The positive effects of the international exchange

Last August I visited Serajewo as a boardmember of the European Association of Historians, Euroclio. There, Bosnian, Croatian, Servian and Albanian historians were in the difficult process of evaluating their common history of war.
Fostering exchanges within professional groups will stimulate positive liaisons between the European citizens at large. This is especially true for artists. It lies in the nature of their profession to cross mental borders and existing frameworks.
I think the Bosnia-project of the House of the Arts is great initiative and a contribution to giving breathing room for a new common future.
Elbert Roest, Mayer and Historian.

Artists have not been changed by the war

As a Dutch citizen of Bosnian descent I came up with the idea of an cultural exchange in 2006. Why? As every one knows Bosnia contends with a war-torn image. The arts and cultural identity of Bosnia were pushed to the background by years of civil war. The quality of culture of Bosnia can rank itself among the other European nations, although it is not always visible because of the scars the war has inflicted. Art enriches the culture of individual nations, but at the same time it reaches out for contact with the rest of the world. Through the war-years the quality of the artists in my country of birth has not changed and they still want to partake in the developments of the contemporary European art scene .

It is important to facilitate contacts and friendships between artists groups of other nations: to show our culture to the citizens of the hosting country. The organisation of the Dutch ''The House of the Arts' has supported me in the selection of the artists in the Gooi region of the Netherlands for this project.
I am delighted that the Museum of Contemporary Art in my home town of Zenica and the galleries in the nearby towns of Visoko and Sarajevo will exhibit the work of the Gooi artists.

Two important themes within the project will be emancipation and freedom.
The up and coming exhibition in the Netherlands in the Municipal Museum of Huizen and in the various locations in the Gooi region will give a good impression of the work of young and promising artists of Bosnia.
As project coordinator I will dedicate myself wholeheartedly and with enthusiasm to this cultural and diplomatic exchange.

The power of artistry throughout history

The starting point of this project is an exchange of professional contemporary artists in all their individuality.
In the contacts with Bosnia we have been supported by Ivan Mijatovic, Bosnian by birth and speaking the native language.
The focus is artistic development and professionalism disregarding political and economic factors.
The crucial subject is the power of true artistry of all times and cultures.
As project leader of the House of the Arts and director of the Huizer Museum I hope to be able to give opportunities to artists on an international level.
Spectators can discover how Bosnian and Dutch artists work and how cultural and artistic differences are reflected in their work: an interesting confrontation.
Elganan Jelsma- Curator and project leader

A contribution to social and artistic diplomacy

The House of the Arts was founded in 2007 from within the artists initiative called The Gooi Art Association. It's artists were looking for common binding factors and were strongly interested in initiating concerted actions like mutual exhibition witin their geographical region.
In this Bosnian-Gooi exchange program we -as artists - would like to get in contact with more colleagues and art professionals, in a European context.
From our Gooi region we will support this venture of exchange with Bosnian artists with minimal financial means but with a large amount of enthusiasm.
In Bosnia the themes of artistry, independance, cultural background and professionalism may be coloured by their native heritage, but these concepts are just as complicated in our culture.
We will investigate, work together and try to understand each others cultural heritage through art and projects.
The liaisons we create and the cooporation which will be the result promises to be fascinating and hopefully will be a contribution to social and artistic diplomacy and mutual understanding.
Barbara Houwers, chairwoman and project leader