Between December 13-14, Kino Jusuf Gërvalla in Peja hosted the conference "Public Civic Partnership for Reforming Cultural Governance in Kosovo" organized by Anibar within the project "Cultural Spaces of Kosovo".
The project was launched in 2019 as a continuation of previous collaborations between Anibar, Lumbardhi Foundation and Kooperativa - Regionalna platforma za kulturu (Regional Platform for Culture). During four years, the project built a sustainable format for supporting collaborative platforms and networks, the development of programs and conditions for the functioning of cultural spaces in Kosovo, as well as the generation and sharing of knowledge on these matters.
The conference brought together public officials, civil society representatives and actors from the regional independent cultural scene to discuss issues about public financing of culture, revival and governance of cultural spaces and principles of collaboration. Through various discussions and workshops, participants reflected on the current situation of the independent scene and future prospects, while presenting different applications of public-civic cooperation in local and central policies of culture as means of creating new models of institutions and advancing civic participation.
"Cultural Spaces of Kosovo" is a four-year project implemented by Anibar in cooperation with Lumbardhi Foundation, 7 Arte and Pogon, with the finantial support of the European Union Office in Kosovo.
In early December 2021, Lumbardhi Foundation launched its ‘Phase II' of institutional development, revealing to the public and the media during a press conference a summary of the first phase and the plans for the second phase.
For 7 years, the established organization, following the Initiative for the Protection of Kino Lumbardhi, has been committed to the revival of Kino Lumbardhi through restorative interventions, dialogue with stakeholders, diverse programs and advocacy for the transfer of the cinema to public ownership, in order to complete its full restoration as a multi-functional space, by preserving the heritage qualities of this site and making it open to all.
Throughout this period, Lumbardhi Foundation, together with over 150 organizations, institutions and informal groups have presented close to 1.000 events to more than 100.000 attendees and active users. In his speech during the conference, the executive director Ares Shporta, said that “after a long phase focused on the revival and the visioning of the cinema and the organization, we actively wait for the cooperation of MCYS and Municipality of Prizren to implement this jointly built vision. In the new phase, Lumbardhi Foundation will expand its programs and capacities beyond Lumbardhi Cinema, to collaborate with other spaces in the city, region and digital sphere, while it focuses on supporting research, knowledge production and various collaborative and long-term initiatives.” He added that “During 2022 we will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the opening of the cinema with various commissions, discussions, publications and various events, to interpret various elements of a complex history. We aim to celebrate the work done until now and to call institutions to collaborate, so we can give a positive conclusion to this long journey and begin the full restoration of the cinema."
In continuation, together with the director of finance and administration of the Lumbardhi Foundation, Mrs. Fitore Rexhepi, they communicated about the institutional development process of Lumbardhi Foundation and forthcoming changes, emphasizing a number of policies, documents and reforms related to decision-making and governance practices, financing, staff development and overall transparency of the Lumbardhi Foundation, as well as the usage and the long-term management of Lumbardhi Cinema.
To mark the transfer to Phase II, Lumbardhi will launch its new website, which presents the new visual identity of the Foundation and the archive of research and programs, alongside the digital campaign #LumbardhiinTransit which will break down this process and the vision through various tools.
This week, we had the pleasure to welcome the outgoing CEO of Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo, Mr. Robert Wright and the member of the Management Board, Mr. Shukri Mustafa, on the occasion of the farewell visit of Mr. Wright, who retired earlier this year. During this visit, they were introduced to the history of cinema, the first phase of the Lumbardhi Foundation, activities and plans implemented in the framework of the general partnership with Raiffeisen Bank, as well as plans for celebrating the 70th anniversary of Kino Lumbardhi and its long-term vision.
Raiffeisen Bank in Kosovo has supported Lumbardhi since 2018, while since July of this year, it became the general sponsor of Lumbardhi Foundation, by supporting the transition to Phase II, digitalization of programs, commissioning of new works and support of local artists.
For almost 50 years, Nafis Lokvica has taken his cameras to persistently document local rituals, cultural life, the decaying heritage, key historic moments and scenes from everyday-life in Prizren, while he kept collecting photographs and other archival materials from various sources. His collection includes thousands of photographs, negatives, film-strips, VHS cassettes and CD’s, which he has shared with Lumbardhi Foundation.
