Protok – Center for Visual Communication, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Protok – Center for Visual Communication was founded in 2005 in Banja Luka with the goal of promoting visual arts that provide an alternative and complement to the existing local institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Protok organizes numerous events in the field of contemporary art. The projects are planned and executed in conjunction with the local art scene.

Since 2008 Protok has hosted the international exhibit SPAPORT (the English translation of “Banja Luka”). Under the artistic direction of Ana Nikitović (Belgrade, 2008) as well as Ivana Bago and Antonia Majača (Zagreb, 2009 and 2010) local and international artists who utilize historic and culturally significant locations and public spaces in Banja Luka are exhibited. The goal of the exhibition is to initiate open dialog and provide a platform for installing contemporary art in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Furthermore, Protok is a local partner of the award for young artists in the field of visual arts in Bosnia and Herzegovina – ZVONO. In 2006, the award was brought to life by the Sarajevo Center for Contemporary Art (SCCA) and modeled after the Czech Republic’s Jindřich Chalupecký Award. An international Board of Trustees determines annually the recipient of the award. The award is determined based on a several week event in New York at the International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP) and a single exhibition at the Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo art gallery.

The long-term goals of Protok are to promote the local art scene and network internationally, to develop a residence program for female artists in Banja Luka, and to institutionalize the SPAPORT Exhibition as the premiere recurrent show for contemporary art in Bosnia and Herzegovina.