Eco-Transversal Remapping of Northern Adriatic Avant-Gardes

The ADRIATIC AVANT-GARDE project addresses the need to reframe cultural and artistic narratives in response to the ongoing ecological crisis, with a focus on underrepresented avant-garde art in the Northern Adriatic (Italy, Slovenia, Croatia). While traditional studies have emphasized major Western European cities, this project highlights the innovative contributions of peripheral regions. By integrating avant-garde art into environmental humanities through ecocritical and ecofeminist perspectives, it examines the relationship between art, nature, and ecological discourse. Using digital humanities tools, including spatial humanities and data visualization, the project will create an interactive map tracing eco-narratives across historical avant-garde, neo-avant-garde, and contemporary artistic practices in the Adriatic. 

Central to the project’s objectives is the creation of an eco-aesthetic framework, applicable to broader research contexts, integrating spatial and material dimensions into avant-garde art studies. This interdisciplinary research contributes to both academic discourse and public engagement, emphasizing the societal and epistemological value of art in promoting environmental awareness. 

The project is carried out in collaboration with the University of Graz (Department of Slavic Studies, The Field of Excellence Dimensions of Europe). 

Advisory board: 

• Dr. Andreja Hribernik, Curator and Director, Kunsthaus Graz
• Dr. Oto Luthar, Historian and Director, ZRC SAZU
• Dr. Tatjana Petzer, Professor of Slavic Literary and Cultural Studies, University of Graz
• Dr. Chiara Zuanni, Professor of Digital Cultures and Digital Humanities, University of Continuing Education Krems

Funded by the “European Union – NextGenerationEU” within the framework of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, Investment “(Co)financing projects to enhance the international mobility of Slovenian researchers and research organisations and to promote the international involvement of Slovenian applicants.”

Project funds awarded: 71.910,00 EUR.