Sarajevo – Zurich: Unlimited
Heidi Hahn, a Zurich-based artist, organised together with her sister Anita Hahn a joint exhibition of Swiss and Bosnian and Herzegovinian artists entitled Sarajevo – Zurich: Unlimited that took place at Kunstraum Walcheturm in Zurich and the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo. The aim of the exhibition was to enable artists from Sarajevo and Zurich to get to know one another in the framework of a joint project and to contribute through their works to overcoming borders, building bridges and establishing communication between different cultures and societies. The project Sarajevo – Zurich: Unlimited was financed by the Canton and City of Zurich, SüdKulturFunds, Else v. Sick Stiftung and other Swiss foundations.
''Beyond Borders''
When she visited Sarajevo for the first time in 2013, Heidi immediately became interested in the history of this city, its artists and culture. Being of the opinion that borders are there to be overcome and that different traditions and cultures should communicate, Heidi soon recognised the artistic potentials of Sarajevo and had the idea to connect artists from Zurich and Sarajevo in a project that would result in a joint exhibition entitled Beyond Borders. "In my opinion, this topic is quite exciting and motivating, it makes one consider it carefully. I think it is important to have such a mind set, to always communicate cultural differences and peculiarities and to then turn them into something creative'', explains Heidi.
Together with several artists, who were of the same opinion regarding rapprochement of cultures, Heidi established the association TransAlpin in 2012. The association promotes cultural exchanges between cities from different countries. The first activity of the association was a joint exhibition of artists from Zurich and Vienna, and the next challenge was the cooperation with artists from Sarajevo.
''The word Sarajevo has a magical air to it, it really is full of meaning'', says Heidi. ''The city and the whole region have an incredible history. We all learned about Sarajevo and the beginning of World War I at school, and I was closely following the Winter Olympics, because back then I engaged in sports. A lot has happened in the region, and the name of the city is always present, it is always being mentioned''.
Following her first visit to Sarajevo in 2013, Heidi researched and read a lot about Bosnia and Herzegovina and her fascination with the region increased. She initiated the preparation, established contacts in Sarajevo and Zurich and the project involving a joint exhibition of artists from these two cities started taking shape and specific ideas were born: ''It was decided that artists from Sarajevo should present what they engage in today, their respective topics and life situations, and the artists from Zurich did the same. I am truly glad that we made this decision'', says Heidi.
Cooperation with Crvena in Sarajevo
The partner organisation in Sarajevo for the exhibition ''Sarajevo – Zurich: Unlimited'' was Crvena, a cultural and art association. ''We insisted that our colleagues from Crvena that we mostly cooperated with, Adela Jušić and Andreja Dugandžić, should select the artists for the exhibition, rather than we. Having in mind the space available for the exhibition, our funds and other conditions, in the end we decided together to have six artists from Sarajevo and six artists from Zurich at the exhibition. The key criterion for the selection was that the artistic works should be in compliance with the idea of the project 'Beyond Borders'."
According to Heidi, a great inspiration for developing the project were the enthusiasm and motivation of Adela and Andreja from Crvena: ''They have done a great deal to make this possible. Artists in Sarajevo work very much and they are well-organised. They do their best and fight for themselves, they are willing to work and exhibit their works. It is interesting that most members of Crvena are quite young, just as most artists from Sarajevo that participated in the exhibition. We from Zurich, on the other hand, are a bit older, and those were basically two different generations communicating in the framework of the project. That was also an inspiration and another way to show what 'Beyond Borders' means''. (laughing)
After three years of preparations, intense communication and planning, the exhibition entitled Sarajevo – Zurich: Unlimited was staged in Zurich, at Kunstraum Walcheturm, in the period July 21 – August 13, 2017, and then in Sarajevo, at the Gallery of Art of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the period September 1 – 23, 2017.
The artists that presented their works at the exhibition were: Anita Hahn, Lana Čmajčanin, Jusuf Hadžifejzović, Dženan Hadžihasanović, Adela Jušić, Jim Marshall, Bojan Stojčić, Baltensperger + Siepert, Ursula Baur, Chiara Fiorini/Dominique Starck, Heidi Hahn and Christoph Zihlmann.
The exhibition opening in Zurich was attended by more than 120 persons, including also the representatives of the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Matica BiH. On the last day of the exhibition in Zurich, the movie Das Fräulein of the Swiss director Andrea Štaka, who also originates from Bosnia and Herzegovina, was screened. Following the screening, the visitors could talk and exchange their impressions of the exhibition. ''There were many emotions'', says Heidi. ''The exhibited works that speak about the war and previous way of life in Yugoslavia have evoked numerous memories among the guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina. People were sighing and did not hide their emotions. The mother of Andrea Štaka, who is from Sarajevo, was telling us about the life in Sarajevo and how she came to Switzerland. Everything was very pleasant and friendly. A visitor, a Bosnian woman, was crying and she told me how glad she was to see the exhibition, because there was nobody anymore to talk to about it, because nobody wanted to listen about the war anymore or what the situation was now like in Bosnia and Herzegovina''.
