‘‘Almost 100 years after the outbreak of the First World War (Sarajevo) and roughly 20 years after the collapse of Yugoslavia, the wars in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and the bombing of Belgrade by NATO forces, as well as the current accession process to the European Union, it is time to take a closer look at the Balkans. For CULTURESCAPES, it is important to give a society which is still in a state of upheaval a chance to present itself in a different light to the one we are used to in the media. Allowing artists to be heard and present their works within the context of global cultural development is the goal of this edition of theCULTURESCAPES festival. We wish to discover the geographical and cultural diversity and identity of the Balkans.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation is currently phasing out its cultural programme in the Western Balkans after almost 20 years: This is a wonderful opportunity to take stock of the current situation and to critically examine the role culture plays in development policies. ’’
History, trauma, sex, politics, struggle, the “Yugo-” and the “neo-”: talking about art in the little Balkan peninsula. Pick up Kosovo 2.0’s sixth magazine issue, Balkart, for the art, life, and philosophy of the region’s up and coming artists, designers, curators, and collectives. Created in cooperation with the Culturescapes Festival, this edition documents the thriving, struggling, and impressive art scene brewing across the Balkans. Join K2.0 at Tetris for the launch, and enjoy the mix mash music by Alush Gashi & Jeton Rushiti and a special Balkan treat: as much turshi and raki as your heart desires.
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Histori, traumë, seks, politikë, përpjekje të mëdha, “Yugo-” epoka dhe “neo-” epoka: fjala është për artin në këtëfarë gadishull të Ballkanit. Merrni numrin e gjashtë me radhë të revistës së Kosovo 2.0, Balkart, mbi artin, jetën, dhe filozofinë e artistëve premtues, dizajnerëve, kuratorëve dhe kolektiveve artistike në rajon. I prodhuar në bashkëpunim me Culturescapes Festival, ky edicion dokumenton skenën mbresëlënëse, të mundimshme, dhe lulëzuese të artit që po vlon nëpër krejt Ballkanin. Ejani në Tetris për inaugurimin e numrit të fundit, nën muzikë të mirë nga Alush Gashi dhe Jeton Rushiti, si dhe një qarosje speciale Ballkanase nga K2.0: turshi e raki sa t’ju dojë zemra.
Albanian Film Week- 2nd edition, is under way, on November 8th-14th, 2013 in New York City.This year, our ceremony red carpet will occur at SVA theaters. After a great inauguration last year, dedicated to 100th year anniversary of independent Albania, we are doing the 2nd year- different, bigger and better.. In ordered to reach/finish some of our goals, we need Help, and therefore we have created an online funding campaign where anyone can contribute any amount! If you can, please make a contribution, no limits, and even better if you can share it with your friends and family, we would really appreciate it! EventRSVP.
Imagine children who do not have books or the internet or toys! Children over six years old attend school, care for animals or do housework. The Mobile Library provides a monthly service to improve children's literacy and knowledge and love of reading in 45 rural communities. Teachers loan books to improve their lessons. In addition games, competitions and activities are provided for the 1,500 children living in the isolated and deprived mountainous communities in northeast Albania.
Participatory Art as a Tool for Dialogue and Change
Visualize the Invisible, Cooperation Projects, Strand 1.2.1, EACEA, (The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency), European Commission 2013-2014
Co-ordinator: ArtAgent, Sweden Co-organisers: Performing Pictures, Sweden / Croatia Refraction Association, Albania Media Artes, FYRO Macedonia Specially invited for the workshop: T.I.C.A (Tirana Institute for Contemporary Art)
DATES: November 15th – 16th 2013 TIMETABLE: 10.00-16.00 VENUE: The National Historical Museum, Tirana LANGUAGE: The workshop will be conducted in English.
SELECTION: There will be a preliminary selection of maximum 5 artists from Tirana, Albania and the organisers of the workshop, ArtAgent together with Refraction Association and Performing Pictures in Co-operation with T.I.C.A art Center, will finally select a maximum of 25 artists, sociologists and curators from all countries. The decision will be announced on www.visualizetheinvisible.com on November 10th 2013 About the workshop:
The international workshop Participatory Art as a Tool for Dialogue and Change is aimed to enhance knowledge about participatory art among the artists and the sociologists in theEU-project Visualize the Invisible.