In the upcoming months, this collection will be digitised and cataloged under the guidance of Bengi Muzbeg and the help of Fjolla Rabi from the archiving team who will closely collaborate with Mr. Lokvica, in the framework of the project “Public Archive”. During this collaboration, parts of the collection will be made accessible to the public in the form of texts, albums, interviews and presentations, as the base of the future public digital archive.
“Public Archive'' was initiated as a project with the support of the International Relief Fund of the German Federal Foreign Office, the Goethe-Institut, and other partners.
Lumbardhi Foundation extends its book collection with a donation of over 2,500 by Shkëlzen Maliqi!
Art critic, philosopher, political analyst and one of the key contributors to the development of the independent arts and culture scene in the last 30 years in Kosovo, Mr. Shkëlzen Maliqi, has honored Lumbardhi Foundation by entrusting over 2,500 books from his private library, collected over half a century, marking the first donation of this scale to Lumbadhi’s library.
This collection includes a wide array of publications in various languages that reflect the broad intellectual and professional curiosity of Maliqi, ranging from the history of art and byzantynology, to social sciences, political studies, literature and various books about Kosovo and the wider region. The cataloging and organising of the library, as well as the personal archive of Mr. Maliqi will be done as part of the “Public Archive'' project. The project supports the initiation of a library, forming of an archive and a digital collection of photographs and documents in fields that correspond with Lumbardhi’s research focus, to be opened to the public in a few phases during 2022.
“Public Archive” will also support the interaction of Lumbardhi’s researchers with cultural and scientific communities and dedicated citizens of all generations, to create a common fund out of materials currently available in the private domain. This common knowledge will be in the disposal of researchers and the curious in digital spaces and the physical ones used by Lumbardhi Foundation and its partners, in forms of primary resource as well as programs, conversations and publications that stem from the research.
All those willing to share materials, private archives or books, may reach Lumbardhi Foundation’s team at info@lumbardhi.org
We extend our gratitude to our partners Presje for accommodating the collection.
“Public Archive '' was initiated as a project with the support of the International Relief Fund of the German Federal Foreign Office, the Goethe-Institut, and other partners.
The co-creation platform GërrGërr organized the event ‘Mahalla e hapun: Collective playlist’, to celebrate the new public space that connected the garden of the historic house of Shani Efendi with the Lumbardhi Cinema and the Blacksmiths' Quarter.
The purpose and nature of the interventions were presented during the event, and the participants were accompanied by the music program "Collective Playlist", compiled with the contribution of residents and craftsmen of the neighborhood.
The intervention in "Open Neighborhood" is based on stakeholder consultation and was designed by KhoraOffice. The works were implemented by the co-creation platform GërrGërr in cooperation with the Lumbardhi Foundation and "Plantopija" within the project "City Experiment Fund" of UNDP in Kosovo.
Lumbardhi Foundation organized a special screening of Protocinema’s “Permanent Spring, Delayed Bloom”, a video program curated by Aslı Seven, for the BA students of the Faculty of Art, Department of Conceptual Art, class on video installation led by Driton Selmani.
The one-hour program of selected single-channel videos that premiered in Istanbul in June, travelled to additional venues worldwide including screenings at Lumbardhi between October 23-26.
The video program showcases works by Sofia Gallisa Muriente, Ahmet Öğüt, Deniz Tortum & Kathryn Hamilton, Hera Büyüktaşçıyan, Emre Hüner and Minia Biabiany that reflect on environments built as "scapes" - landscape, cyberscape, mindscape, mobilizing multiple spatial and temporal scales.
The realization of this program has been supported by Raiffeisen Bank in Kosovo
"Proka" marks the poetics of the distinctive style of the prominent and internationally known director Isa Qosja.
Lumbardhi is honored to have hosted the screening after which the process of making the film, Qosja's cinematography as a whole and moments from his career were discussed during a conversation at Dokukino that took place after the screening of the film on October 31, at 18:00.
When the individual does not resemble others and sees things from their own perspective, does not insult or offend anyone, it is unavoidably confronted with the environment of gossip of those who are static and obey. He conflicts with those in power that want to discipline and show authoritarianism. Proka is an unfortunate character, one who does not harm anyone, minds his business, loves sincerely, takes care of relatives but ends tragically.
