Kemil Bekteši, a scholarship holder of the Hastor Foundation, graduated in 2020 from the Department of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo. He recently opened the doors to his first solo exhibition, which is symbolically called “Bekteši”. This exhibition, opened on May 21, is his first serious exhibition, presenting the works that were created in the period from 2018 to 2021. Curated by Adna Muslija, the exhibition is located in the Contemporary Art Gallery Brodac and will be opened until June 6.

Kemil says that his goal was to present himself to the Sarajevo audience in a literal, but also in a metaphorical sense. The very name of the exhibition “Bekteši” shows that the exhibition is of an autobiographical character. The artist weaved parts of his life and tried to bring the audience closer to the way he feels because of his identity. Kemil was born in Belgrade, his parents are from Kosovo and currently live in Sarajevo. As a person torn between different regions, politics, and nationalities, he wanted the visitors of the exhibition to recognize a part of themselves because this topic is very close to many who can identify with it.

The exhibition is in a form of multimedia, it contains an installation, drawings, an authentic photograph from my childhood, my passports which are now becoming works of art, not a sign of nationality. It also includes drawing, collage, and intervening on prints with a lot of written text, says Kemil.

Kemil has been painting for 9 years. He began his art education in 2012/13, when he enrolled in the High School of Applied Arts. After graduating from high school, he continued his artistic career at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo. In addition to the Sarajevo Academy, he also studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Porto, Portugal. He spent the winter semester 2018/19 in Portugal studying contemporary art practice. In addition to painting, Kemil expresses himself through various media, often working on objects, installations and in public space. This way, he does not limit his artistic practice only to painting but is a kind of multimedia artist:

There are many high-quality artists in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it would be nice if they were noticed and respected. I believe that the artist must communicate with the audience with his work, be present and accessible, and not closed in on himself, and it seems to me that this stereotype still prevails in our country.

Aside from creating exceptional works of art, Kemil won the Golden Badge of the University of Sarajevo for the first cycle of studies, and as he says, he is well on his way to achieving outstanding results in the second cycle as well. When he was a little younger, he was interested in experimental short films and won many awards in that field. In high school, he represented the Sarajevo Canton at the Schwenk High School Short Film Festival. In addition, he was chosen as the best student of painting and was nominated for the annual award “Alija Kučukalić”, awarded each year for the best graduate thesis. Among the major successes, Kemil points out that in 2020 he was a finalist for the ZVONO award (Young Artist Visual Award), which is held biennially in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is open to artists aged 23 to 40. So, every other year, four finalists are chosen, and last year Kemil was one of them.

Kemil says that the Hastor Foundation played an important role in his life because he constantly had the support that meant a lot:

The Hastor Foundation always selflessly supports not only me but all the scholarship holders. It is nice to have someone who celebrates your success and motivates you to continue with your work, whatever your field of interest may be. I am glad that several other colleagues from the Academy are also scholarship holders of the Foundation.  This tells me that the Hastor Foundation cares about the culture of our country, and I respect that very much. I would take this opportunity to thank them for their trust!

This is message for the scholarship holders of the Foundations: Your work will save you!

Aleksandra Đukić