October 4, 2026
Varna
Bulgaria
The Singer-Zahariev Foundation announces that Mladen Miljanović (Bosnia and Herzegovina) has been awarded the 2026 Balkan Contemporary Art Prize (BCAP) for The Final Battle. The EUR 3,000 Prize was presented at a public ceremony on October 4, 2026 during BUNA Forum for Contemporary Art in Varna, Bulgaria.
The international jury—Bénédicte Alliot (France), René Block (Germany), Milena Edvig (Bulgaria), Snejana Krasteva (Bulgaria), and Sanja Kojić Mladenov (Serbia)—selected the winner from a shortlist of seven works, drawn from 27 submissions by artists based in Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia.
Jury member Milena Edvig said: “The shortlisted works remind us that geographical proximity does not mean we fully know one another’s histories and experiences. In The Final Battle, Mladen Miljanović addresses war and the people in whose bodies it continues long after it has become history for others, revealing how differently time passes for those who remember and those who can afford to forget.”
Jury member Sanja Kojić Mladenov said: “The film addresses the long-term consequences of war, trauma, and social responsibility, opening important questions about violence, memory, and reconciliation. Particularly valuable is the way the work combines difficult and painful themes with moments of humour, irony, and self-reflection. Rather than diminishing the gravity of the subject, this approach creates space for critical distance, dialogue, and resilience.”
The shortlisted works are presented in the BCAP finalist exhibition at BUNA 4.0, October 2–30, 2026:
Armando Lulaj (Albania)—UNTITLED (Exhibition Display, Radio Desertion) / Krasimira Butseva (Bulgaria / United Kingdom)—Cartography of Absence / Robert Jankuloski & Monika Moteska (North Macedonia)— Sharpening of Pain / Biljana Djurdjević (Serbia)—PRESENT STATE project, three polyptychs / Ivana Ivković (Serbia)—THE BASE OF TRUST (MONUMENT OF TRUST) / Mladen Miljanović (Bosnia and Herzegovina)—The Final Battle / Nika Autor (Slovenia)—Ecologies of Solidarity—Newsreels of Tomorrow
BCAP is currently the only prize of its kind dedicated exclusively to contemporary art from the Balkans, bringing artists from across the region together under a shared international platform. Further information and documentation are available online at singer-zahariev.eu.
Press contact: info@singer-zahariev.eu
