Bridging the gap

Support for culture and education in Croatia is at the heart of our company's Counterparts program. German and Croatian artists are sharing their experiences in a joint exhibition in Zagreb.

Furthering a better cross-cultural understanding between Germany and Croatia is the main goal of the Counterparts program , an initiative supported jointly by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and the Goethe Institute in Croatia. The program has been instrumental in expanding and modernizing the Dubrovnik city libraries, the cultural heart of this ancient city. Most recently, the strategy consultancy has directed its assistance toward realizing a unique art exhibition in the Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art.

For the exhibition entitled "Criss-Cross – Five Positions in Croatian and German Contemporary Art" Nada Beroš, Senior Curator of the museum, selected 11 artists from Croatia and Germany.

The exhibition compares and contrasts works by Lovro Artuković, Plamen Dejanoff, Nina Fischer & Maroan el Sani, Kristian Kožul, Kristina Leko, Marion Porten, Antje Schiffers, Julia Schmidt, Sonja Vuk, Slaven Tolj, all of whom are internationally renowned artists with distinguished careers.

The exhibition reveals elements of tension and commonality in the artists' works and allows for cultural exchange. In their work, related themes, strategies and models of behavior overlap, denoting the characteristic problems of art as it crosses into the 21st century. Five complementary pairs put the notions of East/West, center/periphery, local/global, national/international, artistic/non-artistic, high/low, autonomous/dependent into perspective. The artist's contributions were purposely spatially juxtaposed in the museum to underline the contradictory nature of the themes addressed in their works, creating the kind of 'inspirational tension' the curator was looking for. This pairing confirms what curator Nada Beroš notes in the exhibition's catalogue: that "in the international language of contemporary art the local dialects are just and auxiliary means of understanding, and what still holds true belongs to individual versions of the language of art, irrespective of what nations and countries these artists belong to."

In his introduction to the exhibition's catalogue, Roland Berger, Founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, praised the initiative: “Counterparts” symbolizes the exchange and dialog between different cultures, and their search for similarities. We are therefore very pleased to also support “Criss-Cross”. Nada Beroš shows that despite artistic individualism, artists in Germany and Croatia work on related topics and using similar artistic techniques. Artistic accomplishments extend across borders by way of intercultural dialog without sacrificing individual expression."

The collaboration between the Goethe Institute and Roland Berger on these two projects in Croatia was seen as a success by all parties involved. Jutta Limbach, President of the Goethe Institute underlined the importance of this joint undertaking: "We are reaching out to the cultural and educational elite in Croatia along with all those interested in the arts and are forging a continuous connection with Germany and Europe."

The exhibition will be on display until December 30 in the Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb

If you have questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact us:

Nov 30, 2005

Language

English | German

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