Damir Nikšić (born 6 December 1970) is a Bosnian conceptual artist,

standup comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

ger and politician. He has served as member of the Federal House of Representatives since 2022. An

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, Nikšić was a member of Our Party. Previously, he was a member of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

. One of Nikšić's best known art works is a seven-minute-long

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

entitled "If I wasn't muslim" (2005).

Biography

General

Nikšić was born 6 December 1970 in

Brezovo Polje, Brčko Brezovo Polje ( sr-cyrl, Брезово Поље) is a village in north-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina and is located within the Brčko District. Brezovo Polje is located 14 km east of the city of Brčko. It is situated by the River Sava w ...

. He was a student at fine arts academies in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. In 2000 he graduated at

Academy of Fine Arts Sarajevo The Academy of Fine Arts Sarajevo (, acronym: ALU) is a faculty within the University of Sarajevo in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, dedicated to the fine arts. It was established in 1972 as an institution of higher education by eminent profe ...

, Painting department. He has lived in the USA 2000–2004; he has studied as a postgraduate at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

(UA) until 2004. He magistered fine arts and

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

in 2004 at UA; after that, he gave lectures at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

. He was a member of Maxumim art group. He exhibited at

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

in 2003 international selection. He works and lives in Sarajevo.

Education

In 2000 he acquired a BFA degree from Academy of Fine Arts Sarajevo and moved as a graduate student to

Indiana, Pennsylvania Indiana is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 14,044 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Indiana, Pennsylvania micropolitan area, about northeast of Pittsburgh. ...

, USA. In 2001 he moved to

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, where he graduated at the University of Arizona in May 2004. In 2004 he moved to

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Sing Sing

Nikšić was a co-founder and member (vocal singer) of

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

band "Sing Sing". The band played four concerts in Mladost.

Maxumim

Damir Nikšić is also a co-founder of Maxumim art group, together with

Anur Hadžiomerspahić Anur Hadžiomerspahić (2 June 1971 – 29 November 2017), also known as Anur, was an artist and graphic designer from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was notable for being the first Bosnian artist to show their work in the central pavilion at the Ven ...

, Anela Šabić, Ajna Zlatar, Eldina Begić, Dejan Vekić, Almir Kurt, Samir Plasto, Hamdija Pašić, Rachel Rossner, Nebojša Šerić, Suzana Cerić, Alma Fazlić, Zlatan Filipović. In 1997, the group has its first exhibition "Maxumim I," at

Collegium Artisticum Collegium Artisticum is a contemporary art gallery in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established on 6 April 1975 and was named after the short lived artistic movement of the same name which existed in Sarajevo from 1939 to the start of t ...

, which would be followed up in 1998 with "Maxumim II," and in 1999/2000 with "Maxumim III," at Collegium Artisticum, Sarajevo; Pavarotti Music Center,

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

; Bosnian Cultural Center,

Tuzla Tuzla (, , ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inha ...

; City Gallery,

Zenica Zenica ( ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna (river), Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. The ...

; City Gallery,

Bihać Bihać is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una (Sava), Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, in th ...

Other activities

In 2011, he protested regarding the closing of the Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, setting up daily video updates.

Work method – criticism

He mostly presents his art through

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and social networks, where he uploads short videos and comments of humorous character in which he seriously and symbolically refers to the reality of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also commented on the attack on Serbian Prime Minister

Aleksandar Vučić Aleksandar Vučić, (born 5 March 1970) is a Serbian politician serving as President of Serbia since 2017. A founding member of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), he previously served as President of the SNS from 2012 to 2023, Deputy Prim ...

during his visit to the event marking the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica crime, saying in his video ''Srebrni pir: Manipulacija razjedinjenih nacija'' ("Silver Feast: A Disunited Nations Manipulation") published on 13 July 2015 that "a corrida was made of Potočari"; this has received a notable media attention in his home and neighbouring countries.

Political engagement

In mid-2016, Nikšić decided to run for municipal mayor of the Sarajevo Centar Municipality, as a "

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

individualist Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and a ...

and

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

." In an interview with the Bosnian portal Klix.ba, he said the following: His goal, he said, was to make a more European city of Sarajevo and prevent the feudalisation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that his office would always be covered by a camera whose footage would be broadcast

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...

so that citizens could watch the "one municipality mayor's

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

" live. He was not elected in the 2016 municipal elections, but later became a member of the

Sarajevo Canton The Sarajevo Canton, officially the Canton of Sarajevo (; ; ), is one of the ten cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its cantonal seat is the city of Sarajevo, also the capital city of Bosnia and Herzeg ...

Assembly. From 23 May 2018, until his expulsion on 16 March 2019, Nikšić was a member of the

. Nikšić joined the social-liberal Our Party in June 2022. In the

2022 general election The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 loca ...

, he was elected to the Federal House of Representatives, obtaining over 3,000 votes.

Philosophy

Nikšić's political philosophy aims for others to understand that one is living in a crisis of

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.ethnocracy An ethnocracy is a type of political structure in which the state apparatus is controlled by a dominant ethnic group (or groups) to further that group's interests, power, dominance, and resources. Ethnocratic regimes in the modern era typically ...

is present instead of

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

. Instead of the idea of

people The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

and collectivism, he advocates individualism and the notion of citizens as individuals, calling the ideology he follows "liberal progressive individualist discourse" and "stratoseparatism."

Most notable works

*''If I wasn't muslim'' (2005) *''Krunisanje Kralja Tvrtka'' (2007) *''Totalitarni fatalizam'' (2015)

Songs

*"Ta to ti" (2012) *"Gdje si" (2012) *"Sjedio sam u kafani sam" (2013) *"Na rubu plača" (2015) *"Stranac u svome plemenu" (2016) - izvedba pjesme grupe Major (autor: Masa Mor) *"Još jedna revolucionarna" (2018) *"Hastahana"

emo Emo () is a genre of rock music characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and from the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands ...

(2020)

References

External links