It is an interdisciplinary art workshop where ArtAgent artists and curators joins artists, art-students, curators and sociologists from Refraction Association, Albania, T.I.C.A, (Tirana Institute of Contemporary Art), Albania, Media Artes, Macedonia, Performing Pictures Sweden / Croatia and in an open network in Tirana for an engaging conversation about different ways and approaches in their Participatory Art practices. There will also be trainings in drama, dance and multi-media as a part of the mutual exchange.
Workshop Program 15-16 November 2013,
@The National Historical Museum, Tirana, Albania
15/11 10.00-10.20 An overall presentation of the project VTI by ArtAgent, Sweden 10.20-10.30 Coffee break 10.30-10.50 Refraction Association, Albania 10.50-11.10 Media Artes, Macedonia 11.10-11.30 Performing Pictures, Sweden/ Croatia 12.00-13.30 Lunch 13.30-14.10 Theatre workshop by Media Artes 14.10-14.20 Coffee break 14.20-16.00 Dance workshop by ArtAgent
16/11 10.00-10.40 Presentations of Refraction Asscociation and Albanian artists working in social institutions in Tirana 11.40-11.50 Coffee break 11.50-12.30 Presentation of T.I.C.A, Albania and Albanian artists from T.I.C.A AIR LAB. 12.30-13.30 Lunch 13.30-15.00 Video workshop by Performing Pictures 15.10-15.20 Coffee break 15.20-16.00 Discussion 20.00-23.00 Dinner with all participants and specially invited guests.
These two projects are great examples of spatial Otherness. The effects and products of a natural landscape [as analogue territory] vs. algorithm/code processes [as digital representations] - open up new [im]possibilities of future spatiality for these existing territories [both as a location and a tool].
at National Museum Țăranului Român & Club Țăranului.
The Films
The Dream, Video art- Experimental 4,34’ Albania Eros Dibra
My Baby, Drama- Mystery 19’ Romania Luiza Parvu Security guard Iulia, interior decorator Andi and English language teacher Ana are bound by a series of decisions that could change their lives forever. Each of them depends on the others’ actions. Each one of them gets to care for and needs to be taken care of. Transparent windows are not necessarily see-through.
Michael Pollan’s Food Rules, Animation 2,13’ Serbia Marija Jasimovic A short stop-motion film that playfully animates seeds, veggies, cookies and popcorn to the words of award-winning author, journalist and food activist Michael Pollan. Illustrating the importance of healthy eating and the health of our planet, it acts like an appetizer to anyone willing to become more mindful of the food they eat.
Sphinx, Drama 18,25’ Greece Konstantinos Karamagkiolis “Greece 2012” The right wing extremist party’s popularity has risen dramatically and the party violently threatens the natives to banish the foreigners. In a ghetto neighborhood of Athens the SPHINX team undertakes the duties of an unsolicited militia, whose goal is to cleanse the area from every non-Greek element, with main hero a 17-year-old student, member and son of the leader of the fascist organization.
My Circumcision, Fiction 17’ Germany/Turkey Uludag Ümit Nine-year-old Ümit does not want to go to Turkey with his family. He is haunted by the thought of his upcoming circumcision and he misses his friends in Germany. Everyone in Turkey is stupid, especially his cousin Haluk. Ümit feels like a fish out of water. Tradition stresses him to step up and face his fears, but not without his Mesut Özil football shirt.
Sisters, Experimental 7,48’ Belgium/Croatia Lea Vidakovic The sisters are trapped in facing the loss and emptiness over the missing one.
Botev is an idiot, Fiction 8,51’ Bulgaria Deyan Bararev A high school student Vasko criticizes his society that swears by Bulgarian national hero Hristo Botev and his ideals but at the same time is living in a brutish narrow-mindedness
The Blue identity, Fiction/Documentary 19’ Germany Mumin Baris Two Kurdish men with blue (refugee) passport living in Berlin try to deal with the idea of not being able to go back to their homeland forever.
