Edina Selesković, artist from BiH: Sarajevo taught me empathy, New York courage, and between those two worlds I created my own language without borders

Edina Selesković is one of the most prominent contemporary artists from the former Yugoslavia whose work spans sculpture, multimedia, performance and large-scale public installations. Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, formed between Sarajevo and New York, she started her artistic journey in the early nineties in the United States of America, where she graduated from the renowned Corcoran School of Art in Washington. Since then, her career has included more than a hundred exhibitions around the world and collaborations linking art, science and technology, including a project with NASA.

- Interdisciplinarity came naturally to me, almost by necessity. I grew up between different worlds - between Bosnia, which shaped me as a person, and New York, which shaped me as an artist. Those two experiences - one deeply emotional and historical, the other radically open and experimental - taught me that art does not have to have boundaries. Sculpture gave me form, performance movement, public space a purpose, and multimedia made it possible to intertwine it all into a unique expression. I think that it was precisely living between different cultures and systems that made me choose plurality, not one form.

- My works almost always bear traces of the places I come from and the places I`ve passed through. Sarajevo taught me empathy, layering and resilience - that`s why my themes are often imbued with memory, identity and communities. New York taught me courage, conceptual thinking and the idea that art can be both a tool and a platform. Those two experiences together define my themes: freedom, togetherness, the possibility of change, questioning the system and, perhaps most importantly, the human story behind every great narrative.

- The moment when the audience becomes the author inspires me the most. When it touches the installation, when it leaves a message, when it recognizes itself in a story that is not only mine - then art crosses the border of the aesthetic and becomes a shared experience. Interaction is not decoration for me; she is the essence. People bring meaning, breath and energy to the work. This is why public spaces and participatory projects are so important to me - they democratize art and make it possible for it to happen everywhere and to everyone.

The key moment was certainly going to the United States in 1991, where I graduated from the Washington Academy and started exhibiting there. Those were my first professional steps, but coming to New York changed everything - suddenly my career started to develop in a direction I never dared to dream about. Williamsburg, the artistic part of New York, was then emerging - raw, energetic, incredibly open to new ideas - and it was in that environment that I first felt the true freedom and global reach of art. Returning to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2011 opened a new chapter in my life and career, when I no longer had the luxury of independent existence in the world of art, but the responsibility to try to become an initiator of positive changes.

- Balance is always a challenge, but I believe that commissioned projects do not have to limit creativity. On the contrary - limitations sometimes become a springboard. It is important for me to understand the essence of the order, but also to keep an authentic voice. When there is mutual trust, the project becomes a collaboration rather than a compromise. In public installations, I feel a special responsibility because the work must communicate with an audience that did not ask for it, but will meet it every day - therefore it must be clear, empathetic and honest.

You might not believe me, but the biggest step forward and personal growth in my career happened precisely because of censorship. She taught me that sometimes limitation is what pushes you into deeper authenticity, into bolder expression, and into creation that can`t be easily silenced. In that paradox, I discovered my own strength and the importance that art always remains honest, even when its doors are closed.

- Art and business have much more in common than it seems at first glance. Both require vision, courage, the ability to take risks and faith in an idea that does not yet exist. In modern society, especially in culture, sustainability has become necessary - and that`s where art and business meet. Business can provide infrastructure and resources, and art can provide meaning, identity and value that cannot be measured in numbers. When these two spheres come together in the right way, projects that change communities are created - Planet Sarajevo is one of them.

My experience as a lecturer at the IEDC Bled business school, on the Art & Leadership program, further confirmed to me that artists and leaders can learn a great deal from each other. Art opens up space for intuition, imagination and empathy, while leadership brings structure, strategy and accountability. When these two perspectives meet, it is not just a better manager or a better artist - but a completely new way of thinking about the world and the change we can create.

- Think Freedom carries a special emotional weight, because it contains thousands of messages from young people from all over the world about what freedom is. It`s not just a work of art; it is an ongoing global dialogue. Every place where the installation was exhibited brought a new story and a new emotion. It`s a project that`s been traveling for a decade now, it`s left a mark on many communities - and on me. It taught me that art can be a beacon, but only if people participate in it.

- Planet Sarajevo is a specific project full of challenges and emotions - a multimedia museum that combines archives, art, VR, AI, performative design and documentary material into one complete story about a city that has shaped generations. The award for the best tourist product of the year, as well as awards for cultural innovation by Poslovni novina and two golden No Limit awards in a short period, confirm that Sarajevo is not only a destination for the past, but also for innovation. Planet Sarajevo shows how the city can be told in a contemporary, emotional and relevant way. It is a space that connects culture, education and tourism - and that`s why its importance goes beyond the classical museum. It becomes a platform, meeting place and bridge between generations.

- For me, art is always bidirectional. It starts from the intimate - from the questions we carry inside - but it gets its full meaning only when it goes out into the public space and touches others. I don`t believe in art that remains only personal or in that which is only socially useful. It must be true, emotional and courageous. If it achieves this, then it can change both the artist and society.

- The biggest lesson is that creativity is born from encounters. When you work with people from different cultures, you realize that art has a universal language, but also that each community colors it with shades of its own history and emotions. I learned that the key is to be open - to the process, to mistakes, to unexpected ideas. International projects have taught me patience, cooperation and deep humility in the face of the fact that art is never finished. It is my vocation, but more than that - it is my mission.