Ana Hušman / Workbook: Pustijerna

On October 22, 2024, at 7 PM, the exhibition Workbook: Pustijerna by multimedia artist Ana Hušman will open at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMSU).

The exhibition is the result of research on Dubrovnik’s Pustijerna site, which is unique in that it has been left out of the city’s infrastructural development and tourist repurposing, despite being located within the city walls. Approaching it as a kind of urban phenomenon, the site was taken as a pilot project to consider the possibilities of a gentle urban transformation, something that is nearly absent today. We are used to seeing new shopping centers and residential buildings spring up overnight on what was yesterday a neglected plot, with little thought for creating a pleasant and thoughtful environment for residents. Imagining a future that focuses on community and cares for its social and cultural dynamics raises the question: what kind of urban landscape should we advocate for? In a time when cities are becoming places of rapid consumption, equally susceptible to the economy of quick profit, Pustijerna addresses issues of housing, neighborhood, regulation, and control of movement, focusing on those for whom such a city was not designed – the ordinary residents.

The exhibition consists of material from this research presented as an ambient installation, where the very structure of the collage display on wooden screens suggests openness and fragility. Along with an abundance of photographic and documentary material, the project also includes an artist’s book and nine editions of a fanzine, which can be understood as a foundation for collecting both everyday experiences and theoretical knowledge about the culture of living and raising awareness of the need for community.

The exhibition is curated by Ivana Meštrov, a member of the wider authorial team, which includes the artist Ana Hušman, Ana Labudović, Dubravka Sekulić, Nikola Bojić, and Marko Tadić. Partner organizations in the project are Irena Bekić and Prozori Gallery, as well as ARL Dubrovnik with Srđan Cvijetić.

The Rijeka exhibition is the third presentation of a project that began in 2019 as an attempt to imagine alternative ways of managing resources and living.

The exhibition is open until November 22, 2024.

Biography

Ana Hušman’s artistic practice deconstructs the structures and textures of cinematic elements through diverse mediums such as film, installation, books, sound, image, and text. She explores the boundaries of animation, documentary, and fictional methods, focusing on the possibilities of recorded voice and its articulation. Her work often questions the roles of amateurism and professionalism in performance, the medium itself, and the structures that shape and produce behavioral patterns.

Hušman is a lecturer at the Department of Animation and New Media at the Academy of Fine Art in Zagreb. She is also a co-founder of the documentary film organization RESTART, where she has been leading film education programs for children and young people for many years.

Her work has been presented at numerous festivals and exhibitions, including the 9th Gwangju Biennale, the 53rd October Salon in Belgrade, Medienturm Gallery in Graz, Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Arts in Budapest, “lucy” bodig & ART ON STAGE in Istanbul, Stuttgarter Filmwinter, International Film Festival Rotterdam, 25 fps in Zagreb, and DOK Leipzig.