About

SCCA (Soros Center for Contemporary Art) was founded by the Open Society Fund Bosnia and Herzegovina at the end of 1996. Since 2000, SCCA (Sarajevo Center for Contemporary Art) has operated as an independent, non-profit professional organization. In 1998 SCCA established pro.ba* multimedia – video, film and TV – production department.

From its beginnings, SCCA has produced and organized numerous exhibitions, art actions, workshops, seminars, lectures and presentations in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad; the Center has supported the production of artworks, produced a number of multimedia works, art videos and films, published catalogues and other art publications, and assembled art documentation.

SCCA does not have its own gallery space. SCCA is a mobile art center, complementary and alternative in relation to the already existing art institutions. Most of its projects, such as annual exhibitions, site specific works and installations are held in open spaces of the city. The change of environment, the relocation from art-oriented space (the gallery) to non-art-oriented space (the street), changes an artist’s manner of thinking and behaving, his/her choice of subject matter and materials, and his/her way of communication with the public. New meeting places and new art scene are created. The emergence of this new concept not only relates to a change in the artistic paradigm, but also to a change in the understanding of the function of culture and art. This kind of concept has expanded the notion of art, and has become a corrective agent to local artistic and public life.

SCCA is a gathering place, an active promoter of new cultural model, new events and developments in art. It unites the functions of institution (information / documentation / education center) and active participant in the artistic scene (production center). As the cultural life in the city is mainly reduced to the level of one-time events or traditional manifestations for the general public, the Center considers that its primary role is to keep program continuity on three basic levels: local – local; local – international; international – local.

SCCA secures its financial support from domestic and international grants and donations on the basis of proposed projects.