About us

Office for Photography

Čanićeva Street 6

10000 Zagreb

info@officeforphotography.com

Office for Photography (Ured za fotografiju or UzF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation in Zagreb, founded in 2011. Its work is aimed at the research, development, promotion and contextualisation of innovative artistic practices in the fields of photography and new media, as well as the practices which encourage and nurture positive social changes and inclusion. The programs that UzF endorses rely on scientific research and artistic work, while thematically and content-wise following current issues in the fields of photography and the new media, the avant-garde artistic practices and the theory of art and philosophy. UzF’s purpose is to raise the general literacy in common photographic expressions, to promote and contextualise photographic and new-media art works, the production of new artistic realisations, the creation of new knowledge, the production of art works, and the systematic development of photography theory.

The programs and activities run by us were developed according to the values of UzF, which are the autonomous, critical, reflexive and proactive action through openness, innovation and creativity in our work and deliberation in the service of valorisation, (re)interpretation, and the protection of cultural and artistic photography inheritance.

The Office’s mission is to develop the production and distribution of artistic works and projects, and scientific research and participation programs in the fields of modern culture and art in order to present, contextualise and develop photography and new-media theory. Our mission is “the battle for forward, innovative ideas, new understandings and the research spirit within the domain of photography.” (SPOT, Nr 1, 1972)

Office for Photography’s members are:

President

Sandra Križić Roban

holds a PhD in art history and engages in art criticism, curatorial practice, teaching and mentoring, and expert writing. Her primary fields of research are contemporary artistic production, history and theory of photography, post-war modern architecture, issues of public space, and alternative memory strategies. Her areas of interest include the history, criticism, and theory of photography, visual arts, and architecture, as well as migration, and the politics of public space management.

From 1990 to 1992, she worked as an independent art critic and was a member of the Croatian Freelance Artists’ Association, subsequently transitioning to the Institute of Art History in Zagreb, where she currently holds the position of tenured scientific advisor.

She was the editor-in-chief of the journal Život umjetnosti (2000–2017). She chaired the scientific project Ekspozicija – Themes and Aspects of Croatian Photography from the 19th Century until Today (2020–2024), funded by the Croatian Science Foundation. She also headed the Croatian segment of the research on three competitive international projects funded by Creative Europe (The Cycle – Co-creating the Future of the European Photographic Legacy, 2020–2022; Not Yet Written Stories, 2019–2021; Forgotten Heritage – European Avant-Garde Art Online).

She is the author of several books, book chapters and scientific papers in journals and conference proceedings in Croatia and abroad, as well as artist monographs and catalogue texts, and has edited numerous academic and professional publications. Her body of work includes more than 1,700 critiques, reviews, essays, professional and scientific papers in print media and broadcasted in radio and television programs. She has presented papers at international conferences, and organised numerous group and solo exhibitions in Croatia and abroad in the capacity of author and curator. She is one of the founders of the Office for Photography, a non-profit association dedicated to contemporary photography.

For more information and extensive bibliography, please see: https://ipu.hr/article/hr/31/dr-sc-sandra-krizic-roban // https://www.croris.hr/crosbi/searchByContext/2/8385

Photo taken by: Ivan Posavec

Vice President

Ena Grabar

(1993) works in the field of culture. She has been active in the independent cultural sector for almost a decade, engaged in programming cooperation projects with cultural organisations, platforms and initiatives. She has collaborated on several joint projects in Croatia and abroad, coordinated several research and publishing programs, participated in the production of numerous exhibitions, educational and discursive formats, and the creation of other cultural and artistic content. She handles administrative and financial affairs in the non-profit sector. Dedicated to matters of cultural cooperation and networking (especially in the region of Southeastern Europe) and the mobility of artists and cultural workers. Ena is based in Zagreb.

Program Coordinator and Head of Finance and Administration

Tena Starčević

Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth.

Manager of the Spot Gallery and Public Relations

Sara Mikelić

(Pula, 1991) graduated in ethnology and cultural anthropology and art history from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. She completed an internship at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. She participated in several art and research projects organised by the Croatian Association of Fine Artists Zagreb, the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, the organisation next – Verein für zeitgenössische Kunst, and the association Prirodno-umjetnički kružok. Since 2014, she has been working as an external associate at the Gallery of the Student Center in Zagreb. Since 2019, she has been active as a curator at the pop-up gallery Kamba Garage and occasionally at other cultural institutions in Croatia. She has been a member of Croatian Association of Artists of Applied Arts (ULUPUH) since 2023, and of Croatian Freelance Artists’ Association (HZSU) since 2025. Sara currently works as an associate for the association What, How & for Whom/WHW and as the program coordinator of the Spot Gallery and public relations officer at the Office for Photography.

Editor-in-Chief of the Portal Suvremena hrvatska fotografija

Ivana Završki

(Zagreb, 1995) graduated in French language and literature and art history from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. To date, she has collaborated with various institutions and associations in the field of culture, conducting research and processing archival materials, creating educational programs for various age groups, and preparing exhibitions. She writes reviews and criticism for the web portal Contemporary Croatian Photography and the program Triptih on Croatian Radio’s Channel 3, while her articles have also been published in the journal Croatian Film Chronicles and magazine Kvartal. In 2024, with colleague Lora Rajčić, she curated the exhibition Situacija as part of the 37th Youth Salon. Since 2025, she has been collaborating with the Events Gallery of the Peščenica Cultural Centre as the exhibition program commentator. She is the recipient of the Faculty of Humanities’ Award for Excellence and the Rector’s Award.

Office for Photography’s primary activities include:

The web portal Contemporary Croatian Photography collects authors and works from the field of avant-garde, conceptual and modern art photography, and publises interviews and reviews. The portal was launched in 2009 by Ana Opalić and Gabrijela Ivanov, who served as its administrators through the organisation K-ZONA until 2013, when the administration and maintenance of the portal was taken over by Office for Photography.

The Spot Gallery (in Čanićeva Street 6, Zagreb) has been active since 2015. It’s program includes individual and smaller group exhibitions, lectures, reading groups, talks and discussions on photography. The council of the Spot gallery annually decides upon the exhibition program based on open calls for submissions and interviews with the artists. All the news concerning the gallery’s program can be followed here and the photo documentation of past exhibitions going back to 2018 can be viewed here.

Office for Photography has published several photography books and monographs and in 2019 launched semi-annual magazine Fototxt. All our editions are bilingual (Croatian/English). More information on particular editions can be found on this link.

Office for Photography’s work is supported by the Kultura nova Foundation, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, the City of Zagreb, the Office for Cooperation with NGOs, Government of the Republic of Croatia and Creative Europe, a program of the European Union. Individual exhibitions and publishing programs were financially endorsed by The Goethe-Institut Kroatien, Pro Helvetia, Kontakt, Art Collection – Erste Group / ERSTE Foundation, and ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen.