Are you an artist or cultural worker, researcher or journalist interested in the relation of independent spaces and cultural communities? Do you seek to explore the conditions, challenges, relationships and impact of these spaces on their communities? If so, we invite you to apply for our 5-week residency program, designed to offer deeper insights into the world of independent cultural spaces across Croatia (Rijeka and Zagreb), Kosovo (Prizren) and Slovenia (Kranj and Maribor).
Program Overview:
The program is conceived to provide a comprehensive exploration of independent spaces and cultural scenes, focusing on their sustainability, the issues they face nowadays, and their role in supporting artistic practice and mobility through residencies. We are interested in understanding the significance of these spaces within the local community and the various actors involved.
With the support of hosting partners, the residents will be able to conduct their research, meet with organizations, artists and workers from the independent scene. Through their stay, they gain new and different perspectives about the scene and conduct a multifaceted examination of independent spaces, combining artistic expression with analytical insight and establishing new relations between the scenes.
Open Call for Participants:
We are seeking creative and curious socially-engaged participants to join our residency program. Participants will be selected through this open call based on their motivation and previous experiences. Two artists and two cultural workers, researchers, or journalists with a focus in independent culture will be selected from each country to attend the residency in one of the other countries.
The Residency Experience:
Throughout a five-week stay between February and March 2025, residents will have the chance to immerse themselves in the local scene, experiencing "slow" mobility that allows for a profound understanding of the spaces and communities they visit. Artists will conduct artistic research presented through their chosen topic and medium, while cultural workers/researchers/journalists will be expected to provide a textual reflection of their experience.
At the conclusion of the residency, residents will present their works to the local public through small-scale exhibitions, presentations or other forms of public events of their choice, to be programmed with the host institution. This will offer a new perspective on the position and relevance of independent spaces, as well as other observations about the cultural scene and its relation to various communities.
How to Apply:
Through this call, the projects Residency board will select 6 artists and 6 cultural workers/journalists/researchers (2 in each group per country) for a 5-week residency in one of the other partner countries. Residents are expected to produce at least one output of their research to be presented.
Please submit your application, including a CV, a selection of relevant work samples, and a motivation letter which includes a statement of interest with a proposal for your research project during the residency.
Applications will be reviewed by the Residency board, and selected participants will be notified by the end of October. Based on the short-list of the applications, the board may invite applicants for online interviews.
Deadline: 30.09.2024
For more information contact us at info@lumbardhi.org.
A film program focused on climate change in collaboration with SALT
As part of the 2024 summer film program, the Lumbardhi Foundation, in collaboration with Salt, presents a selection of “Is this our last chance?”, a decade-long film program calling attention to climate change and its vast impact on humans, nature, and the world.
Initiated in 2015 by Salt, the program encourages reconsideration of people’s actions on the environment and biodiversity through talks and documentary screenings from various geographies exploring diverse themes, actions, and inquiries into environmental issues related to climate change.
The documentary From the Wild Sea (2021) focuses on the collision between humans and nature, offering perspectives from both sides; we get to explore solitary life in Geographies of Solitude (2022), singularly portrayed by an environmentalist. From capturing the disappearance of the scientific caretakers of nature in Fauna (2023), we jump to new ways of labor organization in a goldmine factory in Utopia Revisited and then to rethinking nature as the sole provider of life continuation in Longyearbyen, A Bipolar City (2016). From economics to survival, we explore the nature and social hierarchies in Mothers of the Land to seed worldwide transportation in Wild Relatives (2018), where layered experiences spanning economics, survival, and environmental issues are explored.
The program is presented in collaboration with Salt, founded by Garanti BBVA, with the support of the European Cultural Foundation and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.
Program:
July 2024
07.07.2024
FROM THE WILD SEA
Directed by Robin Petré
Denmark, 2021 – Documentary – 78 min.
From the Wild Sea is a poetic documentary film that zooms in on the complex collision between humans and nature. It takes us on a disturbing and fascinating journey into the emerging Anthropocene Era, seen from both the human and animal perspectives.
13.07.2024
GEOGRAPHIES OF SOLITUDE
Directed by Jacquelyn Mills
Canada, 2022 – Documentary – 104 min.
Environmentalist Zoe Lucas has cataloged flora and fauna on Sable Island, a thin strip of land off the Canadian coast, for decades. Zoe, the island’s only full-time human inhabitant, embarks on solitary excursions to observe the dunes, starry skies, wild horses, and washed-up plastic waste.
17.07.2024
FAUNA
Directed by Pau Faus
Spain, 2023 – Documentary – 74 min.
On the outskirts of Barcelona, a farmer and his herd live next door to a hi-tech lab that performs animal testing. The farmer—suffering from a bone disease—witnesses the disappearance of his profession, while the scientists are busier than ever.
31.07.2024
UTOPIA REVISITED
Directed by Kurt Langbein
Germany – 2018 – Documentary – 91 min.
This is a documentary about alternative economic projects like a fair trade goldmine or a tea factory that is owned by its workers.
