Art – Adriatic and Ionian Region

How can the dilemma of staying in the home country or leaving for opportunities abroad be artistically expressed?

The art exhibition “Living Without Leaving? The Perspective of Adriatic-Ionian Young Artists” focuses on the challenges encountered by young people across the Adriatic and Ionian region.

The participating artists are from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia, and they bring strikingly personal yet universally relatable perspectives.

Through painting, photography and mixed media, their works address the question of whether to remain in one's home country or seek opportunities abroad. Their art embodies resilience, longing, and imagination, transforming individual stories into shared European narratives. Each piece tells a story of roots and routes, exploring themes such as the pull of home, the push of economic hardship, the hope of opportunity and the desire to create a vibrant future while maintaining ties to one’s place of origin.

Art on Tour

Several of these artworks have already travelled to Crete (Greece), Shkodër (Albania) and Black Lake (Montenegro). The exhibition's tour now continues in Brussels, addressing the key topics of depopulation, brain drain, identity and belonging across EU member states and candidate countries.

So, if you are in Brussels, be sure to visit Parc Royal (between Rue Lambermont and the Monument au Général Belliard). The exhibition runs until 26 November 2025 and admission is free.

The video of the art exhibition is available to watch here.

For all the artworks, click here.

Sources: https://www.livingwithoutleaving.eu/, https://www.adriatic-ionian.eu/the-art-exhibition-living-without-leaving-the-perspective-of-adriatic-ionian-young-artists/

Artworks taken from: https://www.livingwithoutleaving.eu/artworks/

Artwork No 1: Madonna, by Vasiliki Siatara (Greece)

Artwork No 2: Lemon Horse, by Teuta Pashnjari (Albania)

Artwork No 3: In Between, by Keti Talevska-Bakrevska (Republic of North Macedonia)

Artwork No 4: The Future, by Yulia Serova (Serbia)

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