Million 4 Art

What is Million 4 Art?

Million 4 Art (M4A) is an experimental project that is being realized within the scope of European Art App program co-financed by Creative Europe and the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia. The experimental project Million 4 Art is a collaboration between visual artist Danijel Žeželj, producers Tena Bošnjaković and Ivan Mrdjen (Spotlight) and Cultural Organization NIIT. The aim of this experimental project was to design and test new models, ie ways of financing art through the use of 21st century technology and connecting it with art.

Concept

The concept and methodology of this experimental project relies on and uses the possibilities provided by the Internet and blockchain technology. In the first phase of the project, we want to motivate people around the world to express their loyalty to art, encourage them to intervene and create the most massive visual artwork of today. In the second phase of the project, a GIF called “(in)Visible City” will be created, which will unite the visual work of Danijel Žeželj and the intervention of audiences around the world. The GIF will be used to create NFT via blockchain technology. "(In)Visible City" will thus go down in history and forever mark the collaboration of Danijel Žeželj with audiences and art lovers around the world.

How does it work?

M4A invites the general public to express loyalty to art with the possibility of intervening in the work “Invisible City” of visual artist Danijel Žeželj. Audiences, artists, cultural institutions and organizations around the world have the opportunity to as well donate and therefore directly support art. The whole process works through 3 easy steps: 1) every user creates their own account, 2) users then select available pixels in which they place selected works (the format should be .jpeg, .png or .gif), 3) users place the artwork within the pixels and wait for its approval, 4) optional donation can be made via PayPal. With this approach, the audience directly becomes part of the artwork, in this case part of the future GIF "(in)Visible City".

(in)Visible City intervention

"(in)Visible City" is original work of Danijel Žeželj, who finds distant inspiration in the book by Italo Calvino "(in)Visible Cities". We want to encourage users to use their own portraits as interventions to fill the free pixels and thus give their obol to the final product in the form of a GIF. Of course, everyone has complete freedom when intervening through their own works and these do not necessarily have to be portraits. For example, art organizations can place their logo, theaters a photo of their building, production or stage, and artists their artwork. There are two restrictions: 1) pornography is not allowed; 2) you must use only works that you have sole rights to use.

Donations

Optional donations are made through Paypal via in-site interface. Collected funds will be allocated as follows:

60% of funds directly to artists collaborating in this project and to culture through open public calls and tenders intended for the independent cultural scene;
15% of funds for operational costs of the Million 4 Art project (PR, marketing, web, NFT minting, etc.);
25% for further development of the concept and methodology that enables and encourages direct support to artists and art development in the context of the use of 21st century technologies.

Who’s who

Danijel Žeželj is a comic book author, painter, animator and illustrator. He has published comics and illustrations in Europe, North, Central and South America, Asia and Africa. He has published in magazines and with publishers Marvel Comics, DC Comics / Vertigo, Dark Horse, Image, Heavy Metal, The New York Times, Harper's Magazine, Dargaud, Glénat, Grifo Edizioni, Eris Edizioni, etc. He is the author of twenty-five comic book albums and seven animated movies. Since 1997, he has achieved a series of multimedia performances that combine live painting, animation and live music into a unique narrative form. Performances have been performed in Europe and the United States. He is one of the founders of the Petikat art workshop. For more information: www.dzezelj.com

Tena Bošnjaković is a graduated dramaturg. She directed 2 short films and collaborated as a dramaturg on realization of several theater plays and dance performances. Her first EU project was „VIDEO/NEXT“ from 2011-2012 which was recognized as one of the best Youth in action projects. Since 2012 she has been working in the field of production, through work for the Croatian Institute of Movement and Dance where she gained know-how in the implementation of Creative Europe projects which she continued to develop with other organizations and Universities in Croatia. In 2017 she co-founded company Spotlight with colleague Ivan Mrdjen.
Spotlight established itself by providing and taking care of full production and management aspects for various artistic organizations (Croatian Institute for Movement and Dance, Studio Dance Company, De Facto, 21:21, Croatian Dance Network, P137, ON/A etc.) as well as their activities throughout the year (production of domestic and international festivals, theatre performances, distribution of theatre performances, realization of small scale and large scale projects etc.). Occasionally, Spotlight is hired by artists, private companies and startups to complete various tasks, projects and solve problems. Spotlight also realizes its own projects and in co-production with other companies in the field of culture, media and entertainment. These projects are mostly connected and interact with the technology of 21st century such as VR (Virtual Reality). For more information: linkedin.com/in/tena-bosnjakovic-76b93895/

Ivan Mrdjen is a graduate producer with many years of experience in the field of performing arts and multimedia projects. He has been gaining experience since 2010 through the realization of a series of festivals (Performance Studies International, Dance Week Festival, Dance Inn), production management of the performance space for the independent dance scene (Zagreb Dance Center from 2012-2016), management of EU funded projects (16 projects) and other various small scale projects. In 2017 he co-founded company Spotlight.
Spotlight established itself by providing and taking care of full production and management aspects for various artistic organizations (Croatian Institute for Movement and Dance, Studio Dance Company, De Facto, 21:21, Croatian Dance Network, P137, ON/A etc.) as well as their activities throughout the year (production of domestic and international festivals, theatre performances, distribution of theatre performances, realization of small scale and large scale projects etc.). Occasionally, Spotlight is hired by artists, private companies and startups to complete various tasks, projects and solve problems. Spotlight also realizes its own projects and in co-production with other companies in the field of culture, media and entertainment. These projects are mostly connected and interact with the technology of 21st century such as VR (Virtual Reality). For more information: linkedin.com/in/ivan-helsing-mrdjen

Cultural organization NIIT is a non-for profit organization which works in the field of culture. It was established in 2016 by Nina Kunek, Tena Bosnjakovic and Ivan Mrdjen. Throughout the years the organization supported several small scale educational and cultural projects in Croatia.