hotel, he explores the talismanic qualities of traditional Montenegrin motifs, as well as the connective power of symbols also present in local folk art and architecture.
Milica Janković metamorphoses the outdoor space of Mamula fortress with the introduction of a site-specific, audio-environmental, interactive installation that will be on continuous display throughout the season. A series of sounds and light movements will interweave and complement one another, generating a distinctive and ever-evolving composition responsive to the movements of visitors within the space.