Balkan Street Art Awards (Bosnia And Herzegovina)

How did the mentorship process support or inspire you in developing your project or professional growth?

“The mentorship process gave me insight to the critical thinking and approach to development of ideas from a perspective of a glorious mind - Orwa Nyrabia. This valuable approach helped me rethink my project from a different angle and use the Awarding system not only as a valorization of one person, but a way of inspiring and motivating a regional community of artists to continue creating their works and engage with the project and see its true value. It also helped me to accept that what I considered my mistakes is a part of the learning process and development of the idea.”

The mentorship with Orwa Nyrabia opened a space for rethinking what collaboration and recognition can mean in a fragile cultural landscape. Rather than seeing the Balkan Street Art Awards as an individual or competitive endeavour, the process helped to frame it as a collective response to isolation and fragmentation—a way to connect artists and audiences across borders through shared purpose.

In a region where political tension and limited resources often divide the cultural field, the mentorship revealed how the act of creating an awards platform could itself become a form of dialogue and resilience. By approaching the ceremony as a living structure that evolves through experimentation, the project began to embody one of the core lessons of the Building Resilient Festivals framework: that collaboration in times of crisis is not built on perfection, but on continuity, reflection, and care.

Through critical questioning, Orwa’s mentorship invited the participant to view mistakes and uncertainty not as setbacks but as tools for growth and adaptation. This perspective allowed the project to transform from an idea of recognition into a practice of empowerment—celebrating not only artistic achievement but also the collective courage to keep creating amid instability. In this sense, the mentorship did more than refine an idea — it provided a philosophy of practice rooted in empathy, curiosity, and movement. The Awards thus became a living example of how creative leadership can sustain networks of artists through shared experimentation, even amid crisis and instability.

What were the three most valuable pieces of advice or guidance you received from your mentor?

• “Make the artist proud, not just the winner, but every artist who participates.”

• “Art world is liquid, it changes constantly and therefore it allows you to change and be liquid.”

• “Continuity of experimentation is the development.”

Which concrete steps have you taken – or plan to take – to bring your proposed project to life?

“I have already implemented the Awards Ceremony within the FASADA festival in this year’s edition. It had flaws, it wasn’t perfect, but it happened. Having done so, I learned what didn’t work, what should be done, and what did work. The concrete steps: create a jury, rephrase the categories for awards, set up the rules of open call, contact partner festivals to help the dissemination, create the trophies, fund raise.”

Building on the mentorship experience, these steps illustrate how the participant transformed advice into concrete practice. Guided by the idea of making every artist proud, the first edition of the Balkan Street Art Awards within the FASADA Festival in Sarajevo was conceived as an inclusive gesture rather than a competition. The imperfect yet successful launch embodied the belief that creation in times of uncertainty is itself an act of resilience.

The process of rephrasing award categories and creating a transparent jury structure reflected the mentor’s encouragement to remain liquid—to allow the project to evolve and respond to the needs of its community. Each adjustment, from clarifying the open call rules to establishing cross-border partnerships, demonstrated a readiness to learn from practice rather than follow a fixed plan.

In parallel, the development of trophies and fundraising efforts became extensions of collaboration, involving local artisans, partner festivals, and supporters across the region. These concrete actions show how the principle of continuity of experimentation can guide long-term cultural work: testing, reflecting, and refining in dialogue with others. Through these iterative steps, the project is shaping itself into a sustainable and adaptive platform that strengthens regional cooperation and keeps art at the centre of social connection.

What is one valuable piece of advice or insight you would like to share with a wider global community of festival leaders?

“Continuity of experimentation is the development.” -  Find yourself a mentor and work with them.