Location: KBC Split

Date: April 1 – December 31, 2025

ART IN THE HOSPITAL: Four Years of the Zoja Dumengjić Gallery at KBC Split

The Zoja Dumengjić Gallery is a unique project that explores new ways of engaging audiences while examining the role of art within the healthcare system and its contribution to well-being. Named in honor of architect Zoja Dumengjić, whose landmark work includes the design of the Split hospital in 1951, the gallery is a joint project of the Croatian Association of Visual Artists Split and the Clinical Hospital Center Split. The initiative originated from the 41st Split Salon, "Not Entirely Lost to One Another", curated by Ivana Meštrov in collaboration with Ana Janevski.

The gallery program primarily caters to patients, hospital staff, visitors, and other users of KBC Split. In addition to exhibitions, it includes art therapy workshops, artistic research, and accompanying discussions.

The program began in 2022 with the exhibition "Retropolis II: Our Health Is in Our Hands" by Stella Leboš, Luana Lojić, Maja Marković, and Sonja Leboš, inspired by Zoja Dumengjić's architectural work. That same year, the gallery featured EMOJI SCANNER 2.0 by Vitar Drinković, Untitled (Omiš Archive: Health Center) by Viktor Popović, ZRNO-19 by Duška Boban, Untitled by Dino Bićanić, and Equilibrium by Palmina Roglić.

In 2023, the gallery hosted "Small Graces" by Kristina Restović and State of Paper by Maja Marković, while Neli Ružić presented the artistic intervention Repairing Time. Matej Knežević delivered a lecture and exhibited the work "Perfect Behaviours".

In 2024, artistic interventions focused on enhancing the hospital interior. Ana Elizabet installed photographs of the sky and potted plants, while Marieta Vulić enriched the psychiatric ward with As of Tonight, No More Troubles and participated in a horticultural planting action as part of the 42nd Split Salon. Ivana Pipal exhibited the drawing series States on the hospital wall, and the program concluded with an animation workshop for children led by Katrin Novaković.

Many of the artistic interventions within the Zoja Dumengjić Gallery remain permanently displayed, forming an evolving collection that continues to grow and enrich the hospital space. Over time, the gallery establishes a lasting platform for interaction between contemporary art and hospital life.

PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT FOR 2025

The 2025 program will focus on artistic research and the intersection of medicine and art. The research segment will be led by experts Ivana Meštrov, Sonja Leboš, and Dalibor Prančević, aiming to publish a book documenting the gallery's artistic practices and analyzing other significant examples of art integration in medical institutions. This publication will provide both the public and professionals with a deeper understanding of the connection between art, architecture, and health.

The artistic segment will feature works by three renowned Croatian artists – Nina Bačun, Gloria Lizde, and Sandra Sterle. Their interventions within the hospital space will explore themes of identity, care, and emotional well-being.