International Art-Scientific Conference “Community-Engaged Learning (CEL): Art and Social Connection”, Academy of Applied Arts, University in Rijeka

International Art-Scientific Conference
“Community-Engaged Learning (CEL): Art and Social Connection”

April 29 and 30, 2025.

Organized by the Department of Fine Arts, Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka, the Academy will host the international conference “Community-Engaged Learning (CEL): Art and Social Connection” on April 29 and 30, 2025.

The conference promotes contemporary approaches to art education that recognize students as active (co)creators of social change and common good. This approach forms the foundation for improving the Fine Arts Pedagogy program through the application of the CEL method and active engagement in social reality. The method connects theoretical and practical teaching with concrete community challenges, encouraging teamwork and social activism.

Furthermore, the conference aims to establish long-term cooperation among cultural and educational professionals for ongoing knowledge exchange and enhancement of teaching practices.

The Academy systematically encourages the integration of socially engaged artistic activity into its programs, developing education aligned with the challenges of contemporary society.

Participants:

  • Luka Jelušić, Sweden, Design Lecturer in the Wood-Focused Furniture Design Program, HDK-Valand Campus Steneby, University of Gothenburg
  • Tajana Reznić Brenko, Croatia, Croatian Language and Literature Teacher, currently PhD candidate in Transdisciplinary Studies of Contemporary Art and Media at the Faculty of Media and Communications, Belgrade
  • Kristina Borg, Malta, independent visual and socially engaged artist, visual arts educator/lecturer
  • Milena Živković, Montenegro, independent visual and socially engaged artist
  • Željka Modrić Surina, Rijeka, Senior Curator, Natural History Museum Rijeka
  • Marin Nižić, Rijeka, Urban Separe Association, Assistant at the Department of Applied Arts, APURI
  • Damir Herega, Rijeka, Association of Hard of Hearing and Deaf of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County
  • Monia Ambrić, Rijeka, Fifth Ensemble of the Croatian National Theatre
  • Collective Igralke, Rijeka, Artistic Theatre Collective (Sendi Bakotić, Ana Marija Brđanović, Anja Sabol, and Vanda Velagić)
  • Prof. art. Nadija Mustapić, Department of Fine Arts, APURI
  • Prof. art. Igor Eškinja, Department of Fine Arts, APURI
  • Prof. art. Letricija Linardić, Department of Fine Arts, APURI
  • Assoc. prof. art. Darija Žmak Kunić, Department of Fine Arts, APURI
  • Assoc. prof. dr. art. Celestina Vičević, Department of Fine Arts, APURI
  • Assoc. prof. dr. sc. Katarina Rukavina, Department of Fine Arts, APURI
  • Assoc. prof. art. Sanjin Kunić, Department of Applied Arts, APURI
  • Assist. prof. art. Damir Bralić, Department of Applied Arts, APURI
  • Senior Lecturer Mila Čuljak, Department of Performing Arts, APURI
  • Anja Sobol, Assistant at the Department of Performing Arts, APURI

PROGRAM:

Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Academy of Applied Arts – Lecture Hall A-210, Graphic Corridor and APU Gallery (catering and break area)

  • 09:00 – 10:00 – Warm-up
    Yoga in everyday life: harmony of body, mind, and soul – Assoc. prof. dr. art. Celestina Vičević
  • 10:00 – 10:15 – Conference Opening
    • Opening of the art-scientific conference (5 min – Dean prof. mr. art. Hrvoje Urumović)
    • Brief remarks on the importance of implementing CEL in the APU study programs (5 min – Vice Dean Assoc. prof. mr. art. Alan Alebić)
    • Brief introduction to the program and participants (5 min – Assoc. prof. mr. art. Darija Žmak Kunić)
  • 10:30 – 13:40 – Contemporary Art and (Co)Creating Community: Examples of Good Practice
    • 10:30 – 10:40 – Moderator: Nadija Mustapić – short theoretical-discursive segment on art and social change (10 min)
    • 10:40 – 11:25 – Monia Ambrić and Mila Čuljak: “FIFTH ENSEMBLE: Neurodiversity in Our Theatre,” presentation 35 min + 10 min Q&A
    • 11:25 – 12:10 – Anja Sabol and Vanda Velagić (Croatia): “Artistic Organization Collective Igralke,” presentation 35 min + 10 min Q&A
    • 12:10 – 12:55 – Kristina Borg (Malta): “Batman Gżirjan: Guerrilla Art and Community Engagement in Malta,” presentation 35 min + 10 min Q&A
    • 12:55 – 13:40 – Marin Nižić (Croatia): “Building Narratives,” presentation 35 min + 10 min Q&A
  • 13:40 – 14:25 – Milena Živković (Montenegro): “Projects Mental Ecology and Discipline of Imagination,” presentation 25 min + screening of Milena Živković’s short experimental film: “7 Minutes of Pure Path” (9 min) + 10 min Q&A
  • 14:30 – 15:20 – Break and catering in the Academy hall
  • 15:30 – 17:05 – Workshop for Students
    Milena Živković (Montenegro): “Mental Ecology – Social Sculpture” – 1 hour 35 min

Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Academy of Applied Arts – Lecture Hall A-210, Graphic Corridor and APU Gallery (catering and break area)

  • 09:00 – 10:00 – Warm-up
    Yoga in everyday life: harmony of body, mind, and soul – Assoc. prof. art. Celestina Vičević
  • 10:00 – 11:00 – Tajana Reznić Brenko (Croatia): “Transdisciplinary Approach to Learning as a Dialogical Space for Individual and Social Transformation: Towards Balance and Integration of Mind, Emotions, and Body,” presentation 45 min + 10 min Q&A
  • 11:00 – 11:45 – Luka Jelušić (Sweden): “Design-Build: A Tool for Community Development,” presentation 35 min + 10 min Q&A
  • 11:50 – 14:10 – CEL in Teaching at APURI – Examples of Good Practice
    (20 min presentations + 10 min Q&A at the end of the session)
    • 11:50 – 12:00 – Moderator: Darija Žmak Kunić – short segment on the relevance of CEL in art education
    • 12:00 – 12:20 – Željka Modrić Surina, Sanjin Kunić, and Darija Žmak Kunić: “New Life of the Centuries-Old Stone Pine”
    • 12:20 – 12:40 – Igor Eškinja: “Under the Banner of Displacement”
    • 12:40 – 13:00 – Damir Bralić: “Learning Useful Design”
    • 13:00 – 13:20 – Letricija Linardić and Damir Herega: “With the Wind Through Silence”
    • 13:20 – 14:00 – Nadija Mustapić and Katarina Rukavina: “Interactive Art in the Public Sphere: Discourses and Techniques – Presentation of Book and Student Works,” 40 min
  • 14:00 – 14:10 – Q&A session (until 14:10)
  • 14:10 – 15:30 – Break and catering in the Academy hall

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE:

  • Assoc. prof. art. Darija Žmak Kunić (Chair)
  • Assoc. prof. dr. art. Celestina Vičević (Head of the Department of Fine Arts)
  • Prof. art. Nadija Mustapić
  • Assoc. prof. dr. sc. Katarina Rukavina
  • Assoc. prof. art. Sanjin Kunić
  • Sarah Klešin, Master’s Student in Fine Arts Pedagogy

PROGRAM COMMITTEE:

  • Prof. art. Nadija Mustapić, APURI
  • Assoc. prof. art. Darija Žmak Kunić, APURI
  • Željka Modrić Surina, Director, Natural History Museum Rijeka

More: APURI, APURI,