More than 200 applications from different parts of the world were submitted to the international residency programme developed within Meeting Point and Museum of the Commons. Following the selection process, Giacomo Zaganelli was chosen as the resident artist whose practice most strongly resonated with the values and direction of the programme.
Working at the intersection of art, public space, and collective engagement, Zaganelli has developed long-term projects rooted in encounters, attention to local contexts, and the activation of often overlooked spaces and relationships. His practice closely aligns with Meeting Point’s understanding of the museum as a living space of exchange, as well as with the themes of Museum of the Commons, which explores shared resources, the climate crisis, and forms of collective action.
We were particularly drawn to his approach of making simple gestures, temporary interventions and participatory situations that open up new ways of seeing communities and environments — precisely the kind of process this residency seeks to encourage within the context of New Zagreb and the surroundings of the Museum of Contemporary Art.
https://www.giacomozaganelli.com/
The project Museum of the Commons is engaged in key challenges of contemporary societies; the emphasis of the residency programme is placed on climate crisis, shared resources, and the role of the museum as an organisation built into local social and environmental ecosystems. With climate as the starting point – not only as an environmental, but also as a social and spatial relation, the residency explores as to how artistic practices can open up space for different forms of care, responsibility, and joint action.
Since 2021, through the project Meeting Point, the Museum of Contemporary explores as to how the museum can be a lively place of meeting and joint action, as well as an actor that intertwines with the city, establishes relations and makes contact with different communities, and not only an edifice or an exhibition venue. Since 2026, the project builds on Museum Garden / Edible Museum, the artistic and permacultural project by Andreja Kulunčić, developed in collaboration with the community in 2025.
We would like to thank all artists for their applications, trust, and inspiring ideas, and we look forward to the collaboration and the new meeting points that will emerge during the autumn residency in Zagreb.