AUGUST
16.08.2024
MOTHERS OF THE LAND
Directed by Alvaro Sarmiento, Diego Sarmiento
Peru, 2019 – Documentary -74 min.
In the Andean worldview, women and the earth are strongly interrelated. Both are capable of giving and nurturing life. Mothers of the Land accompanies five women in their daily struggle to maintain a traditional and organic way of working the land.
23.08.2024
LONGYEARBYEN, A BIPOLAR CITY
Directed by Manuel Deiller
France - 2016 – Documentary – 56 min.
In the Arctic, the Norwegian city of Longyearbyen, located in the Svalbard archipelago, has been extracting coal for one hundred years as an energetic and economic source, which stirs many environmental paradoxes.
30.08.2024
WILD RELATIVES
Directed by Jumana Manna
Germany, Lebanon, Norway - 2018 – Documentary – 66 min.
Wild Relatives follows the matrix of hierarchies and relationships involved in a seed transaction between the Norwegian town of Longyearbyen in Svalbard, an island in the Arctic Ocean, and the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon.
On 13.04.2022, the director of Vardar Film from Skopje, Mr. Sani Saidi was present in Prizren to sign the memorandum of cooperation between Vardar Film and Lumbardhi Foundation.
Vardar Film and Lumbardhi Foundation are dedicated to deepening a long-term cooperation towards developing film programs, education in film history, as well as exchange programs between the two institutions.
The first films presented in this collaboration, Thirst (1971) and The Macedonian Part of Hell (1971) will be screened as part of the "LXX" film program, following the events planned to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the opening of Lumbardhi Cinema.
The films will be screened at Kino Bahçe, between May 25 and September 30.
Vardar Film is a film production and distribution company based in Skopje, Northern Macedonia. It started operating in 1947 and today it functions as a modern film and educational center.
Cultural Spaces of Kosova project, part of which is Lumbardhi, brings the publication of the research "Cultural Spaces of Kosova" by Rudina Hasimja. The publication aims to summarize and link conversations on culture, art and public spaces by proposing a framework for a deeper analysis of the barriers faced by cultural spaces. The publication also emphasizes the need to raise awareness of the battles of independent cultural organizations in order to open up conversations on different models of governance that allow for greater public participation and accountability.
The research can be downloaded here: https://www.culturalspacekosova.org
This research was made possible with the financial support of the European Union, within the framework of the project "Civic Public Partnership for Innovative Governance of Public Infrastructure'' implemented by Anibar, Lumbardhi, 7 Arte, and Pogon.
German Ambassador Mr. Jörn Rohde visited Kino Lumbardhi where he was received by the director of the Foundation, Mr. Ares Shporta. At the meeting he was introduced to the history of the cinema, the collaborations thus far in institutional construction, the development of the research and archiving departments and the plans for Phase II. They also discussed cultural policies in Prizren and Kosovo, collaborations with the independent scene as well as opportunities for collaborations within Innovation and Training Park.
Lumbardhi Foundation is grateful for the support of the German Embassy Pristina as well as partners such as the Goethe-Institut , the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Foundation and the forumZFD - Kosovo Program.
Lumbardhi Cinema is amongst 54 cultural heritage sites proposed by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports for inclusion in the list of sites under permanent protection.
Following the evaluation by the Kosovo Council for Cultural Heritage, the formal approval of this list is expected in early 2022, when we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Lumbardhi Cinema.
Following a seven-year process of cooperation between local cultural organisations and communities, and the relevant public institutions from the central and local levels, it is expected that next year will be decisive in defining the long-term institutional model for the sustainable management and development of the cinema and beginning the restoration of the building with the support of the European Union.
Lumbardhi Foundation extends its gratitude to the institutions and all partners, supporters and many individuals involved in all the phases of the process.
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.
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 presents ‘Beneath the Open Sky’, a diverse program with public events that will take place in the outdoor cinema from June 1st to September 19th, in accordance with the pandemic measures.
"Beneath the Open Sky" brings to the big screen of Kino Bahçe the program "KINO", which consists of six film programs, including a retrospective of Chris Marker, a selection by the Habibi collective and special performances every Wednesday and Sunday.
In parallel, the music program "Variations on Listening" returns with two new formats of live performances, "Pandemic Albums" and "Sonic Dusk" as well as with the revival of "Tones in Motion" and "Sës-Mës", which were introduced in 2020.
The upcoming season also marks the opening of two exhibitions and the launching of publications realized within the research projects Kinofigurimi and Nation Formation, as well as the presentation of the works of artists engaged in the collaborative program QARK. The program also interacts with festivals and events taking place at that time in Prizren, while strengthening collaborations with local and international partners such as DokuFest, Autostrada Biennale, Kosovo Philharmonic, Protocinema, Multimedia Center and DAM Fest, to name a few.
This year, the program adds a new educational component that aims to interpret existing programs for new audiences by creating participatory and attractive formats to engage the youth.
'Beneath the Open Sky' begins on June 1, with a carefully threaded selection of films, music, workshops, performances, concerts, publications and talks, aimed at reviving the cultural and social life suspended by the pandemic.