Gusle player mural by Zed1, Šavnik, Montenegro
Gusle player
Zed1 · Mural Lab Šavnik 2026 · end wall of a house
Photo as published in New Street Art Vol. 78
A pink-faced figure holds a gusle, its scroll carved as a horned goat’s head, while red, white and yellow cords coil around him across the green end wall of a house in Šavnik, Montenegro. The Italian artist Zed1 painted it in September 2026 for the first edition of Mural Lab Šavnik.
4 things to know
- Thread runs through the festivalIn the organiser’s words, threads and weaving-like forms intertwine around Zed1’s figure. Two more of the six new walls start from textiles: NeSpoon’s “Harmonija” from an embroidered ornament on the Montenegrin men’s folk costume, and Marija Šoln’s “Zlatovez” (gold embroidery) from the women’s costume and a golden thread linking past, present and future. Onogošt · Vijesti
- Painted in front of an audienceThe opening release said the public would be able to follow the whole process. An organiser photo shows this wall unfinished, the ground floor still bare orange, a painter up on a scissor lift and a group of visitors watching from the pavement. Pupils from Šavnik’s primary school toured the murals and talked with the artists, according to NVU Art 365. Portal Analitika · Onogošt
- A tradition on more than one listUNESCO inscribed “Singing to the accompaniment of the Gusle” in 2018 on Serbia’s nomination. Montenegro’s own list of intangible cultural assets includes guslanje, playing and singing to the gusle. UNESCO · Boka News
- Ten walls, one map to comeWith the six new walls, a joint student mural from the festival’s masterclass on Gojino brdo and three earlier murals, Šavnik now has ten. The organisers say they will prepare a Mural map linking all ten, with Šavnik Municipality and the Šavnik Tourist Organisation. Vijesti
Check-in guide
- 📍
- Šavnik, Montenegro. The map link below marks the town, not the house, so treat it as approximate.
- 🏠
- Look for a house with a red metal roof and a small dormer, its end wall painted green, beside a road on open ground (as the photos show).
- 👀
- It is the wall of a house, so view it from the road.
Sightings
- 202612 Sep
Festival opens
- 202618 Sep
Mid-painting photo published
- 202618 Sep
Reported finished
- 202622 Sep
Described in Vijesti
- 202630 Sep
Photo published, finished
Every stamp links to the dated source.
On the record
Počeo Mural Lab Šavnik 2026: Šavnik postaje otvoreni studio
“Zed1 gradi prepoznatljiv autorski svijet kroz figurativne, narativne i često nadrealne murale.”
“Zed1 builds a recognisable world of his own through figurative, narrative and often surreal murals.” From the opening-day release.
Šest novih murala u Šavniku, završen prvi Mural Lab
“Italijanski umjetnik Zed1 kroz svoj prepoznatljivi figurativni i narativni izraz prikazuje lik koji drži gusle …”
“Italian artist Zed1, in his recognisable figurative and narrative style, shows a figure holding a gusle …” From the completion release.
Šest novih murala u Šavniku (FOTO)
“Prvo izdanje Mural Lab Šavnik 2026. završeno je nakon šest dana tokom kojih je mali crnogorski grad postao otvoreni umjetnički studio …”
“The first edition of Mural Lab Šavnik 2026 ended after six days in which the small Montenegrin town became an open art studio …” The article credits its text to NVU Art 365.
Šavnik postaje grad murala
“Želimo da kroz savremenu umjetnost Šavniku damo novu vrijednost i prepoznatljivost i mijenjamo način na koji se grad vidi i doživljava.”
“Through contemporary art we want to give Šavnik new value and recognisability, and change the way the town is seen and experienced.” Festival director Marija Džoganović.
