In Pristina, on July 21, the official opening of one of the biggest cultural events in Europe, “Manifesta, the European Nomadic Biennial” took place.
The “Manifesta” will start from July 22 and will end on October 30, and this event is dedicated to art in public spaces and the return of public spaces to citizens.
In the 14th edition of the “Manifesta”, 103 participants from 30 countries will take part, including 40 from Kosovo and 26 from other Balkan countries.
The director of this biennial, Hedwig Fijen, said during the official opening that the “Manifesta” in Pristina is held after four years of research and this event aims to become a catalyst for social change.
The “Manifesta” is being held for the first time in a Western Balkan country and this edition is based on five key themes.
“We have become radically local, secondly we work for a long-term legacy for the city and citizens, thirdly we achieve this legacy through our engaged autonomy model, this means we create a partnership between the host city and the ‘Manifesto’ while also enabling possibilities are explored and changes are implemented”, said the director of the biennale.
“Fourth, with the center for narrative practices we have prepared a platform to collectively research the past and hopefully create a common future. And fifth, looking at the channels that connect Kosovo with the rest of the world and imagining how the creative partnership can be deepened, it became clear that the reports are one-sided, that we need to raise awareness about the unjust limitations of this part of Europe. . Kosovo is welcoming all of you visitors from Europe, but Europe, including my government, does not welcome Kosovars to open their arms for similar cultural exchanges,” she added.
“Manifesta 14” is based on four main pillars that include the former brick factory, the Grand Hotel, in what is called the center for narrative practices in the former “Hivzi Sylejmani” Library and in a part of 24 green spaces all over the city of Pristina.
“The artistic part of ‘Manifesta 14’ explores and generates new practices and models of collective narrative. We hope that the telling of stories is much more articulate than if we only engage in history, identity and memory”, said Hedwig Fijen.
The organizers of the “Manifesta” said that they want to start a conversation with what should happen to the interventions carried out in Pristina after the biennial ends and what is the legacy that the biennial leaves behind in terms of the transformation of Pristina’s public spaces.
The European nomad manifesto changes location every two years. It regularly chooses unexpected places to be host cities.
