ABOUT_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Project Artist in Residence is initiated by artist Edina Seleskovic in cooperation with the International Portrait Gallery Ismet Mujezinovic in Tuzla and with the support of the NGO Radio Kameleon – Open Network for Human Rights and Democracy.

RESIDENCY___________________________________________________________________________________________
The mission of the Program Artist in Residence at the International Atelier Ismet Mujezinovic is guided by the idea that creative work is a vehicle for knowledge and understanding, which transcends political boundaries. This project intends to generate a laboratory of creative energy by bringing in close contact accomplished international creative professionals with local artists and art audiences through diverse processes of art creation.

For the duration of up to one month, Artist in Residence Program would welcome one American artist to live and work at the International Atelier Ismet Mujezinovic in Tuzla.

Selection process and application
The selection of artists will be made by the International Atelier Ismet Mujezinovic Selection Committee. Artists will be invited on the bases of their application, project proposal, or by an invitation. Primary criteria are quality, originality, and potential for growth.

Visual artists are invited to submit a letter of intent, short bio and resume, project description, and 10 JPEG files: Macintosh-compatible JPEG files (1MB, 800 x 600 pixels maximum) with image script and URL to the email address edina.seleskovic@gmail.com

Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
Deadline for submissions is February 15th 2012. Artist notification by March 15th 2012.

Residency dates
April/May 2012

Live and Work Space
Resident artists will live and work at the International Atelier Ismet Mujezinovic in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is no residency housing or workspace fee to the artists. Artists are responsible for their own meals. Artists are expected to stay for the duration of the residency. Residents have access to the studio 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They are responsible for their own materials, specialized tools, fees for work done outside the premises, and for an assistant, should they require one.

Transportation
Artist in Residence Program will assist in covering the cost for the visiting artists’ international transportation. Artists are responsible for their own local transportation cost.

Art Creation and Projects
Artists are required to produce a project or a body of work, during their residency stay. They will have an opportunity to exhibit this work at the International Atelier Ismet Mujezinovic or at the International Portrait Gallery in Tuzla.

Artists are requested to credit/acknowledge International Atelier Ismet Mujezinovic in Tuzla when the work that they make here is subsequently exhibited or published, and to provide excellent images of their work for the website, archives, and publications.
A small honorarium may be awarded for the assistance in realization of community-based art projects.

Workshops
Each artist in residence is required to spend 2 hours a week in workshops with school children grades 1-12. These workshops will be planned and designed by the artist and the residency host. Creating art with contemporary methods of a working art professional can bring positive attitude toward art creation and understanding of art practice as a valuable tool in establishing self-awareness and self-esteem.

Presentations
Each artist in residence is required to spend 2 hours a week in meetings and gatherings with the local artists and local art audiences. These meetings can be either an informal discussions and conversations about visual art or lectures and presentations about artist’s work and career.
By furthering communication between visiting artists and local artists, both groups would greatly benefit from this exchange of ideas and experiences.
This program recognizes the importance not only of nurturing creative individuals, but also of bringing the arts to the public. Local art appreciation needs to be nurtured. Allowing access to a working artist and opening doors to art creation can bring closer art audiences to artwork and artists themselves.

PARTNERS
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
NGO Radio Kameleon Open Network for Human Rights and Democracy was established in 1997 and is one of the most active non-profit organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has continued tireless efforts of Radio Kameleon, which since 1992 has been one of the first private radio in ex Yugoslavia region, the voice of the people under siege, and today the most listened radio station.
Independently and in partnerships, it has developed and organized a number of actions in response to diverse issues and needs of B&H public and social life. Its organizational capabilities are proven by numerous successfully implemented projects, such as: supporting democratization in Brcko and Srebrenica – “Let’s Talk Democracy”, creating women’s network - “Gender Project”, demilitarization - “Harvest” with ESFOR, educational project - “Say No to Drugs”, humanitarian project - “Do Not Turn Your Head Away” for the victims of tsunami, humanitarian action for saving the life of Ljiljana Kranjc, and getting young people to vote - “Izbori se” project with CCI.  Project “Give Votes and Make Waves” educated young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina about the importance of democratic processes, with emphasis on the voting at the municipal elections in 2010. The biggest project of positive image building for Bosnia and Herzegovina in post-war history was 2007 project titled “Don’t Miss this Kiss”, when 30,000 people participated in breking the Guinness record with 6,980 couples kissing simultaneously. “Everybody Waltz Now” with a slogan “Be a Part of the Best News in the World Today” invited people from the entire region to join us in the greatest Vienna waltz in the world and to break the Guinness record in 2010. In cooperation with the association “Taldi” from Tuzla, Radio Kameleon raised public awareness for children with multiple disabilities with project titled “They Learn from us”. Regional project for cervical cancer prevention - “My Life is My Song”, included a production of an original song with the same title and a series of concerts with four most popular female pop stars from the ex Yugoslavia region. In 19 years, this NGO has created partnerships with: USIP, USAID, CCI, European Commission, US Army, Rotary International - “A Pen Writes with Its Heart” project, Westminster Foundation for Democracy, Voice of America, DW, Press Now, etc. NGO Radio Kameleon has won numerous awards including: 2008 Rotary Award, 2009 Best Humanitarian Action Award, 2010 Annual BELLS Award - “Honorable Eco Ambassadors”, and 2010 The Golden Charter of Peace by the International League of Humanists.

