As part of the Festival of Queer and Feminist Culture Smoqua taking place from October 1 to 3, 2026 in Rijeka, we bring you content dedicated to feminist art, activism, and creating spaces for the voices of women and female artists. O.K. Gallery will host two works that powerfully reflect on the female body, history, identity, resistance, and solidarity.
The exhibition "Our Sisters" by Ivana Mrčela and the performance „Milk me!“ by Negin Rezaie open up a space for dialogue on how women's experiences are inscribed onto the body, preserved through memory and art, and how the personal becomes political. From sisterhood and the history of feminist struggles to colonialism and exploitation, both works remind us of the importance of art as a space for resistance, questioning, and connection.
DATE: Saturday, October 3, 2026
📍 LOCATION: O.K. Gallery — Krešimirova 26, Rijeka
16:00 – 17:00
Exhibition Opening: "Our Sisters"
The sculptural installation by Croatian artist Ivana Mrčela consists of around twenty intertwined, soft female figures made of textile in shades of pink. Each figure is tattooed with visual stories of women's history and struggles — from suffrage movements to contemporary feminist activism.
These painted narratives transform the skin of the sculptures into a unique archive of defiance, endurance, and solidarity. The work speaks to the quiet resilience, creative power, and healing presence of women who built and sustained communities, often in the shadows.
Their intertwined arms symbolize interdependence and sisterhood — the strength born from connecting individual experiences into a collective story.
About the Artist: Ivana Mrčela has held 24 solo and over 100 group exhibitions in Croatia and abroad, receiving numerous awards for her work.
Cover photo by Marko Todorov
17:00 – 17:30
Performance: "Milk me!"
Multidisciplinary Iranian artist based in Austria, Negin Rezaie , explores the concept of the colony as a metaphor for the female body in her poignant and powerful performance "Milk me!". The piece draws inspiration from Christopher Columbus' famous assertion: "Colonies are like a woman's body, and America is its nipple."
By drawing a parallel between the historical exploitation of colonies and the contemporary extraction of natural resources (such as oil from West Asian countries), Rezaie frames the body as an intersection of colonial history, power politics, gender, and economic exploitation.
About the Artist: Negin Rezaie is an artist, curator, educator, and researcher. Her work centers on women, the body, identity, learning, and unlearning, while creating performance spaces for dialogue. She examines how power is inscribed onto the body, space, and collective memory. www.neginrezaie.at.
The performance is supported by the Austrian Cultural Forum Zagreb.
Check out the full festival programme HERE.
See you at O.K. Gallery! 😊
