Majda Turkić, artist without borders

The platform for supporting academic artists in BiH will ensure a greater chance for young artists In cooperation with BHAAAS, the implementation of the artist exchange program between BiH and the USA, based on the "Artists-in-Residence" principle, begins. Majda Turkić studied at the Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien, Austria, in the class of Prof. . Peter Koglera Visual Communication and Marine Gržinić Post-Conceptual Art 2010. From 2007 to 2008, she was a visiting student at the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem, where her development focused on film at the Visual and Material Culture department. In his work, he uses a specific methodological and theoretical approach that is reflected through the artist's inner perspective and the questioning of socio-historical and anthropological relations. Research on the phenomenon of walls as "architectural objects" takes her to Berlin and Rome, where she works on artistic and research projects with the support of the Austrian Ministry of Culture. Today, he is a doctoral candidate on the topic "Thinking about the new trend of urbanization in Bosnia and Herzegovina: post-war reconstruction and the search for a lost identity" at the Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien, in the class of Prof. Christian Cravagna. Due to the connection with architecture, her photographic works are focused on architectural objects as well as studio subjects. She exhibited individually and collectively in Berlin, Vienna, and Israel. As a curator, he organizes exhibitions and works independently as a curator, conceptual art photographer, and art critic. Also, since 2014, she has been collaborating with the University of Iowa, where she is a guest lecturer, and with their support she has realized notable art projects.

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You have dedicated your life to art. If you had to describe art in one word, what word would it be for you?

• It is difficult to describe art in one word or to give it meaning because it is a broad field that is not based on a single judgment: beautiful or ugly; good or bad; it permeates all segments of our lives. Art for me has the meaning of education, provocation, empowerment, and reflection, which encourages social constructivism or the establishment of interpersonal (racial or gender) and spatial balance. I want to add that my position is that art should be accessible to everyone and ubiquitous in education systems, regardless of what the individual ultimately plans to be by profession. It needs to be consumed daily to understand it and for it to become widely accepted.

You live on the route Bosnia and Herzegovina - Austria - USA. You were born in Zenica, and you are often in Sarajevo, but judging by your projects, your heart is drawn to Mostar. Why Mostar?

• I try to transfer my work to more cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially in cities that are "forgotten." Mostar does not belong to that category, but due to its specificity and rich cultural history, as well as distinctive politics, it is challenging to create. I am also brought to Mostar by the excellent cooperation with the Herzegovina Museum and its director, curators, and artists. At first glance, I liked the openness and honesty of the whole team, as well as the visionary spirit to enter together into unusual art projects that we plan to implement in the next few years and then spread in other cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In cooperation with BHAAAS, you plan to implement an artist exchange program between the USA and BiH, that is, to bring artists from New York and Baltimore to Mostar and vice versa. Can you tell us more about this project?

• BHAAAS wants to empower its members in the field of art and culture, giving them the necessary institutional support but also wants them to realize new projects that would be constructive for BiH. Due to their clear goal, as well as healthy and fluid communication with the leadership of BHAAAS, we managed to start communication and preliminary plans to create an artist exchange program between BiH and the USA, based on the principle of the "Artists-in-Residence" program. This program would enable BiH artists to visit New York, for the time being, for several months, and vice versa—i.e., studio stays of artists from the USA in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The current first step is to bring artists from the USA to stay in Mostar for several months in cooperation with the Herzegovina Museum. For example, I collaborated with the director of the "Artists-in-Residence" program in New York (Brooklyn), and we are working on developing the program for next year. The COVID-19 situation will of course require some adjustments, but given the great enthusiasm, versatility, and expertise of BHAAAS medical members, we are sure to provide each artist with a unique experience that will help boost their careers. The principle of the program is to enable more professional and educational exchanges for academic artists, thus strengthening their work and cooperation with galleries/gallerists, museums, and collectors in America. Young artists often face administrative difficulties in contacting intermediaries to promote and sell their works, and the goal of our program is to empower them in this sense. It is important to point out that one of our goals is for every artist to receive a scholarship from local and international grants, in which this kind of institutional support from BHAAAS is very important when applying for the same. The stay of artists from America in BiH will have local significance through their involvement in the community through activities that will be organized by the expert team of BHAAAS, the Herzegovina Museum, ICOM (International Council of Museums), and other future partners in this program. Over the past 25 years, it has been shown that the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina is rich in artists who have achieved international fame, which was helped by scholarships and guest stays in cultural institutions, museums, and galleries of Western Europe and America. Unfortunately, the programs that are able to sponsor such exchanges are very limited, and most artists do not get the opportunity to assert themselves on an international level.

