Three workshops on three different subjects explore the history, present, and future of the Vjesnik complex and its surroundings through the lenses of architecture, urbanism, sound, and smells. Three groups of students, guided by artists, tested a new mobile application for sensitive mapping developed within the Future DiverCities project. The workshop program was divided into three segments:
Sound mapping - led by Miodrag Gladović
Smell mapping - led by Luana Lojić
History mapping of Vjesnik - led by Mihael Giba
Maps are a crucial tool for understanding space, its distribution, and the elements found within it. Connecting scientific research and artistic production enables the creation of a story and, therefore, different interpretations of scientific data.
One segment of the workshops focused on creating a collective visual story through a combination of analog and digital techniques, including collaging, drawing, photography, and digital processing tailored to the platform. The goal was to create a visual map that explores the rich history of the Vjesnik building, as well as its current state and potential future. Utilizing photos and articles from the Vjesnik archive, we had the opportunity to tell a story that encompasses different aspects of life and work in this iconic building. An important part of the workshop was working with a thermosublimation printer to develop photos, allowing ideas to be conveyed in an innovative way. The leader and mentor of this segment was Mihael Giba.
Under the guidance of Luana Lojić, the smell segment explored the olfactory heritage of the Vjesnik complex and that part of the city through a thematic walk and the collection of inorganic and organic materials. Traditional and contemporary processing techniques were used to preserve and document these smells, encouraging thoughts on their digitization and experimental use. This workshop prompted reflection on ways to preserve the specific history of scents in the Vjesnik building and how to use them as a tool for emotional communication in public space. A special challenge was the creative representation of smells on the smell walk map.
Led by Miodrag Gladović, the sound environment of the Vjesnik building was explored, and real-time sound processes was created. The result is a collective sound walk that combines authentic sounds with algorithmically generated compositions. Through this interactive workshop, a map of interconnected sound experiences is created, exploring the rich sound backdrop of Vjesnik and experimenting with new ways of perceiving sound in space.
About the workshop leaders:
Miodrag Gladović is an electrical engineer, musician, and multimedia artist. He has been actively involved in the contemporary art scene for years, either as a member of the artistic duo Lightune.G with Bojan Gagić and independently. His combination of a punk approach, DIY ethic, two decades of diverse musical experience, and the incorporation of new technologies in artistic work has made him one of the prominent figures in the contemporary scene, particularly in experimental and improvisational music, as well as other innovative contemporary artistic practices. He has been a member of ULUPUH since 2018.
Luana Lojić, born in 1991 in Pula, graduated from the New Media department at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 2016. She is a member of the artistic collective Ljubavnice and the artistic organizations M28 and Studio Pangolin, engaging in applied biofilia and internet nomadism. From poetry for stones to live installations, videos, films, voiceovers, and live art that address the relationship between humans and the systems, perceptions, and materialities surrounding them, her work aims to understand natural processes beyond and within the concept of the senses. In 2020, she received a special recognition for the work "What is Sound? 2.0_Alpha blending" at the 35th Youth Salon, and the work was performed multiple times in Croatia and internationally at the Ars Electronica festival in Linz and Recontres Monde(s) Multiple(s) in Bourges. The work is cited as an example of experimental methodology at the University of Technology in Sydney. She received a special recognition at the 27th Slavonian Biennial for the work "Bits of Real: For development purposes only." Luana Lojić had an artistic residency at the Akademie Schloss Solitude from October 2021 to January 2022.
Mihael Giba is a multimedia artist who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Split, specializing in painting in 2008. He combines traditional and digital techniques and technologies to create multimedia, often interactive installations that describe, document, and question today's society, often with a dose of humor. He has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Croatia and abroad, collaborating with multimedia artistic and cultural organizations, institutions, and many Croatian artists. Mihael Giba is a member of the Croatian Association of Visual Artists and the Creative Network Zebra, and he was a member of the Croatian Community of Independent Artists from 2013 to 2023. He was a finalist for the Radoslav Putar Award in 2013 and the HT Award in 2010 and 2018. He won the 3rd prize at the 33rd Youth Salon in 2016. Mihael Giba resides in Zagreb.
