Following his exhibition at the modern art museum “Museum für Moderne Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien” (MUMOK) in Vienna, Mladen Miljanović – a native of Bosnia-Herzegovina and winner of Henkel Art.Award. 2009 – displays his works in the Umjetnicka galerija BiH in Sarajevo. The focal point of his artistic expression is the “Zastava 101”, a famous automobile produced in the region of ex Yugoslavia. Visitors viewing the exhibition in the period October 22 to November 13, 2010 can expect to see seat belts fastened to walls, sprayed car hoods, and other typical and well known details linked to the popular “Stojadin”. A special service of the artist will be rendered within the context of a five-day performance: he will personally pick up interested museum-goers from their residences and chauffeur them in a “Zastava 101” to the Umjetnicka galerija exhibition.

“Sarajevo Service” is the formal name which invites us to question, the position of the artist as someone servicing the society and the institutions that represent art. This art work is one of the most important elements of the exhibition since it opens the possibility to act directly and interact with the audience and the society”, explains Mladen Miljanović, the author of the exhibition. “This performance makes the visitor feel and experience the car which is the main topic of the exhibition. The space of the car for me represents a certain vacuum which enables a later different view of the exhibition”.

Henkel Central Eastern Europe (Henkel CEE) has been sponsoring the Henkel Art.Award. in cooperation with KulturKontakt Austria since 2002. In the meantime, artists in 31 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia are eligible to submit their works of art. In 2009, the cooperation was extended to include the Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (Museum of Modern Art, Vienna – MUMOK). As a result, Mladen Miljanovic, the award winner also received an individual presentation of his works of art at MUMOK.

The call for entries for Henkel Art.Award. for 2010 has been closed and the five finalist from Moldova, Poland, Slovenia, Turkey and Hungary from among 1,060 entries were chosen by an expert judging panel in Vienna. At the same time, the winners of the promotional prizes for talented young Austrian and CEE artists have already been named.

The individuals who will receive these various awards and the artist granted the Henkel Art.Award. 2010, including a monetary prize of 7,000 euros, an exhibition in his or her native country and an exhibition at MUMOK in Austria, will first be announced at the gala award ceremony to be held at the MUMOK in Vienna on November 25, 2010.

Further information about the Henkel Art.Award. can be found at http://art.award.henkel.at  or http://www.facebook.com/HenkelArtAward.