Shipbuilders of the Mistral

Dijana Protić, Marta Stražičić, Manja Ristić
Aug 3rd 2021. - Aug 7th 2021.
Curator/s: Lea Vene
In collaboration with: GMK Galerija Miroslav Kraljević, Sintoment
Supported by: Ministarstvo kulture i medija RH, Aminess hoteli i kampovi, Grad Korčula, Grad Zagreb ured za kulturu, Dubrovačko-Neretvanska županija, Zaklada Kultura nova

Korčula town museum
19 - 21 h
free entrance for the installation
3rd August 19 h presentation by artist and curator

Within the project Industrial Heritage of Korčula island there will be a presentation of the VR installation Shipbuilders of the Mistral by Dijana Protić.

The project Industrial Heritage of Korčula island was officially launched in 2014 within the Grey Area Association in Korčula. The project is conceived as an inclusive collaborative platform, a multi-year scientific and artistic research that combines an interdisciplinary cultural-anthropological, ethnographic, artistic and curatorial approach, including dialogue and cooperation with the local community, institutions, associations and initiatives. The project is primarily focused on the area of ​​Vela Luka, where we tackled two spots (the Jadranka fish processing and canning factory and the tin packaging factory 8. Mart) through several texts and artistic work by Božena Končić Badurina.

For the past three years, emphasis has been placed on the third important case study - the Greben shipyard. Dijana Protić's artistic research began in 2017 with a focus on women's perspectives and work experience in Greben, and the backbone of the research was set by the stories of women former Greben workers. Although the initial idea was to turn the research into a film, the medium of the VR installation soon proved to be an important new element for deepening the theme and possible interpretation of the shipyard's "silenced" female history.

In collaboration with Marta Stražičić and Manja Ristić, the project gained a new visual and acoustic dimension that reflects new forms of presentation of industrial heritage and specific female memory crucial for (re) writing official and unofficial local history.

A female voice guides us through the exploration of the abstracted space of Greben. Her memory intertwines several life and professional stories of narrators / former female workers in Greben, with a special emphasis on work in the so-called plastics, a key areas in which women were mostly employed. Project raises awareness of the extremely health-vulnerable and unprotected position that women were in. At the same time, we learn about the micro experiences of emancipation and financial independence that women gained while working in Greben. In addition, it alludes to the relevance of the women's collective, both in joint women's work and the interpersonal support that such a community creates. (Lea Vene)

About authors

Dijana Protić (Zagreb, 1985) has a Master of Fine Art (MFA) degree in dramaturgy from The Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. Enrolled in the Postgraduate doctoral study Publishing and Media on The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Rijeka.  Her research and artistic interests are related to media art, visual art and moving images, reception of visual information, digital technology, and art. She is in the final phase of the research for a PhD, which is examining the mapping, history, and practice of new media art in Croatia and Slovenia between 1988 and 2008. She has given presentations at several international conferences. Currently, she is working on the postproduction virtual reality project Shipbuilders of the Mistral about woman works in a shipyard on island Korčula (Siva zona, GMK, Sintoment, Format C), and as collaborator in the Centre for Innovative Media at the Academy of Applied Arts, Rijeka.

Mag. art. Marta Stražičić is a multimedia artist and a 3D Tech Artist. In 2018, she received his Master's degree in New Media at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb with VR work EVGENIA308, which was shown at the Glowing Globe Festival (Rijeka, 2019), Animafest (Zagreb, 2019) and had its solo exhibition at the VN Gallery (Zagreb, 2019). . Shortly afterwards, she completed a professional course for 3D visual effects in Denmark. During and after his studies, Marta enriches her opus of exhibitions and performances, the last of which was in Amsterdam 2020 at the SonicActs festival. Her short animation Trigger Point INKlings is published by FactMagazine at the end of 2020. Since 2021, Marta has been working for PatchXR, a company that breaks the boundaries of musical creativity within VR. She uses her free time for additional development of AR and VR projects and short animations.

Manja Ristić is a violinist, sound artist, published poet, curator and researcher. She graduated at the Belgrade Academy of Music (2001), then awarded at the Royal College of Music, London, with PGDip Solo/Ensemble Recitalist (2004). As a classical solo and chamber musician as well as a composer and an improv musician Manja performed all across Europe and in the US, involving collaborations with established conductors and performers, multimedia artists, poets, theatre and movie directors. Manja’s sound related research beside contemporary performance in the field of instrumental electro–acoustics, is focused on interdisciplinary approach to a sound and field recording as well as experimental radio arts. Lives and works on the island of Korčula.