The exhibited works of artists from Sarajevo and Zurich belonged to different forms, from installations, over paintings, photographs, drawings to videos. Heidi is of the opinion that the works of the artists from Sarajevo are more political than those of the artists from Zurich, and the work ''Prazan naslov'' of Dženan Hadžihasanović, has attracted a particularly large audience. His painting in acrylic depicts demonstrations in Sarajevo, with lots of protest banners that are all empty and without any messages.
After taking place in Zurich, the exhibition arrived to Sarajevo, where it attracted great attention of the media and was visited by numerous persons. ''The Gallery of Art of Bosnia and Herzegovina truly did an excellent job in promoting the exhibition in the media and the public and I am very happy with how the exhibition went in Sarajevo. The key difference between the artists from Zurich and Sarajevo lies in the fact that the artists in Sarajevo are always facing existential problems in an insufficiently regulated society, and we live in a well-regulated society and face different problems than they do. I do believe that we did a good thing by organising the exhibition. We meticulously built a bridge and now we should start using it. It can be further developed and built'', says Heidi.
Links:
Heidi Hahn: https://www.artistimisti.ch/page.php?9,30,9,
TranAlpin: http://art-transalpin.com/
Crvena: www.crvena.ba
The media:
https://www.oslobodjenje.ba/o2/kultura/izlozbe/umjetnici-u-potrazi-za-po...
http://avaz.ba/lifestyle/kultura/298798/jusuf-hadzifejzovic-izlozio-je-s... sakupljam-i-prodajem-praznu-ambalazu
http://www.federalna.ba/bhs/vijest/213548/umjetnicka-galerija-bih
https://inside-sarajevo.com/2017/08/30/bosnian-and-swiss-artists-exhibit-at-national-gallery/
http://www.seniorweb.ch/knowledge-article/sarajevo-%E2%80%93-z%C3%BCrich-ein-kulturaustausch
''This is only the beginning of my story with the Balkans''
Louis Gasser, an artist and curator from Lausanne, organised an exhibition entitled ''Painting, distance and emptiness'' at the gallery Tilt in Renens, Vaud Canton, which also included works of the artists Dženan Hadžihasanović and Jusuf Hadžifejzović from Sarajevo, and Christoph Zihlmann from Zurich. The exhibition took place from September 14 to October 5, 2017.
Louis explains how he had the idea to organise an exhibition with artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina, who live in Switzerland: ''The first time I had the idea for this exhibition was when I met Dženan Hadžihasanović and saw his exhibition at Collegium artisticum in Sarajevo in 2016, which was not the first time I visited Sarajevo and got into contact with the culture and art of Bosnia and Herzegovina. That was a visit for completely private reasons, when I attended the wedding of a friend whose future wife was from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and they therefore wanted to also get married in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the visit, I saw Dženan's exhibition and its quality and topicality impressed me quite a lot. He is a young artist, who works a lot. I have also seen the works of Jusuf Hadžifejzović, and his experience, work and dedication also attracted my interest. In Switzerland, we always associate the art of the Balkans with war-related topics, but the artists from that region also do other things and have different interests and perspectives. I was truly touched by the artistic scene and situation in Sarajevo''.
Initiative to organise expositions of artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina abroad
The visit to Sarajevo and the contact with a new culture left a strong impression on Louis: ''There are so many different contrasts in that city. It is quite easy to get in touch with persons that are exceptionally open and warm. It is a particularly rich culture, and the city also has a special character. I did not know too much about the Balkans before this visit. When I was a child, my mother would give me explanations about the war, and our teachers at school would also explain what was going on and why refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina came to our country. We ourselves have a responsibility to know more and to engage, because in Switzerland, there are numerous immigrants from the Balkans and it all happened in our proximity. The artists from Sarajevo do not have many opportunities to present their work abroad, and I understood that I could do something about it, because the artistic scene is extremely rich and interesting indeed''.
After returning to Switzerland, Louis soon started preparing an exhibition, raising funds and searching for the right premises. Dženan Hadžihasanović, with his work in acrylic ''Prazan naslov'', and Jusuf Hadžifejzović with the project ''Prodavnica praznine'', were invited to the exhibition at the gallery Tilt. After he saw the exhibition ''Sarajevo – Zurich: Unlimited'' in July 2017 and got into contact with Christoph Zilhmann, Louis decided to invite this artist from Zurich, too: ''I very much liked his work 'I have never been to Sarajevo', in which he works with photographs from Sarajevo and then gives his perspective of the city in watercolour'', explains Louis.
The exhibition attracted quite a diversified audience, and in the opinion of Louis it was a full success and an inspiration for potential new projects. He is already planning his next visit to Sarajevo and the region in the spring of the coming year: ''I have some ideas for the next exhibition and I would like to organise a somewhat bigger exhibition than the first one. I think that this is only the beginning of my story with the Balkans!''
Links:
Louis Gasser: http://www.louisgasser.ch/
Gallery Tilt, Renens: http://www.espace-tilt.ch/
Dženan Hadžihasanović: https://www.dzenanhadzihasanovic.com/
Jusuf Hadžifejzović: https://hadzifejzovicjusuf.wordpress.com/biocv/
Christoph Zihlmann: http://www.christophzihlmann.com/index.php/en/