Branka Cvjetičanin

Contact: branka.cvjeticanin@rijeka2020.eu

Growing up reading comic books and sci-fi has greatly impacted her perception of reality. She figured out back then that she had supernatural powers. Strong women shaped her will, she directed her life by pushing her way through dystopian worlds, and she concluded that love, knowledge and art are the only position of power.

She focused her efforts on combining the seemingly incompatible concepts of site-specific theatre direction, contemporary motion and visual arts with anthropological research (MAPA Amsterdam, “Oerol” Terschelling), cultural tourism back when it wasn’t a thing (Faculty of Economy, University of Zagreb), environmental protection and indigenous seed conservation (Zelena akcija), cultural policies and project management (Foundation Marcel Hichter, Brussels), and earned her PhD from Bauhaus Kollege, Dessau in 2006 by researching UN Urbanism in post-war zones of Kabul and Mostar.

As she acquired knowledge and experience, she produced art on the national and international scene. She dedicated her work to rural and post-industrial communities that typically suffer from an absence of art and culture.

In 2003, Branka brought “Lights for East Europe” to Rijeka. It was her first international project from which an entire generation of exceptional artists stemmed. In January 2016, she joined the City of Rijeka’s Kamov Residency Programme for artists during which she created “City of Rijeka – Capital of Croatia, Hong Kong of Europe”. We all know what happened just a few months later.

She replaced Zagreb, New York and Berlin with Rijeka, which she felt was a combination of comics and science fiction from the very beginning.