De Nuevo, Fiction 7’ Greece Christos Karteris The most inanimate object in your house, takes over your mind…
Identity, Drama 25’ Serbia Milos Krasulja A story about two outsiders brought together unexpectedly by bureaucracy.
Do they know me? Drama 1,4’ Turkey Abdullah Harun Ilhan Inside Questions of an Anatolian man who emigrated to Europe for work…
I want to know what it’s like, Documentary 5’ Romania Alexandra Carastonian Diversity is everywhere. In some countries it is less accepted, in others maybe more. This is a short movie about what some members of the Romanian LGBTQ community feel in their daily lives. A movie about how people perceive love and acceptance. A movie about freedom of love and expression. “Through the screening at the BBB Festival, we wish to celebrate the memory of Cristi, a strong activist for the Romanian LGBTQ community who died in January 2013.”
The Blue Viking in Sarajevo, Documentary 17’ Bosnia and Herzegovina Ado Hasnaovic A film that portrays a Latin American whose background includes three nationalities – Argentinean, Chilean, and Uruguayan. Emilio started performing street dance in Chile at the age of 19. He had visited 65 states, and then he found himself on the streets of Sarajevo. The capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina has become his home, and new friends have become his family.
Waves in agony, Experimental 8,35’ Greece Nasos Karabelas A film about human existence; about the things that we can’t understand. We live in an absurd world where we want to find our safety. We are trying for this but the only thing that we find is the limitless freedom.
The Ballad of Biszewski & I, Fiction 30’ Greece Quail Harlow Biszewski picks ‘I’ up beaten. He’s on the hunt for the lifestyle he’s been sold by his heroes…
Sunshine through the rain, Fiction 10’ Bulgaria- Hungary Hristo Simeonov Stas and David became friends this summer and are inseparable. David has gypsy origins and the grandmother of Stas doesn’t approve this friendship David’s grandmother is concerned about the boys’ friendship for very different reasons… Now the bears get married, become foolish and don’t hide from people.
The Verdict, Documentary 11’ Croatia Djuro Gavran Sixteen years after the war, in the main square of Zagreb several thousand people gathered to watch a live broadcast of the verdict to Croatian generals. Through a series of close-ups, the film documents the eruption of emotions caused by the verdict.
Doors, Doors, Doors, Fiction 23’ Albania Kreshnik Saraci A film that talks about the life of six different people that casually are gathered in the same place. They live in the same building, in the same floor.
Worthless, Drama 11,43’ Kosovo Nart Zeqiraj Three friends hanging around in a cafe, make plans on where to go. Empty coffee cups on the table show that there is some time they are there. Affected by the monotony they begin to tease each-other and passersby.
The hungry men, Distopia 28’ Greece Yorgos Bakalis Capitalism has collapsed, and fat people have been driven out of society… a few of them, living in the same house, form a revolutionary group without meaning. An anonymous, fat man lives above them. Everything changes when the leader of the group decides to eat the state officer for the cause of the revolution. Only one person in the house, who is asked to write the manifesto, knows about the leader’s plan.
First Lady of Dubrava, Comedy/Drama 20’ Croatia Barbara Vekaric Amra is an attractive and talented teenager living in the outskirts of. Dina is her chubby, clumsy and spoiled younger sister who suffers from asthma. Amra and her “manager” plan to shoot a hot music video but she learns last minute that she’s to babysit Dina instead…
Nicoleta, Fiction 19’ Greece Sonia Liza Kenterman 1951: in the mountains of Greece still full of the hatreds of the civil war, a boy, as the head of his family, is responsible for the destiny of his baby sister. Carrying the baby on his shoulders, he treks the inhospitable mountains and braves the dangers of unforgiving people in the hope of escaping poverty.
About a city, Experimental 8,34’ Serbia Dragana Nikolic Talking with the ghosts of the city, the shadows, the fog… This city is full of secrets. Secret passageways, stairways. Just hidden from you, hard to find…
The sound at the window, Fiction 19,09’ Turkey Nursel Dogan Gülizar had to move from her small village to the big city. She can’t speak any language except her native language is Kurdish. Everything is very different for her in the big metropolis city Istanbul. She has to face a lot of challenges of everyday lie.
