What happens when art stops being a museum exhibit and becomes a tool for understanding yourself? The art& project was born from the conviction that art can be much more than a beautiful object on a wall – it can be therapy, education, a bridge to others, a path to oneself.
Every year, art& explores a new dimension of artistic practice through an interdisciplinary approach that connects visual art with other areas of human experience. For the first year, I chose the theme “art & therapy,” inspired by the revolutionary book by Alain de Botton and John Armstrong titled Art as Therapy, which proposes that museums and galleries be reorganized according to emotions rather than historical periods.
Instead of galleries dedicated to Renaissance or contemporary art, imagine galleries of hope, memory, or growth. Instead of asking when something was created, let’s ask what it can do for us today. art& invites the discovery of art as a living, functional tool for better understanding our own psyche and the world around us.
I thank all the sponsors who made this project possible: DLightful Services, the Arts and Culture Network, and, first and foremost, the City of Split, whose support makes such visions possible.
Dora Derado Giljanović
The exhibition “art&therapy” was held at Studio 21 (Udruga za kulturu Beat) in Split, Croatia, from September 9 – 20, 2025.
Exhibiting artists:
Joko Bird/Joško Buljanović
Alma Čače
Karin Grenc
Tisja Kljaković Braić
Josip Mijić
Marina Otchuda Say Gynt
Dražen Pejković
The exhibition catalog is available at the following link:
