The ninth edition of the contemporary art festival in public spaces, running from August 20 to 30, brings seven artistic interventions to seven locations in the city center.
From August 20 to 30, 2026, Zagreb will once again become the stage for the Okolo Festival, which transforms the city center into an open-air gallery of contemporary art. At seven locations, from the squares of the Green Horseshoe to the entrance of the Grič Tunnel, new artistic interventions created for specific spaces will invite passersby to pause and experience Zagreb beyond its functional everydayness.
This year's edition starts from the question of what makes a city a city-whether it is streets, squares, and facades, or people, encounters, and daily habits. Through two thematic programs, The City as an Emotional Network and Layers of Memory, the festival explores the invisible, emotional dimension of urban space.
The program The City as an Emotional Network, curated by Tena Bakšaj, brings together six artists who, through installations, textile works, and participatory processes, open up different perspectives on Zagreb. Ana Kovačić questions how personal memories and everyday life shape our experience of the city and sense of belonging, while Apolonija Lučić temporarily transforms public space into a place of intimacy, tenderness, and rest.
Alba Miočev and Josipa Tadić, using an interactive installation, encourage visitors to actively engage with the surrounding space. Ana Ratković Sobota, using a tapestry made of discarded plastic bags, turns everyday waste into a work of art, raising questions about consumption, the environment, and the value of materials. Lav Paripović revisits his mural at the entrance to the Grič Tunnel, adding a new layer of paint that bears the marks of time and changes in the city.
The photographic section Layers of Memory, conceived by Ana Mikin, reflects on Zagreb as a changing field of visual and emotional memory through a dialogue between photographic heritage and contemporary authorial perspectives. Inspired by the works of Marija Braut, Tošo Dabac, Šime Radovčić, and Slavka Pavić, the pieces by Inija Herenčić and Sanja Bistričić Srića examine how images from different eras continue to influence our perception of space.
For the ninth consecutive year, the Okolo Festival proves that contemporary art is not confined to galleries and museums. By placing works in public spaces, the festival fosters a conversation between art and the community, enables a new perspective on familiar city locations, and makes walking through the city a key part of the festival experience.
