Meet the E-ROUTES residents, selected after the Open call for a one month residency stay with project partners from Italy, Croatia and Serbia as their hosts.
Kristina Pongrac (b. 1985, Croatia) is a multimedia artist, with a background in interior design and a Master’s degree in Applied Arts. As a freelance collaborator, she works with museums, tourist boards, educational institutions, and nature conservation organizations. She is a member of professional associations HDLU and HDLU Međimurje, as well as environmental organizations BIOM, the Speleological Society of Međimurje, and Rafting Club Koprivnica. For over 15 years, she has been active in the fields of culture, art, and ecology, organizing a wide range of ecological and creative workshops and multi-day programs for children and adults. Her work is deeply focused on local cultural and natural heritage. Her artworks enrich many public spaces, including the River Pathway in Čakovec, Planet of the Dump in Križovec, Framing and Undo-Retry-Delete near Sveta Marija, Red rock(et)s on the Fruga Art Trail on Rab Island, and Lonely Danger in Karlovac. She actively participates in eco-art residencies and exhibits in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the USA, China, Israel, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Serbia, Croatia, etc. Her work has been recognized in several international professional and scientific publications. Kristina lives and works by the protected Transboundary Biosphere Reserve Mura-Drava-Danube, known as the European Amazon.
Christoph Haase, a 25 years old French and German artist. His artistic practice is marked by its multidimensionality. He often blends various mediums and materials, creating installations that engage viewers both visually and conceptually. His work often addresses environmental concerns, societal issues, and the relationship between humans and nature. His research includes studies of human movement and analysis of vegetation. These themes are linked through the exploration of classical iconography, such as the roman and greek mythology. His pieces can evoke a range of emotions and thoughts, prompting contemplation about the interconnectedness of individuals, communities, and their environment. Haase’s art invites viewers to engage with the artwork on multiple levels, encouraging dialogue and reflection. Christoph will spend one month residency in Belgrade, Serbia, in June 2024.
Anja Bohnhof (*1974), trained as a photographer before going on to study Visual Communication & Fine Art at the Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany. Since 2004 she has been working freelance as a photographer and visual artist. From 2006 – 2014 she was a lecturer in photography & editorial practices at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences. Her work has been exhibited internationally and she has received numerous grants and awards. Additionally, she has published a number of books documenting her work. Since 2009 she has completed many book- and exhibition projects about India, for example the long-term project “Tracking Gandhi” (2014-2019) on the footsteps on M. Gandhi. In 2015 she received the Gisela Bonn-Award from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi for her work about India—in recognition of her significant contribution towards the deepening of Indo-German relations. Anja will spend one month residency in Belgrade, in June 2024.
Hertha Miessner belongs to the generation of artists who switched from painting to the medium of photography and new media. “Cardinal red, piles of fabric shimmering velvet and crackling silk, an alternation of light and shadow” – Hertha Miessner creates digital images that are like old master paintings. However, the baroque opulence is one with perfect virtual illusion created using photographic means: the deceptive aesthetics of the digital image world is therefore the theme in the artistic work by her. On her travels to international residencies (e.g. China, India, Mexico, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Italy) she has developed installations and serial projects using a wide variety of media. Hertha will spend one month residency in Naples, Italy, in 2024.
Radmila Marčić was born on July 3, 1970, in Vladičin Han, where she finished elementary school and high school in Vranje. She is a master historian by profession from the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. She worked as a history teacher in elementary schools and as a journalist for the online magazine La Vie en Rose. In recent years, she has been researching the Armenian ethnic group and she is the founder of the Center for Language and Culture of Armenians in Serbia and the Balkans of Moskopola. Radmila was the author of the exhibition “Notable Vranje Families of Aromanian Origin.” The exhibition was held in the gallery of the House of Culture in Vranje from August 19 to September 3, 2021. Also, she completed the master’s course Holocaust and other genocides. The experience of Southeast Europe and the course III: Historiography and the Holocaust. She also completed the course on feminism with a certificate from the TPO Foundation in Sarajevo. Radmila successfully attended the international seminar in Šabac on August 20–24, 2023. We learn from the past; we act for the future, by teaching, about the Holocaust, and human rights. Radmila will spend one month residency in Croatia in 2024.
