Art in BiH 2015

Skills: Duplex 2012-2018

Signing book « Introduction to Contemporary Art in BiH » by Jon blackwood and a collective exhibition of bosnian artists.

This  will be the first ever book on contemporary art in Bosnia & Herzegovina, in any language.

The book derives from a period of three years of research and participatory observation around the differing art activities in BiH. In a challenging contextual essay, the key drivers of contemporary art in the country are considered. The main themes discussed are the legacy of the 1992-95 war, the collapse of infrastructure, informality, futavizam, art activism and politics, art and the environment, Yugoslavism, and diaspora.

In addition to fleshing out these broader themes, the book will consider key works of contemporary art in grater detail, in order to open out the complex interplay of these themes in individual works.

Lavishly illustrated, the book will provide a key starting point both for the general and the academic reader, and will stand as a guide to BiH art for many years to come.

About the Author

Jon Blackwood, originally from Glasgow, has an MA and Ph.D in the history of art from the Courtauld Institute, University of London. He is particularly interested in curating contemporary art, contemporary art in times of transition, and the cultural geography of art.

He was active in Sarajevo from 2011-14, curating exhibitions, researching, and writing critical essays for the cultural portal Sarajevo Culture Bureau. Jon now teaches Critical and Contextual Studies at Grays School of Art, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen; he continues to divide his time between Scotland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Macedonia; his book of interviews Contemporary Macedonian Artists Talking is die to be published in Skopje in 2016.