Gallery Šira
Preradovićeva 13, HR – 10000 Zagreb
By implementing the annual exhibition program of the Wider Gallery, the Academy of Fine Arts of the University of Zagreb presents the artistic production of its students, as well as students of partner institutions, to the general public in an institutional way, in the form of its first gallery since the founding of the Academy in 1907. Through the Gallery, the Academy invites primarily the student population in a broader sense, students of secondary art schools, tourists and citizens of the City of Zagreb to attend openings, visit exhibitions, participate in workshops, forums, lectures and screenings, which are mostly open.
As part of the annual program, the Šira Gallery, since 2016, when it was opened, has been presenting exhibitions of various profiles, from solo, group, exhibitions created as part of international and inter-university cooperation, as part of the festival program, and the like. Since its establishment, more than a hundred exhibitions have been realized in the Gallery, which represents a high production level of the exhibition program. At each exhibition opening, the Gallery is visited by about a hundred people, and as many more come to the exhibition in the days after the opening. For some time now, we have also been working on increasing the visibility of the gallery in the sense that in 2021 a new, more modern website was created, the Facebook page of the gallery is regularly filled with content, a new gallery inscription on the façade has been created in accordance with the former original, and targeted efforts are being made to enrich the accompanying part of the program.
Each student-exhibitor is obliged to hold an artist talk with the artist, socializing of students in the gallery is encouraged, organization of thematic workshops, forums, film screenings, lectures, etc. In addition, the students of the Academy of Fine Arts who guard the exhibition set-up are invited to actively participate in the creation of the accompanying part of the program. Each opening of the exhibition is announced through social networks, the websites of the Academy and the Šira Gallery, extensive mailing lists are sent to all employees and students of the Academy, the media, faculties, and lately part of the rich exhibition program of the gallery has been broadcast through radio and television shows.
Of the collaborations, we would like to highlight the one with the Faculty of Textile Technology, the Natural History and Archaeological Museum, the cooperation with the Croatian Association of Artists, the Museum of Fine Arts in Split and the High School of Applied Arts and Design in Zagreb.