Selma Selman

Artist and activist Selma Selman (b. 1991, Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina) graduated in 2014 from the Department of Painting at the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka, and defended her MA at the Syracuse University, New York State in 2018 in the field of Transmedia – visual and performing arts. Her works embodies the struggles of her own life as well as her community, and employs a variety of media such as performance, painting, photography and video installations. Selman defines herself as an artist of Roma origins, not a Romani artist, a subtle yet critical distinction in the work. Her pieces are often inspired by her personal history, her family’s lifestyle and the background she comes from, exploring issues of child marriage, women’s role in Roma communities and education. Selman’s aim is to break down the prejudice which keeps pushing down her community to the lowest common denominator, denying its right to self-expression. She utilises her personal background as a lens through which she can understand the universal human condition and its idiosyncrasies. Selma is the founder of the organization Get The Heck To School whose aim is to encourage and empower Roma girls around the world facing poverty and social exclusion. 

Selma Selman is a visual artist and activist from Bosnia and Herzegovina and of Romani origin, currently based between Amsterdam and Bihać. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2014 from Banja Luka University’s Department of Painting. In 2018, she graduated from Syracuse University, New York with a Master of Fine Arts in Transmedia, Visual and Performing Arts. She was a resident of Rijksakademie from 2021 to 2023 and exhibited at Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Berlin (2023), Autostrada Biennale, Prizren (2023), documenta fifteen, Kassel (2022), Manifesta 14, Prishtina (2022), Kunstraum Innsbruck (2022), MO Museum, Vilnius (2022), Ludwig Museum, Budapest (2022), Kasseler Kunstverein, Kassel (2021), National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo (2021), acb Galéria, Budapest (2021), Queens Museum, New York (2019), Maxim Gorki Theater, Berlin (2017), agnès b. galerie boutique, New York (2017) and 12-14 contemporary, Vienna (2016), amongst others. Last but not least, she was one of the exhibitors of the Roma Pavilion at the 2019 Venice Biennale.