The project started in New York in May 2005, with interviews, questionnaires and the round table, (organized by gallery Art in General, NY, project assistant Ivo Martinovic). It continued in Rijeka (Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, November 2005) and Zagreb (Gallery Nova, May 2006), and it will (hopefully) go on with publishing of guidebook for the unacquainted to New York art scene, based on popular black and yellow series of guidebooks "... for Dummies".

The project is exploring and comparing modes of operation of two art scenes:
the New York one, which we often accept without critical reflection and idealize as the "center" of contemporary art, and Croatian art scene that we live on daily basis, and also rarely subject to unbiased analysis.

Potential transformation of Croatian art scene is in public eye either tied to development of the art market, and as a consequence the ("American") model of liberal capitalism is selected as inevitable and desirable, or the ideal becomes the ("Western-European") model of the State/City budget support.

The project is dealing with questioning and gathering information on the "American model", less known in Croatia. The space set-up of the project explores New York art scene through three focal points:

• interviews with New York curators, artists, art dealers, gallery owners, editors, etc., as well as with Croatian artists and curators that stayed in New York;
• questionnaires on New York art scene that were filled in New York, and questionnaires on Croatian art scene that were filled in Rijeka and Zagreb.
• round table organized in New York, with a topic of relationship between New York as the canter of power and the smaller artistic scenes, such as Croatian one.

Due to the insufficient budget support, the book is still unpublished!
If you have any good idea or are willing to help in publishing, do not hesitate and contact me at: andreja.kuluncic@zg.t-com.hr

RESEARCH FOR THE DUMMIES GUIDE >