International Portrait Gallery opened its doors in 1964, within the Elementary School “Center” and with a small collection of artworks donated by established artists from ex-Yugoslavia. Gallery’s mission is closely connected with art exploration, presentation, and valorization of portraiture, as an important art genre. For the past four decades, the International Portrait Gallery grew into a significant art institution. The current Gallery building, has hosted numerous exhibitions of emerging and well-established artists, retrospectives, and art festivals with many more planned. In 1980, the International Portrait Gallery established the International Portrait Biennial, which this year has gathered 160 artists from 50 countries. Its current permanent collection includes over 4000 works from 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, including the largest collection of works from the estate of Ismet Mujezinovic, numerous works by Adela Behr (the first woman painter from Bosnia and Herzegovina), numerous works from the estate of Haim Pinto, drawings and prints from international artists participants of the International Portrait Biennial, numerous works by artists considered to be cultural heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and numerous works by contemporary artists from the entire ex Yugoslavia region. Under its wing, International Portrait Gallery in Tuzla has also established Gallery Ismet Mujezinovic, Drawing Room 13, Tuzla Drawing Room, Gallery Club, and the International Atelier Ismet Mujezinovic.

Ismet Mujezinovic is one of the most established artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was born in 1907 in Tuzla. Ismet studied at the Art Academy in Zagreb, specializing in fresco painting under the mentorship of professor Kljakovic. During 1930s he lived and worked in Paris and attended the Sorbonne Institute. Just before the WWII erupted, he returned to Sarajevo, began showing his paintings and drawings and became an active member of the Sarajevo artist collective Collegium Artisticum. As an active participant in the Yugoslav resistance movement, her painted war scenes and illustrated news publications. After the WWII, Ismet Mujezinovic became one of the most respected Yugoslav artists. He exhibited his works in numerous solo exhibitions in Prague, Paris, Vienna, Moscow, Warsaw, Budapest, and in all major Yugoslav cities. With his work, he traveled throughout Europe and was the visiting artist in France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Poland, Czech Republic, and the Soviet Union. He was also a member of the Yugoslav Art and Science Academy and has received numerous awards for his work. However, his home and studio are located in the heart of the city of Tuzla where he spent most of his life. Ismet’s life and career have left a permanent mark on the culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina and on the artistic tradition of Tuzla in particular. When he passed away in 1984, his estate was named the International Atelier Ismet Mujezinovic under the management of the International Portrait Gallery.

The International Atelier Ismet Mujezinovic is located in the center of this city. It was the home and studio space of Tuzla’s most known artist, Ismet Mujezinovic, until his death in 1984. Since its inception, it was intended to be a place where artists can live and create, a place where the heart of contemporary art scene of Tuzla and of entire Bosnia and Herzegovina would beat. This year is the first year of the Artist in Residence Program for American artists.

Bosnian born – New York – based American artist, Edina Seleskovic is the initiator and host of the Artist in Residence Program. She will provide the crucial link between the American artists and Bosnian cultural milieu. 

Edina Seleskovic was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She was an exchange student in the United States when the destructive Bosnian War displaced Edina from her home and family. Turning to her art for solace, her sculpted and painted 3-dimensional female figures provided a powerful emotional anchor, enabling her to artistically channel her torment and angst into her art, and pay homage to the accomplished women in her family.
In 1999, she received a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC. Her works have been exhibited in over 40 group and solo shows in galleries across the US, in Europe, and Asia.
Edina Seleskovic’ fascinating life and rising carrier reflect her multiple horizons. Not only is she passionately active in the international art world, Edina is also highly recognized fashion designer with avant-garde creations that have appeared in COSMOPOLITAN and SMOCK Magazines.
Her collaborative efforts with artists of many disciplines have resulted in founding of the New York-based artist collective The Stoodio and fashion collaborative Anie Rexe. She is one of the founding artists of the Williamsburg artist community in New York.
Edina’s public works include several large murals in DC and Sarajevo. In 2007 Bosnia issued a Special Edition Postage Stamp featuring a painting by Edina Seleskovic. In 2008 a video performance with artist Aaron Sheppard was presented in Being for the first Chinese Biennial.
Edina’s life and art have been a subject of numerous magazine articles, radio and TV shows, and a Voice of America TV documentary titled “Edina’s Story.” 
She is a recipient of Sculpture Space Fellowship for 2010/2011 and Can Serrat residency in Barcelona, Spain in 2011. Edina is currently working on several projects in Europe. She lives and works in New York and Tuzla.
This project is supported in part by the United States Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.