Selma Selman Awarded the Tajsa Roma Cultural Heritage Prize 2025
The European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) is pleased to announce Selma Selman as the winner of the Tajsa Roma Cultural Heritage Prize 2025. Selected from an exceptional group of finalists, Selman is recognized for her bold artistic practice and her commitment to empowering Roma communities through both cultural and social work.
A Romani-Bosnian artist working across performance, painting, and video, Selman has earned international acclaim for her direct and uncompromising reflections on identity, inequality, and resilience. Her work challenges dominant narratives and brings new visibility to Roma experiences, particularly those of Roma women.
Selman is also the founder of Get the Heck to School, an education initiative supporting girls in her hometown of Ružica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her unique combination of artistic excellence and community activism reflects the mission of the Tajsa Prize: to celebrate Roma individuals who strengthen, preserve, and renew Roma cultural heritage.
The Tajsa Prize, awarded biennially and accompanied by a €10,000 grant, highlights outstanding Roma creators whose work shapes the cultural future of the community. This year’s finalists—Coco Reyes, Noell Maggini, Riah Knight, Sead Kazanxhiu, and Selma Selman—represented a wide spectrum of contemporary Roma creativity across visual arts, performance, music, design, and socially engaged practice.
Tajsa 2025 Award Ceremony & Gala took place at the historic Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest bringing together ERIAC’s international community of members, partners, and friends.
“Selma Selman’s voice is vital to the Roma cultural movement of our time,” said ERIAC Executive Director Timea Junghaus. “Her artistic vision and her unwavering dedication to her community embody the spirit of ‘Tajsa’, our tomorrow.”
Tajsa Prize 2025 Award Ceremony featured a specially curated artistic programme with performances by Zejna Murkić, Antonio Piculeață, and members of Mahala Rai Banda, celebrating the richness and diversity of Roma cultural expression.
