As a cultural ambassador of BiH, the association Naš most Zenica will participate in the prestigious Homo Faber Biennale in Venice this September. It is a global initiative of the Michelangelo Foundation that brings together top craftsmen and applied artists from all over the world, promoting their talents and creativity.
Thus, the Naš most association joined the family of top European cultural institutions such as the National Museum of Ireland, the Art Studio from Paris, the Creative Academy from Milan, the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Fund from London, and other prestigious organizations and institutions from over 40 countries around the world that have been appointed as ambassadors own countries.
The association Naš most Zenica, as the ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also helped in the creation of the Homo Faber Guide through Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“The Homo Faber Guide presents the best artists, craftsmen and experienced and young talents, as well as galleries, museums and studios from more than forty countries. From Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is not only Naš most, but also creative people from other cities that we have invited to participate with us. So there are artists from Sarajevo, Travnik, Orašje, Trebinje and other cities,” explained Zdena Šarić Pisker, president of the Naš most Zenica association, for the local Strength.
Ms. Zdena is a painter, art educator and activist who has been helping seniors for years to make their lives more fulfilling through art. She started painting only about 15 years ago, when she discovered an unusual technique of painting with iron and wax, i.e. encaustic. When she noticed how encaustic affects her mental health, she decided to give painting lessons to other elderly people and thus help them enrich their lives.
“Encaustic is a special technique of painting with an iron, which is similar to travel irons. All you need is an iron, paints and cardboard and let your intuition guide you. When I paint, I am happy, and I try to convey that feeling to my students. Some people who attended my workshops say that it was the most beautiful experience in their life”, Mrs. Zdena proudly pointed out.
Workshops for the elderly, but also for children
Mrs. Zdena is the only amateur painter who deals with this technique in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In a short time, her paintings received praise from world-renowned encaustic artists. Thanks to her work, Our Bridge Zenica has so far established numerous local and international creative and artistic initiatives with cultural organizations from all over Europe and Asia aimed at the elderly, women, people with disabilities and children.
By the way, the association was founded almost 30 years ago. In the beginning, it dealt with helping socially vulnerable people and women’s rights, but with Zdena’s arrival, it becomes an organization whose focus is to help the social integration of the elderly, as well as other vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, through art and creative work.
“We gather most people of the third age who are engaged in creative work, painters above all. These people are on the margins, but they often marginalize themselves. Our goal is to socialize these people, so to speak, and empower them socially so that they do not lose their initiative, become more self-aware, stronger mentally, socially… To be happier. We are changing their lives”, said Mrs. Zdena with pride.
Over time, younger people began to join the workshops. Now there are about a hundred participants, including children. Even several generations of the same family come. The workshops are held daily, for several hours, and in addition to painting on canvas or iron, the participants also learn painting on silk, working on ceramics or felting.
“You can see the atmosphere at our workshops. Among us there are children, young people, but also those over 90 years old. We all hang out, laugh. Sometimes we come just to say goodbye, drink coffee. I’m sorry that many people from Zenica don’t know about us yet, but our doors are always open to them,” said Ms. Zdena.
In addition to Zenica, Mrs. Zdena has held iron painting schools for years in the countries of the region, as well as in Italy. That’s how she helped many women discover their talent, so some started intensively dealing with art, exhibiting and selling their works.
“Some women left their jobs because they wanted to devote themselves to painting. Others provided themselves with an additional source of income through their works. For some, those workshops helped them to socialize more easily, because it has been proven that painting has a positive impact on mental health and strengthens self-confidence,” Ms. Zdena explained to us.
A dream that Gordana had been waiting for for 40 years
Gordana Stapić dreamed of painting all her life. It wasn’t until she experienced health problems due to stress at work that she decided it was finally time to start doing what she had always dreamed of doing. By chance, she came to the Gallery with a friend for coffee and, surrounded by all those paintings, realized that it was the place for her. That was a year and a half ago.
First, she started learning encaustic painting in the workshops of Mrs. Zdena, and although she hated ironing the most out of all household chores, she still liked painting with an iron. But when she picked up the brush and canvas that her friend, a painter from Vienna, gave her more than 10 years ago, a new life began for her. Since then, she has painted almost 40 paintings and painted dozens of silk scarves and scarves.
Our Gordani Bridge provided an opportunity for a new beginning. With the support of her family, she left her job and all the stress behind.
“While I am painting, there is nothing. It draws me in completely. It’s my tranquilizer, something that makes me happy and fulfilled. I finally achieved what I dreamed about not as a child, but my whole life. And that brush and canvas were given to me by a friend because she wanted me to finally realize my dream, and not just talk about it. Finally, after so many years I’m doing what I love, Gordana didn’t hide her emotions as she told us about her beginnings as an amateur painter.
In the Association, Gordana met creative people, friends who, like her, are dedicated to art. Together they create, not only small works of art, but also friendships full of laughter, joy and mutual support.
Numerous awards for work with elderly people
The work of the Naš most association did not stop even during the corona. Members kept in touch online and took pictures in their homes. Precisely because of her commitment to help them get through that time through art, when we all felt trapped and without hope, President Zdena was selected by the UN Decade of Healthy Aging as one of fifty people from around the world who successfully work to promote the importance healthy aging. The decision was announced during the World Health Organization summit on healthy aging held last October in Lisbon.
Also, the World Health Organization has included the association Naš most in the global database of the World Health Organization as an example of good local practice adapted and friendly to people of the third age. During this year, the association also received the Zenica – Doboj Canton Plaque and the City of Zenica.
“Our goal is not plaques and awards. Our goal is to strengthen the self-confidence and ego of our members through art. That they become important to themselves and that they become aware that they are on the path of art, that something good remains behind them”, said Ms. Zdena.
Not even poor health can stop this energetic 73-year-old. By the end of the year, he plans to organize a fair with the Association, where not only creatives will be presented, but also all those who inherit BiH. culture and tradition, from those who make souvenirs, knit or paint to those who perform ethnic music. Also, the holding of the International Culture Festival, which was organized for the first time last year in June, is scheduled. This year it was moved to October. It will be an opportunity to mark the International Day of the Elderly, as well as Children’s Week.
Working with children with developmental disabilities
Our bridge also cooperates with associations of people with developmental disabilities, and some of the most beautiful works of art are created in those workshops. All these works will then be presented at sales exhibitions, bazaars or displayed in the Association’s Gallery in Titova Street in Zenica.
Here you will find everything that the hardworking creatives of the Association create every day. So if you happen to be nearby, make sure to stop by. Because of the positive energy this place exudes, you will definitely want to come back as soon as possible.
Written by: Vedada Sećerbajtarević
This story was written thanks to the generous support of the American people through the “Local Works” program of the United States Agency for International Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina (USAID). The content of the story is solely the responsibility of the author and the “Network for Building Peace”. The views expressed in the story do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