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Što vas je potaklo da postanete član BHAAAS-a i što očekujete od te saradnje?

• Unazad nekoliko godina profesionalno sarađujem sa Univerzitetom u Iowi i mogu kazati da Iowu smatram drugim domom, zbog bliskosti i prijateljskih odnosa sa osobljem ovog Univerziteta. Kroz zajedničku saradnju uradili smo nekoliko umjetničkih projekata u BiH i u Iowi. S obzirom na profesionalne i privatne veze, a poznavajući viziju BHAAAS smatrala sam da bi Akademija bila sjajna platforma za moje dalje aktivnosti u Bosni i Hercegovini i u Americi. Upravo nakon što sam bliže upoznala predsjednicu i neposredno se sprijateljila sa njom, shvatila sam koliko se misija Akademije podudara sa mojom, da ne mogu zamisliti boljeg partnera i ljude u ostvarenju, možda i, utopijskih, ali, nadam se, realističnih ciljeva.

  Vaša platforma za podršku akademskim umjetnicima u BiH i njihov razvoj trebala bi osigurati veću šansu za izlaganje njihovih radova i prezentaciju javnost. Imate li podršku u realizaciji ovog projekta domaće akademske zajednice?

• Upravo saradnja sa Hercegovina muzejom i njegovim lokalnim partnerima, poput Univerziteta “Džemal Bijedić” i ICOM (International Council of Museums), garant nam je uspješnosti realizacije i održivosti ovog programa u Bosni i Hercegovini.

  Imate li neki savjet koji bi iz svoje današnje perspektive mogli dati mladim umjetnicima, koji tek kreću na put svog stvaralačkog djelovanja ?

• Jako je teško biti umjetnik u zemljama u razvoju. U stranu ćemo staviti klišej da je “teško razumjeti umjetnika”, jer upravo nedostatak afirmacije od strane sistema čini ovu profesiju izuzetno izazovnom i teškom u zemljama u razvoju, posebno ako se odlučite da budete nekomercijalni umjetnik. Ovdašnje kulturne politike u kojem se izgrađuju mladi umjetnici češće podržavaju folklornu ili tradicionalnu umjetnost, da bi zanemarili savremenu ili modernu koje mnogo više kazuju o aktuelnim pojavnostima, a mogu biti učinkovitije u osvještavanju i osnaživanju društva da se stvari promijene na bolje.

Čak su i pojedini internacionalni grantovi uslovljeni “nacionalnim ključem” što još više otežava poziciju mladog umjetnika. Moj skromni savjet je da se umjetnici ne povlače zbog indiferentnog sistema, već da svojom pojavnošću utječu na promjene kulturnih politika. Međusobna saradnja, networking/umrežavanje, aktivizam, međusobno jačanje i podrška koju umjetnici daju jedni drugima jako je važna da se stereotipi u kulturnim politikama iskorijene.   I za kraj, koji su vaši budući planovi: novi projekti, saradnje, stvaranje umjetničkih ciklusa, izložbe…. ?

• Prvenstveno se smatram kustosem, predavačem i organizatorom izložbi. Trenutno sam u posljednjoj fazi izrade doktorske disertacije na Akademiji primjenjenih umjetnosti u Beču. Moj trenutni istraživački i umjetnički fokus je povezan sa postkolonijalnim kontekstom, te sa svojim mentorom Christan Kravagnom planiram da realiziram izložbu u Austriji vezano za ovaj rad, ali i da sarađujemo sa drugim umjetnicima čiji je umjetnički kontekst povezan sa postkolonijalnim diskursom. U svakom slučaju uvijek radim na novim projektima, izložbama i idejama, a preferiram da ih slovim kao rad u progresu, jer jedan rad uvijek daje ideju za sljedeći ili otvara novo pitanje koje traži odgovor ili nova značenja.