Kontejner’s first activities were related to a project in which we took on the task of organizing the 26th Youth Salon in Zagreb in 2001. The very word “salon” implies a conservative approach to art, but thanks to the international curatorial team, the Youth Salon in its 26th edition was an international, innovative art event that presented progressive trends in the art scene at the time (including for example net.art, tactical media). It was organised at the Zagreb Fair (Zagrebački Velesajam), set at a distance from the city centre, looking forward to the building of the then non-existent home of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MSU) on the other side of the Sava River and to the cultural revitalization of New Zagreb in general.

Salon was set up in a pavilion over 10.000 m2, in about 50 containers (hence the name of our organisation), forming a miniature city. Within its structure, it brought together for the first time Zagreb’s independent scene, giving it visibility as well as legitimizing it as a vital entity on the Zagreb, and broader Croatian, cultural scene. For that reason, the 26th Youth Salon can be seen as a conceptual precursor of the independent scene’s collaborations and initiatives that, ten years later, resulted in the establishment of POGON - Zagreb Centre for Independent Culture and Youth.

Participants:

Art: 0100101110101101.org (IT), ®TMark (US), Dora Bilić & Tina Müller (HR), Pasko Burđelez (HR), Marijan Crtalić (HR), Jirˇí Černický (CZ), Tanja Dabo (HR), Oskar Dawicki (PL), Eclipse (SI), Alen Floričić (HR), Fractal Falus Theatre (HR), Danko Friščić (HR), Marcela Gjoni (HR), Antonio Grgić (HR), Tina Gverović (HR), Honor Harger (NZ/UK), Ozren Harlović (HR), Erik Hobijn (NL), Ana Horvat (HR), Institute for Applied Autonomy (US), Nikolina Ivezić (HR), Lukáš Jasanský & Martin Polák (CZ), Ivana Jelavić (HR), Sanja Jonjić- Zorić (HR), Kamera Skura (CZ), Šejla Kamerić (BA), Tamara Kordić (HR), Daniel Kovač (HR), Mare Kovačič (SI), Denis Krašković (HR), Christopher Kummerer (AT), Martin Kuriš (CZ), David Maljković (HR), Marin Marinić (HR), Ivan Marušić Klif (HR), Max Moswitzer, Margarette Jahrmann - Konsum.net (AT), Bruno Motik (HR), Danica Mračević (HR), Renata Poljak (HR), Viktor Popović (HR), Dorota Sadovská (SK), Sašo Sedlaček (SI), Gebhard Sengmüller (AT), Stripburger (SI), Saša Šekoranja (HR), Berislav Šimičić (HR), Maša Štrbac (HR), Ive Tabar (SI), Zoran Todorović (RS), Galeb Vekić (HR)

Cultural organisations/initiatives: 21. Proljeće / 21st Spring (HR), Attack (HR), Bureau of Low Technology (US), Culture Development Association “CDA” & Mochvara Club (HR), Emil Filla Gallery (CZ), FACT - Foundation for Art & Creative Technology (UK), Fak (HR), Hull Time Based Arts (UK), Kapelica Gallery (SI), LABinary (HR), net.culture club mama (HR), MMC Palach (HR), Platforma 9,81 (HR), Public Netbase tØ (AT), Radioaktiv (HR), Redundant Technology Initiative (UK), Sarajevo Centre for Contemporary Arts (BA), SCCA - The World of Art (SI), Ukrik (HR)

Theory: Roy Ascott (UK), Goran Blagus (HR), Sonja Briski Uzelac (HR), Linda Milić (HR), Pastforward (HR), Zoran Roško (HR)