Thinking and Art
The Human Condition Today

Three artists, Milena Zović, Anja Ranđelović and Emilija Đonin, who were selected to be mentors as part of the “Conditio Humana” programme in Belgrade, discuss how they are inspired by Hannah Arendt's work. 

How does Hannah Arendt’s work inspire you, and how do you see it today?

Milena: What inspires me in the work of Hannah Arendt is the boundary between private and public space, action and observation. Particularly important to me are her interpretations of a work of art exposing invisible aspects of human experience, as well as issues of plurality, truth and responsibility. Hannah Arendt’s theoretical framework in today's technological day and age may usher in new reflections on the man of the future, hybridisation of the body, but also spur on political action and encourage overcoming alienation from the world.

Anja: Opinions and theses presented by Hannah Arendt may very well be applied to the needs of modern man and society. I believe that modern man should grasp the importance of division between the public and the private, and come to an understanding as to why one cannot do without the other. In this day and age when people are the most alienated, we need to truly see and respect our similarities and our differences.

Emilija: I am inspired by people like Hannah Arendt who dedicated their lives and work to thinking and analysing human society and the ways in which they could make the world a better place. I would say she is more relevant today than ever before given the context of everything that is happening right now. I am inspired by the need to understand humanity and its actions.

What has the mentoring program brought to you that you will make use of in your future work?

Milena: The programme has given me the experience of teamwork, opened up vistas of new knowledge about sound and performance. It has presented me with an opportunity to make important acquaintances. Working together with Anja and Emilija, I have learnt how to think through and implement a clear idea, shape and sound, whilst leaving room for experimentation. This combination of collaboration, communication and openness to the process will become a part of my artistic practice in the future. The mentoring process has brought to me freedom and experience to concretise ideas without fear of failure.

Anja: Collaboration with mentors has given me space for diverse types of thinking, a new perspective on everything I have done so far, and what is yet to come. At workshops and in conversations within this project, we went through various forms of expressing opinions, through collective poetry, movement, sound... The emphasis is always on collective participation, irrespective of previous experience.

Emilija: The mentoring programme has brought me wonderful acquaintances with the people whose work is both exceptional and inspiring. Zorica, Maja and Selman gave us support and advice, as well as an insight into how their work processes unfold, which was of great importance to me. And most importantly, the programme introduced me to two artists with whom I will most certainly continue to collaborate even after this project.

What may the Belgrade public expect from the December 2025 exhibition?

Emilija: Belgrade public may expect to experience a space for thinking and participation which fear, safety, danger, work, rest, creativity, creation, non-work, technology, organic and inorganic inhabit in parallel to one another.

Anja: The exhibition is conceived as an installation, a combination of the auditory and visual, focusing on process and artistic experiment.

Milena: We would like to open up a space for questions that are guiding us – about the relationship between the safe and the dangerous, collective and private memory, nostalgia and the future, action and alienation.