art residency at The Evangelical Theological Seminary (ETS) in Osijek, Croatia, January 7 - April 7 2025;

‘Imaginalia and Other Worlds’ marks the conclusion of the exhibition ‘Renascence of Imaginalia’, which opened on October 23, 2024, and the completion of the art residency organized in collaboration with the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek, Croatia.

During the residency, I worked with two students who had not previously taken professional drawing courses, both to see how I approach teaching, and to help them quickly build a foundation in drawing, so that we could ultimately discuss their technical progress.

Since it is a theological institute, I had the opportunity to interact with undergraduate and graduate students, who shared various theological ideas with me—ideas that have already influenced my art—and this only helped me understand even more how theology and art intertwine in such a beautiful way. It was a synergy between artistic and theological perspectives that I hadn’t fully anticipated. As a visual artist, I’ve always had reservations about how I could represent these existential ideas in a way that allows my faith and my artistic vision to complement each other, rather than contradict one another, and this residency helped me get closer to that goal. For this, I am very grateful.

Through this program, I also had the chance to connect with the Christian community in Osijek, and to interact with the seminary students, being able to experience firsthand the needs of the Christian community, as well as its complex and resilient history.

The art scene in Osijek was also introduced to me through various events, such as local workshops, art exhibitions, musical evenings, collaboration with a student from the University of Arts, and interaction with some of its faculty members.

The program concluded with an evening of poetry, music, a showcase of my students’ progress, and the presentation of the three works of art that I created during the residency.