For fifteen years, the festival “Balkantage” (Days of the Balkans) has been enriching the cultural life of Munich and Germany in general. Observing that young people living in Germany, who are originally from the Balkans, do not nurture their culture, tradition and attitude towards the homeland enough, the organizers of this year’s festival set a goal: Connecting young people through a common tradition, culture and language, regardless of where they live.

At this year’s festival, as part of the exhibition “New Perspective”, students of the Academy of Fine Arts, the Academy of Performing Arts and the Music Academy of the University of Sarajevo presented their works together. Among them were two scholarship holders of the Hastor Foundation, Ana Milijević and Kemil Bekteši, students of the second cycle of studies at the Department of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts of the University of Sarajevo. In addition to being college classmates, Ana and Kemil have been friends for many years:
We both graduated from the High School of Applied Arts, in the Department of Applied Painting. After graduation, we continued to nurture our love of painting and enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts. We graduated last year, and we are both winners of the Golden Badge of the University of Sarajevo. In the same year, we enrolled in the second cycle of studies, also at the Department of Painting.
During their eight-year art education, they tried many things in addition to painting. Ana studies creative industries and is simultaneously enrolled in a master’s program in Belgrade at the Faculty of Media and Communications. Kemil is dedicated to studying the technology of painting and contemporary art, so last year he was one of the finalists for the “ZVONO” award (Young Artist Visual Award), which is related to contemporary art in Bosnia and Herzegovina:
We have worked together on many projects, both in high school and in college. We would like to single out the animated film that we worked on in collaboration with the Italian producer Mateo Valenti. That animated film was recognized by the Nobel Prize team. Also, the Tuzla organization “Revolt” invited us to hold art workshops in May this year.
The forces of their primarily friendly, and then professional relationship were directed towards another very important European project – the “Balkantage” festival. This year the festival looks a bit different due to the pandemic and unfortunately, they could not be physically present and travel to Munich. With the help of their ass. prof. Ema Mazrak, who managed to gather students from three Sarajevo academies, they participated in the online exhibition “New Perspective”, where they presented their work entitled “Onomad”. The exhibition, as well as the entire festival, was held online, through their official website, but also through a live broadcast on Facebook and Instagram profile. This is what Ana and Kemil have to say about the ideas and goals of their work:
At the beginning of 2020, the life we ​​were used to started to change. The situation with the coronavirus pandemic transformed our way of life and closed the doors of our homes, but it opened the doors to our inner world, the one we have rarely found time for. In that initial period, thinking seemed to be the only sufficiently sterile way to spend time. In moments like these, a man, timid as he is by nature, begins to wander through his memories. We think of our ancestors who lived a quiet, traditional life. The protective mask becomes an indispensable part of our physical appearance. At the same time, it hides and protects our identity, and in that aspect, a new field opens for decorative handicrafts – a skill in which the Balkan has shown its talent for years.
The very idea of ​​the work actually lies in merging the present with the past, that is, the situation in which we currently find ourselves is displaced from the present and placed in a time frame when the clothes that are considered traditional were simply everyday clothing. We imagine Balkan women decorating hygienic protective masks with embroidery, lace, or other decorative fabrics. The work consists of six decorative-protective masks, three made by Ana and three made by Kemil. In addition to the masks, their video, which they recorded as an announcement for the project, was premiered at the festival. They plan to continue working on this project and hope to exhibit it in the future. Ana, who has been a scholarship holder for three years, and Kemil, who has been with us for two years, have only words of praise for the Hastor Foundation. After Ana shared her enthusiasm for all the people who are a part of the Hastor Foundation family with Kemil, he immediately wanted to become a member:
We have a chance to connect with a lot of young, talented and ambitious people. This is very pleasing, especially to us who are always ready for new adventures and projects. We are happy that the Foundation recognizes our efforts and work, and that certainly inspires us even more.

Alek Isaković