DISASSEMBLE/ASSEMBLE/REASSEMBLE is a collaborative interdisciplinary project that critically considers various aspects of the museological practice at the Museum of Fine Arts, whilst at the same time providing the institutions of higher learning dealing with education in the fields of visual arts and art history with a unique opportunity for practical work with students.

Project participants:

Students of the painting Department at the Arts Academy Split: Dora Dumanić, Tihana Felić, Marta Grubišić, Wiktoria Jeka, Kim Mikasović, Toni Minigo, Leana Žitko

Students of the History of Art Department at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Split: Nada Dulčić, Antea Ivišić, Maja Karmelić, Ivana Katičić, Eni Pandža, Jolanda Pisac, Nikolina Skoko, Teuta Stančić, Tara Todorović, Ani Zović

Project coordinators: Jasminka Babić, museum advisor, director(GALUM); Full.Prof.Art (T) Viktor Popović; Full.Prof.Art Neli Ružić (UMAS); Assoc. Prof. Dr.Sc. Dalibor Prančević (FFST).

Mentors: Ass.Prof. Art Anita Miloš Tomaić, Full.Prof.Art(T) Viktor Popović, Assoc. Prof. Art. Vedran Perkov, Full.Prof.Art Neli Ružić (Arts Academy in Split); Associate Professor Dalibor Prančević, PhD (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences) collaborators: asist. Josip Šurlin, asist. Marieta Vulić

About the project:

Viewed from the perspective of the Museum of Fine Arts, the project emerged from the need for an open, dynamic, and critically interpreted reading of the narratives provided by the museum to both a professional and broader audience. These narratives are a consequence of the museum’s concrete history, its development, institutional management policies, and ultimately reflect the specific circumstances in the given environment and time of operation. This endeavour aims to move away from “safe” museological strategies and working methodologies that predominantly originate “from within” and may result in one-way communication and closed experimentation. On the other hand, through such a project, students and mentors from the Painting Department at the Arts Academy in Split and the Department of Art History at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Split, have the opportunity to apply new educational models that open up the possibility of creatively contemplating specific tasks/situations, diverging from traditional ex cathedra instruction or teaching in art classes. In doing so, they approach the museum as a highly specific case study that will yield new knowledge, skills, and creative possibilities. In the process, it also creates an opportunity for early networking with future colleagues and collaborators.

The first module of the project commenced in 2022 and had its exhibition presentation from January to March 2023. Four art interventions by the Arts Academy students were realised in the exhibition space housing the museum’s collection, featuring artworks created from the 14th century to the 1950s. These students freely responded to specific artworks, and the entire process was accompanied by art history students who provided interpretative texts. Last year, a second module was realised following a similar approach, involving eight students from the Arts Academy and as many as eleven art history students. This year’s third module introduces seven new artistic interventions, accompanied by texts written by ten art history students. Through in-depth collaboration with their mentors, the students explored interesting aspects of the exhibited works, offering contemporary interpretations of their themes, motifs, or formal elements in both thematic and media terms. Moreover, some works have become part of the building’s history, thereby adding another layer of temporal overlap present in today’s museum. The inclusion of otherwise inaccessible museum spaces this year highlights a broader interpretation of the museum and creates new opportunities for both participants and audiences to better understand the complex nature of such an institution.

Jasminka Babić