Between Past and Future

Established in 2018, Kuma International Summer School is the first program solely dedicated to contemporary art practices produced in the context of conflict and trauma. The school focuses on Bosnia and Herzegovina and the work artists in the region and the diaspora have been making in response to the political turmoil of the 1990s which began with the fall of Yugoslavia and ended with war and genocide.

More than 70 students from 19 different countries have participated in the program over the past five years. Marking the 5th anniversary since the school’s first edition and thirty years since the beginning of the war, this year’s program will be dedicated to the revaluation, revalorization and envisioning future directions of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s contemporary art practices.

This year, Kuma International Summer School will partner with Bosnian-American artist Aida Šehović and the ŠTO TE NEMA team to host a three-day ŠTO TE NEMA Monument Lab. The lab is envisioned as an ongoing process ensuring the continuity of ŠTO TE NEMA through activism and art, as the monument transforms into a permanent, site-specific memorial in Srebrenica after traveling the world for 15 years.

Course leader

Dr Claudia Zini is an art historian and curator focusing her professional interests on visual arts dealing with the aftermath of war and violence. She holds a PhD degree from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.

Target group

Graduate students, artists, early career researchers and anyone interested in social, experiential and creative approaches to learning.

Course aim

Who are the pioneers of contemporary art in the region and how have they been shaped by the recent, violent past? Who are the artists of the next generation and how are they influenced by the current global crisis? Where are these practices taking place? How do they all imagine the future in a post-conflict society pulled between the need to confront the legacy of the past in the form of cultural memorialization and the desire to move forward and move on?

We will examine these questions by considering the most influential practices, the narratives put forward, and the boundaries they have pushed. Through a series of lectures, presentation and conversations in the classroom, as well as workshops and guided tours of local cultural and public spaces, participants will not only have a chance to learn, but also anchor their own attitudes and critical thought regarding the discussed topics and their global and local socio-political contexts. Summer school students will further be encouraged to develop and plan their own projects in the fields of visual arts and curatorial practice

Fee info

EUR 75: The registration fee is 75 EURO for international participants and 35 BAM for participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The fee must be paid in Euro by PayPal or in BAM by bank transfer or cash. Further instructions will
follow the selection process. Please note that admission to the summer school cannot be guaranteed if payment is not received before July 29, 2022. The registration fee will include a welcome dinner, closing lunch and entrances to museums and galleries. Participants are responsible for the arrangement and costs of their accommodation, travel, and living expenses. Kuma’s team remains at your disposal to help with accommodation and other logistics concerns.

Scholarships

scholarships will be available for applicants from Bosnia and Herzegovina.