The Miroslav Kraljević Gallery fosters artistic and intellectual practices that critically question the present, especially relations between politics and aesthetics.
Although according to its address the gallery belongs to Šubićeva Street, it is entered from Martićeva Street, and located in the basement of the INA-Naftaplin company building. What is more, GMK was established in 1986 as part of INA’s culture and art society, with the original purpose of representing works of artists-amateurs who work for the company, but also of established Yugoslav artists. The concept of the gallery’s programme was based on the idea that the workers also need to participate in the creation of culture, and not just in its consumption. In the meantime, GMK redirected its focus to various aspects of contemporary art. Besides the exhibition programme, the curator team, together with various associates, organises a residential programme for artists from abroad, diverse workshops and lectures, and public calls for the production of the new art. The gallery also boasts a publishing programme and numerous minor online projects.
The long-time head of GMK was art historian and curator Branko Franceschi, during whose term the gallery became one of the most significant exhibition spaces in Croatia, gaining a relevant international reputation. In 2004, he was succeeded by Antonia Majača, together with the gallery’s newly established expert council, and in 2012 the title of Gallery Head was taken over by Ana Kovačić, in cooperation with the curators Sanja Sekelj and Lea Vene. In their own words, the curator team is interested in “artistic and intellectual practices that analytically and critically question the present, especially relations between politics and aesthetics”.