JASKO BEGOVIC: Refugees R Us
September 12 - October 24, 2025
CULT Aimee Friberg (San Francisco)
Artist Reception: Friday, September 12, 6-8 PM
CULT Aimee Friberg is pleased to announce Refugees R Us, a solo exhibition by Bosnian-born, San Francisco-based artist Jasko Begovic (Sko Habibi). The artist’s second solo exhibition with the gallery opens on September 12, 2025 at 1401 16th Street, San Francisco, and runs through October 24, 2025. Begovic will be present for a public reception on Friday, September 12, from 6–8 PM.
Operating at the intersections of art, fashion, and sports, Begovic explores identity, belonging, spirituality, and exclusion. Using found fabrics and objects referencing countries affected by war, his work spans installation, tapestry, performance, drawings, video, photography, and wearable sculpture, engaging questions central to our contemporary moment. Refugees R Us inverts the solo exhibition format, featuring collaborations and works made with his community of makers. The exhibition fosters empathy and offers localized, creative responses to societal challenges, with Begovic activating the gallery through workshops, performances, and interactive art-making sessions.
Born in Bosnia (formerly Yugoslavia) in 1980, Begovic’s childhood was disrupted by war in 1992. After a civilian exchange, he and his family moved from Croatia to Germany as refugees before immigrating to the United States. His life has been marked by crossing frontiers, yet he defines his art by the absence of them.
"Refugees R Us represents a profound sense of humanity and the collective connections that bind us all. We are interconnected, much like the roots of trees; our freedom is intertwined with the well-being of those who are not free. While some instinctively grasp this idea, others remain apathetic, as the concept of being a refugee feels distant from their own reality.
Having experienced civil war as a child, I carry my past with me at every step. Being a refugee has given me inspiration, strength, and insight into what truly matters in this world. In witnessing humanity's darkest moments, I have also encountered love in its purest form from people with whom I had no prior connection. Despite my losses, I have gained a profound faith in humanity and the world at large."
Begovic’s identity is also shaped by his work as a soccer coach, mentoring young players on and off the field. This sense of play translates into his art: he approaches making with a "playful, childlike curiosity." Whether constructing tapestries, collages, installations, or performances, Begovic embraces spontaneity, channeling instinct and movement to guide his mark-making. The sewing machine serves as his de facto tool, allowing him to draw with motion and refined trust in his instincts. He describes this process as "organized scribbles," letting movement guide his hands.
Begovic sources found fabrics constantly, each piece contributing to the narrative of his work. "Each piece tells its own story and contributes to the overall narrative of my work. My use of collage techniques serves as a metaphor for the waves of life and its complex journey, reflecting themes of growth and change," he explains.
The exhibition includes Begovic’s 2022 experimental short film, HumanE.T., originally created in collaboration with the Oakland Roots Soccer Club, known for their activism and inclusiveness. HumanE.T. explores the resilience of immigrants, refugees, and all humans, depicting a tribe standing tall against oppression. "It’s political because survival is political. It’s spiritual because liberation is too," says Begovic.
Collaborations include a restaging of Adam Feibelman’s Movement of the Ball (2017), an installation in which water jugs collected from border-crossers in Arizona and California are stacked, with some cut and stitched into deconstructed soccer balls — honoring those who have risked or lost their lives seeking asylum. And, Dania Cabello’s new installation, Memory in Motion, incorporates 41 pairs of cleats donated by the families of deceased players, suspended within a transparent floating pyramid. The installation functions as both altar and offering — a space where grief, memory, and transformation converge — while elevating play as a sacred human practice.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Jasko Begovic (Sko Habibi) is an artist, soccer player, and coach. As an artist he operates at the intersections of art and fashion and explores narratives of identity, belonging, spirituality, and exclusion through a wide range of media. His work has been exhibited at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art as part of the exhibition "Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture," organized by SFMOMA and currently on tour. The exhibition will be presented at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas in the fall of 2025, with future museums to be announced soon. Begovic first exhibited with CULT Aimee Friberg in 2019.
