Artistic organization VRUM was founded in 2007. by artists Sanja Frühwald and Mario Kovač. VRUM is structured as a collective whose primary interest is the field of contemporary dance; its performativity and theory, and is, at the same time, interested in contemporary theatre, visual art, music, photography and modern technology. Its goal is to interpret, communicate and bring contemporary dance and contemporary theatre closer to the audience through different set of performing, educational, informal, virtual or textual formats, regardless of age or gender of the viewer. Through different studies, VRUM is researching the contradiction of micro and macro cosmos and the friction that occurs between those two oppositions, as well as the contrasts and different ways of disappearing in the performance or in everyday life. The presented work is marked with different layers, multiple realities and contemporary surrealism, often accompanied with live music. The work of VRUM is articulated with absurd, irony, humour and unconventional use of performing techniques. VRUM is interested in different collaborative aspects and diverse ways of acting so it redefines its appearance in every new production, installation, project or performance. VRUM is not interested in classification and that is why its approach to the dance is unexpected, progressive and inventive. VRUM is not interested in norms and rules but instead in research form and development of artistic language.
VRUM
Organization representatives:
Dejan Košćak
Dejan Košćak, born in Varaždin in 1988., graduated on the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in History and Art History and in 2014. Master’s Degree in Art History and in Museum Studies. He specializes in the field od Performing Arts, especially in theory of Performing Arts and their documentation. As a student, he worked for a number of museums in Zagreb (Museum of Contemporary Art, Art Pavilion, Klovićevi Dvori Gallery etc.). Since 2014. he’s been working as a producer for VRUM Performing Arts Collective and coordinator of the KLIKER platform. On the festival “7. Dani suvremenog plesa – Sjever” he was moderating special festival format “Artists will give you answers”. His work is published in magazine “Movements 23/24”.
Sanja Tropp Frühwald
born 1978, studied political science at the University of Zagreb and Contemporary Dance and Choreography on the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (SEAD).
In 2007 she founded VRUM Performing Arts Collective and since then she realized more then 10 Productions which are performed international.
Sanja Tropp Frühwald was selected as a Croatian representative on a Biennale of young artists of Europe and Mediterranean in 2005 in Naples, Italy
In 2007 she participated as a member of the scholarship program DanceWEB in the frame of Impulstanz Vienna.
In 2009/10 Sanja Tropp Frühwald was the Croatian representative in the European Project Choreoroam Europe, an international research project for choreographers, created by Operaestate Festival Veneto / CSC Dansateliers Rotterdam and The Place London
In her position as an Artist and Artistic Leader of VRUM and the yearly festival Dani Suvremenog Plesa Varazdin (Mikser Festival), she is a member of important networks like Fresh Tracks Europe, Nomad Dance Academy Croatia.
She also is the initiator and cofounder of the first Croatian network for development of contemporary dance for young audiences, called KLIKER, established 2013.
She is a one of the founders or is active in a few nongovernmental organization that are dealing with contemporary dance, theatre and alternative culture and its development (Eks scena, Zagreb; Autonomous Cultural Factory, Zagreb; Tanzbüro, Salzburg)
She was awarded:
- amongst others for the production “Jutro”, with the Grand Prix Award for the best performance on the International Woman Theater Festival in Finland/Sweden in 2005
- as the best young Croatian choreographer on Platforma 2007
- with the UPUH award for extraordinary contribution for development of contemporary dance in Croatia 2012
- nominated for the Croatian National Theatre Award 2012