Soon we will see large red canvas crosses on Ilica

Artistic action by Aleksandar Battista Ilić as part of Project Ilica: Q'Art

Zagreb will remember this 2020 year. Unfortunately, not for good. In addition to the health, but also even deeper social and economic consequences that will be left by the corona virus pandemic, severe material and spiritual consequences for the city and its citizens left a devastating earthquake and finally a strong flood that destroyed many homes in the old town, and beyond. Zagreb is a wounded city, and the art action "Setting Red Crosses on Ilica", authored by artist Aleksandar Battista Ilić, wants to emphasize the extent of the wounding and trauma of citizens, calling for awareness, solidarity, but also responsibility for this situation and its far-reaching consequences.

Art action "Placing red crosses on Ilica"

Six red canvas crosses measuring 5 × 5 meters on the facades and gables of buildings on Ilica and British Square will be placed on September 3, and the author's goal is to motivate citizens to think about the depth and scale of the crisis for ten days, until September 13. , but also to activate in the direction of joint efforts for “healing” and a new, better start for the city at all levels.

Before us is a crossroads towards the future that we must choose for ourselves: Do we want the old core – the heart of the city, to be just a backdrop or do we want it to be full of life? This is the question that every citizen of Zagreb wants to ask himself.

The Ilica: Q'Art project will take place on September 12th and 13th

This artistic action is part of the Ilica: Q'Art Project, which has been dealing with this very topic since 2000, raising citizens' awareness of the neglect of the very heart of the city. The project is guided by the principle of inclusion, so it gathers the whole community around the central Zagreb street Ilica through the dynamics of Community Art – community art. Project Ilica: Q'Art will hold its September edition in two days . September 12 in the courtyard of the Academy of Fine Arts, and September 13 in Ilica itself.

About the author:

Aleksandar Battista Ilić is the initiator of the Ilica: Q'Art Project together with Ivana Nikolić Popović. Battista Ilić is a respected international contemporary artist, he has exhibited in the most important museums around the world such as MoMA in New York. He deals with collective art forms, Community Art, performance, multidisciplinary projects. Until recently, he was the dean of the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of Zagreb.