Selection of Serbian and Austrian artists for the online platform

The competition announcement for the presentation of 10 works of visual artists from Serbia and 10 from Austria at the new online platform „Na drugi pogled // Auf den zweiten Blick // At Second Glance“ initiated by the Austrian Cultural Forum was opened until 31 January. Over 300 works were submitted to the competition and after three rounds of judging, the 10 best works from Austria and Serbia were selected.

The competition was open to artists willing to propose works that refer to and beyond the clichés and prejudices the Austrians and Serbs have about each other despite or perhaps because of close historical relations and intertwined history of migration. A special thematic focus was on works of art that reflect on the existence and possibilities of changing these clichés and prejudices. The title also suggests that the works of art themselves thematically question different views in relation to what is expected and generally known, and that they should suggest something different in relation to what seems to be a first glance. 

The selected artists from Austria are: Catrin Bolt, Eva Maria Schartmüller, Hannah Priemetzhofer, Hana Hannah Stippl, Julian Turner, Leonhard Pill, Michael Heindl, Sangam Sharma, Ulrich Reiterer and Walter Kratner.

The selection of artists from Serbia is consisted of: Aleksej Sivčević, Andrea Palašti, Boris Burić, Doplgenger (Isidora Ilić, Boško Prostran), Igor Ripak, Ivana Ivković/Marina Marković, Lana Vasiljević, Mariela Cvetić, Mirjana Đorđević Thaler and Tijana Petrović.

The decision on the selection of works was made by a six-member jury composed of: Aleksandra Jovanić PhD, assistant professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade; Dejan Kaludjerović, MA, artist, co-founder of the organization for art and culture Verein K from Vienna; Miroslav Karić, curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade; Sanja Kojić Mladenov PhD, senior curator, Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina, Novi Sad; Mirjana Boba Stojadinović, MA, artist; Jelena Glišić, MA, Austrian Cultural Forum Belgrade. 

The new online platform of the Austrian Cultural Forum was created in view of the current uncertain circumstances, but also opens the opportunities for the new forms of artistic creation and communication.  It is conceived as an exhibition space for thematic and curated art content, which in the initial phase consists of works by 10 visual artists from Serbia and 10 from Austria that arrived for the competition announced for this occasion.

The public launch of the online platform "Na drugi pogled  // Auf den zweiten Blick // At Second Glance" is planned for March 2021, in the year marking the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Austrian Cultural Forum Belgrade as well as the 185th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Austria and Serbia.

A joint statement of the 

“Na drugi pogled / Auf den zweiten Blick / At Second Glance” open call jury

Artistic contributions to the Austrian-Serbian dialogue

At first, the jury would like to thank everyone who participated in this open call and shared their views on the “Na drugi pogled / Auf den zweiten Blick / At Second Glance” topic. 

The jury met four times to review the applications and came to the final decision, chosen by a majority vote of the members of the jury.

After reviewing a large number of submitted artworks and three rounds of voting and discussion on the proposals, the jury considered the following criteria: the theme of the competition, artistic value and date of the artwork. A number of contributions by renowned artists stood out for their maturity. The jury also wanted to support the younger generations of artists who submitted well-articulated and well-rounded artworks, while enriching the audience’s experience.

Bearing in mind that the platform “Na drugi pogled  / Auf den zweiten Blick / At Second Glance” has been envisaged as an online exhibition, the jury also had to take the curatorial role while examining the ways in which different artworks communicate with each other.

We are pleased to say that the final selection includes ten artists from Austria and ten from Serbia, who shall be presenting themselves through documentary / fiction / art video, photo documentation of spatial and other installations or interventions / 2D works of art and photography.

Most of the selected contributions took into account the relations between Serbia and Austria in the light of their past and through three prominent themes: the First and Second World War, Gastarbeiter heritage of migrant workers, as well as current economic migrations.

Other works dealt with the personal experience of otherness after staying in Austria or Serbia for a certain period of time, as well as inter lingual influences and similarities between these two cultures.

In these uncertain times, we do hope that the platform “Na drugi pogled/Auf den zweiten Blick /At Second Glance” will offer some insight into the tacit conversation between intellectually provocative and visually exciting artworks.