Melinda Šefčić

She was born in 1986. In 2006, she enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb, majoring in painting. She graduated in 2012 in the class of red. prof. art. Zoltan Novak, and in 2018 she received her doctorate at the Academy of Fine Arts on the topic "Rehumanization and re-aestheticization of hospital space - an example of an artistic solution of a hospital department", under the mentorship of red. prof. art. Svjetlan Junakovića and red. prof. dr. sc. Vera Turković.

Her artistic and research activities are focused on the connection between art and socially sensitive spaces such as hospitals and penal institutions. Through projects of aestheticization and rehumanization of public spaces, she explores the role of art in improving the quality of life of the community. Since 2020, she has been a lecturer of the elective course "Aestheticization of Public Space through Art" at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. Also, from 2019 to 2023, she was an external associate on the course Illustration 1 and 2 at the Department of Graphic Arts of the Academy.

Melinda Šefčić is active in art associations and organizations. She is a long-time member of the Croatian Association of Fine Artists (HDLU) and the Croatian Association of Independent Artists (HZSU). Through projects such as "Healing Nature", "Equality of Creativity" and "Colors of Reality", she promotes the integration of art in prison, hospital and urban spaces.

As part of her work, she has realized numerous art projects and solo exhibitions, of which "Fragmentation" (2024, Karas Gallery, Zagreb) and "Introspection" (2019, Dr. Vinko Perčić Gallery, Subotica) stand out. Her works have been shown at painting biennials, group exhibitions and international festivals in Croatia and abroad.

Through many years of work, she has combined artistic practice with interdisciplinary research, and thus contributed to the promotion of art as a means of positive transformation of space and society.

Publications:

Equality of creativity (2023/2024) – Project catalogue available at the link.

Colors of Reality (2022/2023) – Project catalog available at the link.

Freedom to Create (2021/2022) – Project catalogue available at the link.

Arts of Freedom

Author and leader of the EU project under the auspices of AMPEU.

Link to the project.

Assoc. Prof. dr. art. Melinda Šefčić is dedicated to researching the impact of art on public and institutional spaces with an emphasis on the aestheticization and rehumanization of prison and hospital spaces. Her research combines artistic practice and scientific analysis, exploring how visual arts, murals and animation can improve the quality of living environments and contribute to the well-being of the communities that use these spaces.

A special interest is focused on interdisciplinary research that connects art, psychology, architecture and public health. As part of her doctoral research, she analyzed the possibilities of artistic solutions of hospital wards in order to reduce the stressful experiences of patients and improve the perception of space. Furthermore, her research on the role of art in prisons, through projects such as "Horizon of Freedom" and "Exemplary Penitentiary", studies how murals and participatory art interventions can positively affect the psyche of prisoners and employees and contribute to the process of resocialization.

As part of the European project "Healing Nature – Animation for Health and Well-being in Children Hospital Environments", she explores how animation and digital art can create a more comfortable and stimulating environment for hospitalized children. Through this project, together with partners from Portugal and Bulgaria, she conducts evaluation research to determine the real psychological and emotional impact of such artistic interventions.

Her research practice is based on empirical data collection, interviews, surveys and analyses of the perception of space before and after the implementation of artistic interventions. Also, an important segment of her work is the development of methodologies for the evaluation of the long-term effects of art in public institutions, in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and European cultural policies.

Through her projects and research, she continuously explores how art can be a tool for positive social change, creating sensory richer, more emotionally stimulating and humanized environments for users of hospital and prison systems, but also for the general public.

Art in public space shapes the visual identity of the community, enriches the urban landscape and encourages social dialogue. Students will explore the historical development and contemporary tendencies of art in public space, analyze examples from Croatia and the world, and acquire interdisciplinary knowledge necessary to design and perform their own artistic interventions in different contexts.

Works in public space:

– Colorful Hospital, mural as part of the "Colorful Hospital" project, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Rebro Hospital, Zagreb

– Happy Zebra, KUC Travno, project Grass in Color, Zagreb

– Šareni kuc, KUC Travno, Zagreb

– We are all special – 7th Biennial of Painting, HDLU House, Zagreb

– We are all the same, mural in the Penitentiary in Lepoglava, as part of the project "Colors of Reality", Lepoglava

Exhibitions:

– Fragmentation, Karas Gallery, Zagreb

2021 – 6th Biennial of Painting, Meštrović Pavilion, Zagreb

– Mirror of my Soul,– Theater aan het Vrijthof, TEFAF festival, Maastricht (Netherlands)

– Mirror identity, Gallery PRZYTYCK, Tarnowskie Góry Cultural Centre, Tarnowskie Góry (Poland).

7. Whites of Painting (2023). Meštrović Pavilion. Zagreb, Croatia.