Slaven Tolj is one of the most prominent contemporary artists in Croatia and beyond. Born in 1964 in Dubrovnik, he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo in 1987. After returning to Dubrovnik in 1988, he participated in the cultural life of the city as an artist, curator, founder, and leader of the Art Workshop Lazareti (ARL). Throughout his rich career, he has exhibited his works at numerous exhibitions in Croatia, as well as at prestigious international exhibitions, starting with Documenta X in Kassel in 1997. He was the Croatian selector for the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005. From 2012 to 2020, he worked as the director of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka (MMSU). In 2016, he exhibited together with Miranda Veljačić, Emina Višnić, and Dinko Peračić at the 15th International Architecture Biennale in Venice. He designed the application and program for the Rijeka EPK project and was the artistic director of the Rijeka 2020 project. At the end of 2020, he returned to Dubrovnik and has since been actively involved in the work of the Art Workshop Lazareti and HDLU Dubrovnik as a curator and artist.
