About ULUKS
About us – Association of Fine Artists of Sarajevo Canton (ULUKS)
The first exhibition titled “Sarajevo Salon” was held back in 1968, more than half a century ago. The initiative to launch this exhibition project came from the Association of Fine Artists of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and its leading initiators were the then young artists Borislav Aleksić, Mehmed Zaimović and Mersad Berber, together with the art critic Muhamed Karamehmedović.
In his foreword to the II Sarajevo Salon (held in 1969 in the hall of the Đuro Đaković Workers’ University), Karamehmedović wrote: “When we shared our impressions of the first Sarajevo Salon in this very place last year, we were convinced that everything that happened then – with a modest number of exhibitors and an even more modest exhibition space – would have to be confirmed in the future if it were truly to prove as pivotal and decisive for the visual arts of our community as we all hope.
Evidently, a new concept was fighting for recognition: without much fanfare, its creators went on making their work, preparing for a new creative contest this year in which quality, not quantity, would assert itself. For however clearly that first Salon pointed to a number of essential qualitative changes in the fabric of our anaemic organisation and art exhibitions, many signs suggested that the battle for the Salon’s lasting recognition was not over but had only just begun, and that its hardest trials were probably still ahead. Something is clearly moving, and we are pleased to note that, both in the number of exhibitors and in the quality of their work, the results are evident after this short interval of a single year.”
Recognising and confirming quality is precisely one of the aims of the “revived” Sarajevo Salon, organised by the Association of Fine Artists of Sarajevo Canton.
The Sarajevo Salons of that era (1968–1974) brought together some of the most important artists of Bosnia and Herzegovina, among them Alija Kučukalić, Borislav Aleksić, Husko Balić, Zdenko Grgić, Vojo Dimitrijević, Seid Hasanefendić, Bekir Misirlić, Nada Pivac, Mica Todorović, Ljubo Lah, Mehmed Zaimović, Boško Kućanski, Franjo Likar, Mersad Berber, Arfan Hozić, Milorad Ćorović, Ibrahim Ljubović, Jusa Nikšić, Affan Ramić, Mario Mikulić, Ismar Mujezinović and Radmila Jovandić, as well as many others.
Seven exhibitions were held in all. The last Sarajevo Salon took place in 1974, the same year the old Art Pavilion was demolished. In 1975, with the opening of a new exhibition space – the Collegium Artisticum gallery – the Sarajevo Salon in a sense grew into a larger art event called “Collegium Artisticum”, which presented the work of architects, applied artists and designers alongside that of fine artists (as Karamehmedović himself had proposed in his text on the 1971 Sarajevo Salon).
More than four decades later, in 2011, the newly founded Association of Fine Artists of Sarajevo Canton, led by the artists Izet Alečković and Džeko Hodžić, boldly set about organising a selective group exhibition of the same name. Thanks to the enthusiasm and energy of the Association’s founders and leaders, the commitment of the artists gathered around it and, of course, the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and Sport of Sarajevo Canton, the “revived” Sarajevo Salon has now been held for many years, with the aim of offering a relevant insight into the current work and artistic production of artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Who we are today
ULUKS is an independent, non-governmental, non-partisan, non-religious and non-profit association of professional visual artists of Sarajevo Canton. Our mission is to safeguard the freedom of artistic expression and to serve as a bridge between tradition and new currents in art.
We care for the heritage of the visual arts – both the art that marked past eras and the contemporary work that shapes today’s scene. We bring together artists of different generations, with particular emphasis on supporting young and new members whose work, through its quality and originality, contributes to the development of visual culture in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
By organising group, collective, solo and retrospective exhibitions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad, ULUKS provides a space for the recognition and promotion of contemporary art. We take an active part in cultural and social life, promoting art as a driving force of social progress.
Looking ahead
A new generation of members brings freshness, energy and the will to further strengthen the Association’s role in the cultural life of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our goal is to develop new projects, connect with the international art scene and build ULUKS as an open and inclusive space – for artists and audiences alike.