Tarik Samarah is a Bosnian photographer who works in artistic and documentary photography.
Background
Samarah was born in 1965 Zagreb to Bosnian and Sudanese parents. Tarik Samarah (photographer and founder of the Memorial Gallery 11/07/95) was born in Zagreb, spent his childhood in Ljubuski and for the last thirty years he lives and works in Sarajevo.
Career
He spent years compiling the project "Srebrenica - genocide at the heart of Europe". He is also renowned for his billboard campaign in Republic of Serbia. The campaign exhibited the images of Srebrenica massacre on large commercial billboards in the cities across Serbia as a method of raising awareness about event that took place during the Srebrenica Genocide.
His interests mainly reside in the field of artistic and documentary photography, and his most significant professional success is deemed to be the Srebrenica – genocide in the heart of Europe project – a series of black-and-white photographs documenting the aftermath of Srebrenica genocide.
His photographs have been exhibited in many renowned art galleries, museums and public places in the world, both independently and in collective exhibitions such as: United States. Holocaust Museum in Washington Doctorate.C, United Nations Headquarters – New York, Galerie du jour – Paris, Dutch Parliament in the Hague, Memorial Center Westerbork, Pordenone Arte Contemporanea – Italy, travelling exhibition of Anne Frank Museum – Rabat, Cape Town, Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, Skokie – Chicago, Norwegian Center for the Study of the Holocaust & Religious Minorities – Oslo, The Plaine de Plainpalais – Geneva, Westminster Abbey – London and many others Samarah is author of two publications of his photographs.
The second one – monography “Srebrenica” had been published in two editions in Bosnian-English and Catalan-English languages. Samarah’s photographs also went around the world on the covers of various scientific and research books and publications.
Samarah is the awarded author
Today, his photographs form the permanent exhibit in Memorial Gallery 11/07/95 located in Sarajevo, a gallery that represents the final goal and summation of Samarah’s work on the topic. „11 July“, Memorial Center Potočari (2003)
„Srebrenica“, Parliament Kingdom of the Netherlands (2005)
„Abondened in Srebrenica: 10 years later“, Holocaust Museum Washington (2005)
“Ten Years Later: commemorative art, exhibitions, art installations, screening of the movies and presentation“, United Nations headquarters New York (2005)
“8372 didn"t arrived”, Museum Mimara, Zagreb (2006)
„Srebrenica", Memorial Center Camp Westerbork, Holandija (2007)
„Our Story“, Galerie du jour, Paris (2009)
„Srebrenica“, War Photo Limited, Dubrovnik (2012)
“Aftermath Project – Changing Cultural Landscape – Tendencies of engaged post-Yugoslav contemporary photography” (joined exhibition) (PARCO Pordenone Arte Contemporanea - Italy, Spazi Espositivi via Bertossi), Pordenone, Italy, Gallery Klovićevi dvori, Zagreb, Hrvatska. Kulturni centar BeogradaPodroom and Gallery Remont, Republic of Srbija, Belgrade (2013).
Politics
“My Enemies: Nationalism and Xhenophobia”, Vivisect fest, Novi Sad (2006).