The facts
- Artist
- Zed1, real name Marco Burresi; billed with Poland’s NeSpoon as the festival’s two international names Checked
- Title
- None published. The organiser’s release gives titles for NeSpoon’s and Marija Šoln’s walls but none for Zed1’s; “A Gusle Player Wrapped in Thread” is WAU’s own description Unconfirmed
- Painted
- During the festival, 12–17 September 2026; his exact working days are not published. Signed “ZED1 2026” lower left Reported
- Place
- Šavnik, Montenegro, on the end wall of a house; no street address or building coordinates published Checked
- Made for
- Mural Lab Šavnik 2026, organised by NVU Art 365 in cooperation with the Faculty of Visual Arts of University Mediteran and Live Production Checked
- Supported by
- Šavnik Municipality, the Ministry of Culture and Media of Montenegro, the Šavnik Culture Centre, the Šavnik Tourist Organisation and the Dragišnica and Komarnica Nature Park Checked
- Medium, size
- Not published. The mural covers the whole end wall, around four windows Unconfirmed
- Coverage
- Six Montenegrin outlets: RTNK, Portal Analitika, Aktuelno, Borba, Onogošt and Vijesti. All six run or closely follow NVU Art 365’s press releases (Portal Analitika and Onogošt credit the organiser by name), so they share one origin Checked
- Status
- Standing: listed among the six finished walls in the organiser’s release of 18 September 2026, and shown finished and signed in the photo WAU published on 30 September; no later report of damage or removal found Reported
Related
- On World Art Utopia: New Street Art! (20 Photos) — Vol. 78 (2026), where the photo above appeared.
- The other new walls of Mural Lab Šavnik 2026: NeSpoon’s “Harmonija”, Marija Šoln’s “Zlatovez”, Jana Danilović’s chamois and edelweiss, Stevan Šoln’s portrait of the writer Borislav Pekić, Kolektiv Lastavica’s abstract work on the “Dva sunca” (Two Suns) phenomenon, and the joint student mural on Gojino brdo. Vijesti
- An earlier Šavnik wall by Marija Šoln, “Origin II: Encounter in the Mirror of Two Suns”, from the Two Suns festival. Street Art Cities
- Zed1’s walls in Italy, the United States and elsewhere, as catalogued by Street Art Cities; none in Montenegro listed as of 30 September 2026. Street Art Cities
All sources (14)
Montenegrin press (all carrying NVU Art 365’s releases)
- RTNK (Radio-Televizija Nikšić): “Počeo Mural Lab Šavnik 2026: Šavnik postaje otvoreni studio”, 12 September 2026. Opening-day release: dates, artists, organisers, the planned closing walk.
- Portal Analitika: “Počeo Mural Lab 2026: Šavnik postaje otvoreni umjetnički studio”, 13 September 2026. The same release, attributed to NVU Art 365; the public could follow the painting.
- Aktuelno.me: “Šest novih murala u Šavniku, završen prvi Mural Lab”, 18 September 2026. Completion release; photos credited to NVU Art 365, including this wall mid-painting.
- Portal Analitika: “Završen prvi Mural Lab: Šest novih murala u Šavniku”, 18 September 2026. Completion release.
- Borba.me: “Šest novih murala u Šavniku: Završen prvi mural lab”, 18 September 2026. Completion release.
- Onogošt: “Šest novih murala u Šavniku (FOTO)”, 19 September 2026. Credited to NVU Art 365; organiser photo of the wall in progress; the schools programme.
- Vijesti: “Šavnik postaje grad murala”, 22 September 2026. The six walls, the ten-mural count, the planned Mural map, organisers and supporters.
The gusle as heritage
- UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage: “Singing to the accompaniment of the Gusle”. Representative List, inscribed 2018 (13.COM); State: Serbia.
- SEEcult.org: “Guslanje na Uneskovoj listi”, 29 November 2018. The inscription, on Serbia’s nomination.
- SEEcult.org: “Polemika Srbije i Crne Gore o guslama”, 16 December 2018. Statements by the Montenegrin and Serbian culture ministries.
- Boka News: “Nematerijalna kulturna dobra Crne Gore”, 28 March 2025. Montenegro’s list of intangible cultural assets, citing the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Property.
Maps and catalogues
- Street Art Cities: Zed 1, artist page. Community catalogue of his walls, checked 30 September 2026.
- Street Art Cities: Marija Šoln marker, listed as “Untitled”; its description gives the title “Origin II: Encounter in the Mirror of Two Suns” and the Two Suns festival, August 2026.
The photo
- World Art Utopia: “New Street Art! (20 Photos) — Vol. 78”, 30 September 2026. The photo at the top of this page; photographer not identified.
Artwork File · Last checked 30 September 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files