The Milčik Award was established by the Institute for Contemporary Art in 2017. It is named after a famous work by the renowned Montenegrin artist Milija Pavićević.
The award is organized in collaboration with Residency Unlimited and is supported by the Trust for Mutual Understanding in New York. Since its founding, it has also been backed by the artist Milija Pavićević and art historian Aleksandar Čilikov.
The Milčik Award includes a mentoring and educational program for selected artists, as well as participation in a final exhibition. The mentoring program features a series of lectures, discussions, and workshops with international and local speakers in contemporary art, aesthetics, theory, philosophy, and social studies. It also provides individual mentoring sessions through consultations, workshops, and discussions essential for exploring, developing, and articulating the artistic process.
All nominated participants in the Milčik program are expected to actively engage in the educational program, which concludes with an annual exhibition. During this exhibition, an international jury openly decides on the Milčik Award winner.
The award offers a two-month residency in New York City, USA, at Residency Unlimited, covering all travel and accommodation expenses. It also includes a solo exhibition in Montenegro upon the artist’s return.
The award is open to artists working in contemporary visual arts and interdisciplinary artistic practices. It is not intended for commercial art, design, theater, or film.
Past winners include Siniša Radulović (2017), Brigita Antoni (2019), Semir Mustafa (2021), Milica Janković (2022), and Milica Mijajlović (2023).