The film is known for the panoramic latitudes of unusual environments and its well-sculpted characters.
Every evening between October 27 and 31, starting at 18:00, some of the cult films produced by Kosovafilm were presented by Lumbardhi Foundation at Dokukino.
Kosovafilm: Fragments screened 5 films from those discordant years.
The realization of the program was made possible by Raiffeisen Bank, Swiss Development Cooperation, Municipality of Prizren and KTV.
Lumbardhi Foundation in collaboration with Protocinema is pleased to have screened “Permanent Spring, Delayed Bloom”, a video program curated by Aslı Seven.
This is a one-hour program of selected single-channel videos that premiered in Istanbul in June 2021, and then travelled to additional venues worldwide.
The video program showcased works by Sofia Gallisa Muriente, Ahmet Öğüt, Deniz Tortum & Kathryn Hamilton, Hera Büyüktaşçıyan, Emre Hüner and Minia Biabiany that reflect on environments built as "scapes" - landscape, cyberscape, mindscape, mobilizing multiple spatial and temporal scales.
Each film in its own unique texture of language, narrative and technique, comments on our severed relationship to land, climate and bios as permeated by narrative and information technologies, and on the entanglement of labor and entertainment in our global extractivist context. The films in the program jointly emphasize the semiotic agency of tools as sensory, cognitive and physical extensions of humans in fabricating the world we inhabit. Beyond providing a diagnosis about the end of our current world, they ask the question of what is to come, and what are we to make of all the past worlds that have come to an end?
Artist & Artworks List, in order of appearance:
Sofia Gallisa Muriente, Asimilar y Destruir II, 2020, 6'35"
Ahmet Öğüt, Worker's Ordinary Day, 2019, 3'18"
Deniz Tortum & Kathryn Hamilton, ARK, 2020, 13'11"
Hera Büyüktaşçıyan, Infinite Nectar, 2020, 10'55"
Emre Hüner, The Underwater Dig, 2019, 12'
Minia Biabiany, Pawol se van, 2020, 11'46"
The screening took place on 23, 24 and 26 October, in two time slots, at 12:00 and 18:00, at Kino Lumbardhi.
The realization of this program has been supported by Raiffeisen Bank in Kosovo.
Lumbardhi Foundation is excited to be part of the latest publication by Archive Books!
„Not Fully Human, Not Human at All“ centers on a variety of texts, ranging from critical essays, to transcripts of public discussions, to artist texts that focus on artistic and discursive responses to processes of dehumanization that are taking place in Europe. This is situated alongside documentation of the project’s public outcomes at Kunstverein in Hamburg (Germany), Lumbardhi Foundation (Prizren, Kosovo), Kunsthalle Lissabon and Hangar (Lisbon, Portugal), Netwerk Aalst (Aalst, Belgium), and Kadist (Paris, France).
By bringing together a variety of these artistic and cultural positions, the publication gives examples of how dehumanization might be evaluated, critically unpacked—or even overcome—while ultimately proposing that cultural institutions of Europe have a certain political responsibility to respond to processes of dehumanization.
Edited by Bettina Steinbrügge (Kunstverein in Hamburg) and Émilie Villez (KADIST)
Managing editor: Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez and Nicholas Tammens
Graphic: Charlotte Rhode
Distribution: Archive Books
With contributions by: Arely Amaut, Saddie Choua, Andreja Dugandžić, Ibro Hasanović, Jelena Jureša, Kaltrina Krasniqi, Raquel Lima, Olivier Marbouef, Yuderkys Espinosa Miñoso, João Mourão, Arlette-Louise Ndakoze, Daniela Ortiz, Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez, Jelena Petrović, Lala Rašćić, Ares Shporta, Luís Silva, Bettina Steinbrügge, Nora Sternfeld, Pieternel, Vermoortel, Francisco Godoy Vega, Emilie Villez, Zairong Xiang
With works by: Saddie Choua, Valentina Desideri , Denise Ferreira da Silva , Arely Amaut, Nilbar Güreş, Ibro Hasanović, Jelena Jureša, Doruntina Kastrati, Kaltrina Krasniqi, Olivier Marboeuf, Pedro Neves Marques, Christian Nyampeta, Daniela Ortiz, Monira Al Qadiri and Lala Raščić