Ever since it was first launched, Zgraf has changed many different partner locations where it displayed its exhibitions and side programmes and discussed a large number of matters, aiming to examine fundamental issues and the position of design in contemporary society. For the first time, the new partner will be Lauba – People and Art House, and the new theme of the 12th edition of Zgraf is called ‘Social Reruns’.

Lauba was the first protected culture site in the city of Zagreb to be successfully transformed into a contemporary exhibition venue. It was built as a riding stable for the Austro-Hungarian military in 1910 and later became a weaving mill of Zagreb’s Textile Cooperative, active until 2008. It celebrated its 100th birthday with a process of renovation. This outstanding development earned many praises and honours, including the prestigious annual Bernardo Bernardi Award, given by the Croatian Architects Association.

When the renovated building opened in 2011, Zagreb did not get yet another museum or yet another contemporary art gallery, but rather an extraordinary innovative venue dedicated to all the spheres of visual art and culture, a space capable of sparkling public debate – both on the local and broader scale. Despite frequent and many mistakes and the fact that in 2014 it was nominated for the most innovative museum in Europe – Lauba is not a museum. It is a laboratory for contemporary cultural experiments, designed as a platform for the presentation of Croatian cultural production and a mediator in the divulgation of information on innovative cultural and artistic programmes, both Croatian and foreign. As such it is simply a perfect partner for the latest edition of Zgraf.

Given its multi-use character, Lauba is open to new collaborations and interesting projects and actively works with organisations and individuals from different disciplines – from visual arts to contemporary science, music, dance, film and theatre. Some of these projects were pioneer endeavours custom-made for Lauba. To over 30,000 annual visitors Lauba is a display space, a cinema, a theatre stage, a concert hall, a lecture hall, a classroom etc. – a ‘playground’ for contemporary culture and urban audience eternally desirous of new things.

In January 2017, People and Art House and the 12th edition of Zgraf will present their programme consisting of Review – an international selected exhibition of pieces from the field of graphic design and visual communications, Theme – an international selected themed exhibition ‘Social Reruns’; Eduzgraf – a creative training platform intended for design and visual communications students and designers at the beginning of their professional careers; and Zgraf Word – a series of lectures by International Jury members and others experts from the field of design and visual communications.