Short biography
Ema Dujmović (艾萌新) is a painter, author and songwriter from Samobor, Croatia, born in 2012. Self-taught, she paints in Chinese ink and in colour; her work is shown in museums in China, and in 2026 she won a Gold Award for Chinese painting in Hong Kong. She has studied Chinese since the age of five and has twice represented Croatia at the Chinese Bridge world competition. Her first novel, Life of a Dog, has sold more than 6,000 copies, and her song Loved was the first reserve at Dora 2026.
Biography
Ema Dujmović (Chinese name 艾萌新) was born in Zagreb on 15 June 2012 and lives in Samobor, Croatia. She paints, writes and composes, and she has been learning Chinese since the age of five. Since April 2025 she has been the youngest student at the Confucius Institute of the University of Zagreb.
Entirely self-taught, she paints in Chinese ink, calligraphy and colour. Her painting Hua Mulan is part of the exhibition at the Quzhou Chinese Confucianism Museum, and in 2025 she won the Grand Prize of the First International Xu Beihong Painting Competition, which took her work to the Hofburg in Vienna. In June 2026 she became the youngest artist to exhibit at the Vladimir Horvat Gallery in Zagreb, and that autumn she won a Gold Award for Chinese painting and a Bronze Award for calligraphy in Hong Kong.
At the Chinese Bridge world competition she placed ninth in 2023, with the Most Creative Award, and in 2025 she was second in Europe and in the world's top ten. In 2024 the Ambassador of the PRC to Croatia gave her the Little Ambassador award of the two countries.
Her first novel, Life of a Dog (2024), has sold more than 6,000 copies, was named a 2025 bestseller and has been translated into English and Chinese. She writes songs in three languages; Loved was the first reserve at Dora 2026, making her the youngest songwriter ever to enter. She is now writing and illustrating a picture book.
Fact sheet
- Born on 15 June 2012 in Zagreb; lives in Samobor, Croatia.
- Chinese name: 艾萌新 (Ai Mengxin).
- Croatian is her mother tongue. She has been learning Chinese for nine years, English for seven and a half, Dutch for a year and a half, and since 2026, German.
- Self-taught painter: Chinese ink, calligraphy and colour. Three solo exhibitions, the latest at the Vladimir Horvat Gallery, Zagreb (2026).
- Gold Award for Chinese painting and Bronze Award for calligraphy, Hong Kong 2026; Grand Prize, First International Xu Beihong Painting Competition, 2025.
- Chinese Bridge: ninth in the world and the Most Creative Award (2023); second in Europe and in the world's top ten (2025).
- Novel: Life of a Dog (Vision promocija, 2024): more than 6,000 copies sold, a 2025 bestseller, translated into English and Chinese.
- Song: Loved, first reserve at Dora 2026; the youngest songwriter ever to enter.
Photos
Photos and images of the works are sent on request: info@emadujmovic.com