Design for Change Zagreb Exhibition

I am pleased to let you know that on Friday, May 29th, an exhibition opened as a part of the Design for Change project in front of the ŠPUD in the open air - Trg Republike Hrvatske 11 and in front of the Academy of Music in Zagreb, Croatia. This is the finale of the UBU project of the School and Faculty of Design and Algebra Bernays University, as well as Sintoment, Organism, and others. This exhibition is the product of the Design for Change student art workshop.

"The Design for Change project/collaboration seeks to connect education, the creative process, and social responsibility, encouraging young authors to actively reflect on the world around them through design and recognize their own potential for action within the community.

Mirko Ilić, New York, workshop leader, guest critic, lecturer / creative director; Marija Juza, workshop leader, project/collaboration leader, Design Studio, UBU (collaborators: Maša Poljanec, Franka Tretinjak, Tomislav Vlainić, Dina Milovčić); Bernarda Cesar, workshop leader, project/collaboration leader, exhibition curator, UBU, ŠPUD (collaborators: Dinka Pavelić, Vinka Mortigjija Anušić, Petar Novak, Igor Kozlina, Nenad Weltinger, Andro Grdinić, Marina Ćurković); Iva Babaja, workshop leader, coordinator, Algebra Bernays (collaborators: Siniša Bogdanović, Goran Božić, Ivana Kos, Ivan Klanac); Tena Bošnjaković, project coordinator for Sintoment Visual; identity authors: Mila Cuculić and Dora Šimpović (Design Studio); Design and layout: Marija Juza, Katja Malešević; SD Gallery, exhibition set-up: Filip Vrcić, Klara Crčić, Nera Hasan, Mila Cuculić and Dora Šimpović ISO – Izidor Kršnjavi Exhibition Hall, manager; Jelena Daić, assistant; Igor Blaha Filip Pintarić, director of ŠPUD."

Photos by Lana Andjelopolj and Ivica Črep 

 

Design for Change, Zagreb

I am pleased to share with you that on Thursday, May 28th, I gave a lecture titled “Invest in Yourself” in the Grand Lecture Hall at the Faculty of Architecture in the University of Zagreb.

The lecture was part of the "Design for Change" event, hosted in collaboration with the School of Applied Arts and Design Zagreb, the Design Study of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Zagreb, and Algebra Bernays.

 

Images by Lana Andjelopolj.

 

Lecture at the OPUP!2026 Festival

This year, along with Catalina Estrada, Jelena Vasilijević, Enis Ćisić and Srdja Dragovic, I was invited on behalf of the POPUP!2026 festival to be one of the lecturers.

“POPUP! Sarajevo is a festival organized once a year by graphic design students at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo with the aim of bringing together as many leading designers, illustrators, animators, artists and creatives from the region and beyond.

The festival is designed to provide a useful experience for students and invited lecturers. Students contribute with their energy, desire for knowledge and enthusiasm. Lecturers have the opportunity to present themselves and their work, meet their colleagues, hold a workshop and encourage and motivate young people to persevere in their dreams and ambitions in order to achieve their own careers.”

 

For this occasion, the students of the Academy of Fine Arts organized a small exhibition in the gallery of the academy, where they presented four works of each lecturer. I was presented with four posters of the JDP-Yugoslav Drama Theater.

 

Online lecture to students in China

On Friday, September 20th, from 8:30 am to 9:30 am (ET), I gave an online lecture to visual art students in China.

The title of the lecture is Using Imagery to Convey Thoughts Across Time.

In this lecture, we explored various topics, including my 60-year creative journey, the challenges I've faced, and how to effectively use imagery to tell stories.

This online lecture was organized by Inspiration Drawer. Special thanks to Jin Xiaojing for her effort in making it happen.

 

 

 

 

Tolerance Workshop in Bucharest

On May 17th there was a lecture and workshop called CITIZEN DESIGNER by Ovidiu Hrin  (Typopassage Tm) and I at the National University of Arts in Bucharest. At the same university on May 17th through 21st, a Tolerance Poster workshop was organized and held for design students and young professionals by Ovidiu Hrin and I.

The lecture and workshop was part of "I❤️DOC” project, promoting excellence in graphic design and documentary cinema. It was organized by Insula 42 and National University of Arts in Bucharest.

The posters created by the students at the workshop will be displayed at Amzei Creative Corner in Bucharest, a venue dedicated to creative industries run by The Institute in Bucharest.

Article From Designisso Magazine

I am happy to share this article from Designisso (DIS), an online magazine edited and operated by the community of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (Mome Grafika MA) in Budapest.

 

"One-Page Stories - A Selection from Mirko Ilić's Comics Course."

"In this world full of information and stimuli, sometimes we need a little distraction, a good laugh, or a moment of engrossment without committing to an extended read. One-page comics serve this purpose specifically. These bite-sized works combine humor, drama and creativity to achieve their impact on a single page.

 

In the compact world of one-page comics, only one name stands out: Mirko Ilić, who creates a balance between the short format and the depth of what is said, thus setting a new example for young artists. In the autumn semester, he visited MOME's Department of Design Graphics, specializing in illustration, where he held a one-week course. During the week, the students depicted their own narratives on a single page, in addition to the pleasant consultations, they were able to take a look at Mirko's work. Last but not least, the comic books were also completed."

 

If you read Hungarian, you read the whole article here.

The Design of Dissent Show at CHAVON The School of Design

The Design of Dissent show opened on November 14th 2022, at Altos de Chavon Cultura Center Foundation and CHAVON The School of Design in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic. The show will stay open until January 9th. 

The show was organized and made possible by Adolfo Lucero, Vice Chancellor and Elías Roedán, Academic Coordinator and Professor at CHAVON.

The concept of the show is based on the book The Design of Dissent, Expanded Edition: Greed, Nationalism, Alternative Facts, and the Resistance, co-authored by Milton Glaser and me, published in 2017.

 

Call for Solidarity and Togetherness by High School Students from Rijeka

I am happy to share with you this news that appeared yesterday in the Croatian newspaper Novi list. One of those beautiful side effects of the Tolerance Poster Show.

"For the next week, the windows of the City of Rijeka on Korzo will be decorated with posters of students from the First Croatian Gymnasium in Rijeka and children from the My Place Under the Sun program at the Center for the Culture of Dialogue. 

The posters that will be placed on Tuesday carry important messages from students and call for solidarity, and were created as a continuation of the international Erasmus + project »p.s. Initiate Solidarity ”which is being implemented in France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Croatia, where 24 schools are involved in the project, and the holder is the Center for Peace Studies in Zagreb. 

PRHG students previously sent postcards to their fellow citizens with messages indicating various social problems, and later, under the leadership of Diana Rosatti, Helena de Karina and Nataša Kuzmar Colnar, they made posters, while some of the posters were created during the collaboration of students 1.d . classes and children from the My Place Under the Sun program. 

The posters on Korzo were created as a reaction of students to the exhibition "Tolerance" by Mirko Ilić, and the goal of the exhibition and all activities is to encourage citizens to think about the society in which they live and act in solidarity so that everyone lives in a better world."