Artist Selma Selman visited the University of Sarajevo

University of Sarajevo Rector Prof. Dr. Rifat Škrijelj, Vice-Rector for Art, Culture and Sports Prof. Dr. Tamara Karača-Beljak and Vice-Rector for Science Prof. Dr. Mirza Dautbašić met on Monday, 19 April 2021 with the artist Selma Selman and the curator of her upcoming solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of BiH Prof. Dr. Amila Ramović.

With this meeting, the representatives of the University of Sarajevo paid tribute to the renowned BH artists for the results achieved in her professional and artistic and activist work dedicated to improving the status of the Roma community in BiH, as well as other humanistic issues that motivate her work.

The meeting was also the reason for announcing the support of the University of Sarajevo for a multidisciplinary art project that will, after a year of preparation, be realized in Sarajevo this summer. Rector Škrijelj pointed out as a motive for cooperation that Selma Selman is a Bosnian woman who achieved respectable international results in the early phase of her career and, in the manner of a productive artist, has already made visions of a better future and quality of life a reality serve as a role model for young people whose education and support the University of Sarajevo is dedicated to.
 
In a productive conversation, the curator of the exhibition, Dr. Ramović pointed out that with this exhibition, the Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina not only brings the first exhibition of a Roma artist from BH audience, but at the same time it is the first exhibition of this format by the artist of the young generation. Precisely because of that, the organizational team, which mostly consists of teachers from the art academies of the University of Sarajevo, is determined to dedicate the attention and efforts that such an important cultural project deserves to its production.
Vice-Rector Karača-Beljak welcomed the project of Selma Selman and confirmed her commitment to the University of Sarajevo to be a fertile ground for progressive and ambitious artistic thinking, as shown in the achievements of alumni and teachers of art academies at the University of Sarajevo.
Vice-Rector Dautbašić expressed special satisfaction that the University of Sarajevo will have the opportunity to support a truly interdisciplinary project, in the commitment that the exchange of knowledge between artists and scientists be a special space for strengthening the scope of the University.
 
During the meeting, Selma Selman presented her current art projects, and especially referred to her project of scholarships for Roma girls, which can be a positive example for initiatives to improve the level and quality of their education, as a way to better growth, which can finally lead to enrollment to institutions such as the University of Sarajevo. She expressed satisfaction with UNSA's support for this project and readiness to continue cooperation with UNSA in the coming phases.
 
Selma Selman (b. 1991, Bihać) is a Bosnian, Roma and international artist who has dedicated her career to improving socio-economic and social attitudes towards Roma status. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Banja Luka, and then completed a master's degree at Syracuse University, New York (USA). In the past period, she developed an enviable artistic career and became present in the most important museums and galleries in Europe and America. She participated in the international Roma pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2019. She is the founder of the Foundation for Support of the Education of Roma Girls in BiH. He lives on the route between Washington and Bihać.