Last night, an exhibition titled “Firstborn” by contemporary artist Šejla Kamerić was opened at the Petrović Palace and House of The King’s Guard.

At the opening, besides the artist, the exhibition curator Milica Bezmarević addressed the audience, highlighting that the exhibition “Firstborn” presents Šejla Kamerić’s powerful artistic perceptions, grounded in pronounced empathy as a key communication mechanism in her artistic work, focusing on examining identity values based on personal experience, as well as on social patterns involving stereotypical definitions of woman and femininity. Bezmarević noted that the exhibition resulted from an ideological collaboration with the artist.

“During our joint creative dialogue in the multi-year process of conceptualizing the exhibition, our shared conversation also emerged, which was published in Šejla’s monograph ‘Mother is a Bitch.’”

She also mentioned that the exhibition features work created for MCAM, which refers to the aforementioned themes through its content.

Artist Šejla Kamerić expressed great satisfaction with the realization of the exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro, adding that she is exhibiting in Podgorica again after twenty years.

The exhibition is open to the public until November 10, 2024.

Šejla Kamerić is a contemporary artist from Bosnia and Herzegovina known for her interdisciplinary approach encompassing film, photography, objects, drawings, and installations.

Addressing themes arising from nonlinear historical narratives and personal histories, Kamerić focuses on memory politics, modes of resistance in human life, and the subsequent particularities of female struggle. Especially valued for the social strength derived from bold intimacy, her works emphasize empathy as a fundamental creative mechanism. Kamerić’s work highlights spaces of power, creating strong alternatives to them.

Her works are held in prestigious international collections, including Tate Modern; MACBA Barcelona; Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, and others.

Her piece “Bosnian Girl” (2003) is considered one of the most significant works of contemporary art in the region and is part of the collection at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro.

Kamerić is a recipient of the ECF Routes Princess Margriet Award for Cultural Diversity, the DAAD-Berlin Artist Residency Fellowship, the ONFURI Award at the National Gallery of Art in Tirana, and the Freedom Award from the International Center for Peace in Sarajevo.