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{{Article
| status       = NEEDSUPDATE INFOBOX TOPROOFREAD NIFERTIK!
| maintainer   = Nina Hlebec
}}
{{Infobox
| name               = ZEK Crew
| local name         = ZEK Crew
| logo              = 
| street             = 
| town               = SI-1000 Ljubljana
| website            = http://zekcrew.com/
| email              = gmail@zek.si
| telephone          = 
| fax                = 
| founded by         =
| founded by 2       =
| contacts     = {{Contact
  | name        = Žiga Artnak
  | role        =
  | street      = 
  | town        = 
  | website     = 
  | email       = ziga.artnak@gmail.com
  | telephone   = 386 (0) 41 934 477
  | fax         = 
  }}{{Contact
  | name        = 
  | role        =
  | street      = 
  | town        = 
  | website     = 
  | email       = 
  | telephone   = 
  | fax         = 
  }}
| accounts = 
https://www.instagram.com/zekcrew/
http://www.facebook.com/ZEKcrew
http://twitter.com/ZEKcrew
http://vimeo.com/user1346513
}}

{{Teaser|
Gathered in [[established::2001]], [[ZEK Crew]] joins six graphic and one industrial designer, an architect and a mysterious honorable member. Their work ranges from graffiti, stencils, and illustrations, to logos, posters, and corporate identity, including the identity of the 28th [[Biennial of Graphic Arts]]. To quote the collective themselves: "ZEK Crew is a collective of humans with strange skills." They are no strangers to socially critical actions. 
}}

{{YouTube|4R1Dd_8XFC4}}

==About==
These early developers of Slovene street art, whose public interventions rather amuse than shock, participated in numerous exhibitions and graffiti jams around Europe. Some of their work has been collected in their book ''Now I Exist'', other work has been featured in several publications, such ah ''Los Logos'', ''Stickeraward'', ''Graphotism'', ''Concrete Magazine'', and ''Graphics and Space''. 

The crew always tries to incorporate wit, humor, and clever ideas into its artwork, mixing minimalism with kitsch, combining old styles with contemporary approaches, but not neglecting the tradition through the use of improvisation. The variety of members enables the crew to take up any task, always in search for new visual sensations.

==Projects==

Leaving fingerprints also in the Bronx, the ZEK graffiti interventions range from legal to illegal work. In January 2010 they performed a graffiti action, painting three billboards in the centre of Ljubljana for the promotion of the movie ''Sin nombre'', which was showing at [[Kinodvor Cinema]]. Exceptional in many ways, the ZEK Crew not only constantly invent new ways of advertising and perform witty actions, but they also take part in various projects, such as ''Zvezda nogavice'' the project by graphic designer [[Gaja Mežnarič Osole]] and fashion designer [[Marina-Eva Maletin]], presenting the new line of the ''ZEK SUCKS socks'' in all shapes and sizes. Unique lights made from recycled spray cans, were their contribution to the [[Lighting Guerrilla Festival]] competition. The ''Strip Generator'', an award winning interactive online comic creation tool, was created in collaboration with the 3FS Studio, whose office walls ZEK designed with the use of black and white stickers. The interior was awarded as well.

See more about their projects under External links (below). 

== Exhibitions ==

In 2018, the crew was in an exhibition of 6 unique artworks organised by [[Ravnikar Gallery Space]]. 

In 2012 the crew celebrated their 11.8th anniversary with an amusing DIY retrospective exhibition ''ZEK (2012)'' in the public bomb shelter in the centre of Ljubljana. ''ZEK (2012)'' was the most visited exhibition in Slovenia. 

{{Vimeo|43359487}}

In Spring 2010 the [[Embassy of Slovenia in the United States of America|Slovenian embassy in Washington, DC]] hosted the ZEK collective exhibition ''Fw: Fw: Re: Zek'', which went on a US tour. For the 2010 exhibition of members of the [[Designers Society of Slovenia (DOS)]], ''Oblikobranje'', where some of their own works were presented, they conceived a billboard project as well. The crew furthermore participated at the [[Slovenian Independent Illustrators' Biennial]], and exhibited at the [[International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana]]. 

ZEK Crew have participated in several exhibitions abroad, naming only the Biennial For Young Artists in Bari, Italy, in 2008 and the Belgrade Design Week. The latter featured the ZEK Crew (as the first group representing Slovenia) in May 2009 with a retrospective of drawings composed from laser prints on pre-gradient A4 papers. In September 2009 works by ZEK were showcased at the [[Avla NLB Gallery, Ljubljana]].

== Awards ==

The project for the festival [[Trnfest Festival|Trnfest]] was awarded the Golden Award in the category outdoor advertising, and the Grand Award at the [[Slovene Advertising Festival (SOF)|19th Slovene Advertising Festival (SOF)]]. The Trnfest poster also won both the [[Brumen Award]] in the category Ad campaigns, and the Brumen Grand Prix at the [[Biennial of Slovene Visual Communications|4th Biennial of Slovene Visual Communications]]. The graphic design of the 3FS interior was awarded the ''DOS winter recognition 2009'', bestowed by the [[Designers Society of Slovenia (DOS)]]. In 2011 ZEK won another [[Brumen Award]] in the Ad campaigns category, this time for the ''Sin nombre'' project.

==See also==
* [[Brumen Award]]
* [[Slovene Advertising Festival (SOF)]]

==External links==
* [http://zekcrew.com/ ZEK Crew website]
** [https://zekcrew.com/projects/zek-2018/ ZEK 2018 exhibition of 6 unique artworks organised by [[Ravnikar Gallery Space]]]
* [https://ars.rtvslo.si/2018/03/likovni-odmevi-165/ A [[Radio Slovenia Third Channel - ARS]] podcast about [[ZEK Crew]]'s views on modern art (in Slovene)]
Selected projects
* [https://zekcrew.com/projects/zek-kuracija/ A ZEK-curated exhibition — The tunnels of Kranj]
* [https://bio.si/en/program/main-exhibition/15/fake-good-news/ Miha Artnak's project ''Fake Good News'' that consists of two episodes dealing with fake news]
* [https://zekcrew.com/projects/zek-x-limited-edit111ons/ An exhibition of 111 unique artworks organised by LIMITED EDIT111ONS project — [[Poligon]]]
* [https://zekcrew.com/projects/tape-art/ Custom billboards for Si.mobil's Tape Art campaign]
* [https://zekcrew.com/projects/strip-generator/ ''Stripgenerator'' - a tool for creating your own comics]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKcd-JQa_2w ZEK grafitti action for the film ''Sin nombre'']
* [https://zekcrew.com/projects/belgrade-design-week/ Belgrade Design Week ZEK Crew exhibition photos]

[[Category:Groups]]
[[Category:Design]] 
[[Category:Graphic design]]
[[Category:Design studios]] 
[[Category:Visual arts]] 
[[Category:Comic art]]
[[Category:Visual arts groups]]
[[Category:Architecture & Design]]