One line, Experimental 3,4’ Greece Dimitris Argiriou “One Line” is the line, which connects the dream with the reality.
Vacant, Fiction 14’ Sweden Josephine Camitz In a city that was once theirs. Myrto and Spiros are two young lovers living in Athens. She suffers from a disease. He becomes shut out.
Cat, Experimental/ Documentary 30’ Germany Stefan Neuberger KEDİ is an experimental documentary in the tradition of “Cadavre Exquis”. Several people from Istanbul are portrayed through the power of their imagination in a moving portrait photography. Together they create and narrate a fiction story about the life of a cat.
One year after, Drama 10,48’ Romania Cristian Pascariu How does a mother deal with the loss of her husband? “One year after” is the story of a mother who unwillingly meets the man who killed her husband at a heart-breaking accident. In an attempt to express his remorse and deep feelings of guilt, the man tries to talk to the woman whose life has been marked by him.
The man who fed his shadow, Drama 18’ Greece Mario Garefo A man intrudes into rich people’s dinners claiming that he can collect the food from their table and feed his shadow which, curiously enough, is a female figure.
Transformance, Experimental 8,15’ Germany/ Croatia Nina Kurtela Transformance is a video-event-work that activates and documents a five-month durational performance. Over this period of time, Nina Kurtela establishes a daily practice of visiting and witnessing the changes at the building site of the Uferstudios, Wedding, Berlin – the warehouse for the repair of public trams and buses becomes a dance institution. The camera acts as a witness to her performing/witnessing.
One missed call, Fiction 5,43’ Greece Fotis Velentzas One night in town a boy and a girl capture their meeting on video, building up a choreography of thoughts and memories before they separate…
Boy Story, Romantic comedy 17’ Greece Thanassis Angelopoulos A bus station, a video-club, a swimming-pool. A series of random meetings will become the occasion for a “Boy Story” to unroll. Will the hero manage to overcome the suspensions which victimize him since childhood? And will he manage to make Eirini ask him what is the music he is listening to?
Between the lines, Drama 9,3’ Germany/ France Fingscheidt Nora Hungary 1946. The Hungarian policeman Sándor must displace his foster father Michael from his farm. Michael’s refusal to leave his country leads to a tragic end.
Dreaming Apecar, Comedy 16’ Italy Dario Leone Caterina is a 45 year old Italian woman who has been without a job for months and cannot find another one. So she accepts to work as a carer for Gheorghe, an elderly lively Romanian stuck to a wheelchair. This experience will change her life.
Man in a box, Clay Animation 4,36’ Greece Elias Papastamatiou A figure pops up out of a piece of clay, but is unable to get released. It desperately seeks to find ways to get cut off from this piece of clay which confines it. Freedom is close…
The Shovel is too small, Documentary 24’ Serbia Nemanja Babic The film investigates the motivation for work through the shock workers movement and the youth work campaigns. The elderly folk are skeptical regarding the new generations, accusing them of being only after the material benefits. Today, these work campaigns have lost their role of connecting people, so it’s absurd that they seem to be outdated but also inspiring.
In the shadow of the deathless tree, Fiction 30’ Turkey Nail Pelivan You spent it in this way, in all places, too/You cannot find a different sea./This city will follow you./You will walk in same streets, again./You will age in same neighbourhood./Your hair will turn grey in same houses./You will come to this city in the end, coming full circle./how you spent your life, in this corner./You cannot find a new country.
These are the truths and misconceptions, fears and successes of the process
experienced and told by creatives themselves.
‘‘Creativity has always been essential for our cultural growth, but there are still many misconceptions about this elusive process. Being a powerful creative person involves letting go of preconceived notions of what an artist is, and discovering and inventing new processes that yield great ideas.’’-viaOff Book Series
This project is a great example of spatial designers andmusical artists coming together to create a sonic playground, performance venue and laboratory for musical architecture. What is it?
‘‘A host of international artists, musicians and inventors are creatingDITHYRAMBALINA– a landmark village of musical, playable houses. Invented instruments embedded into the walls, ceilings, and floors of Dithyrambalina’s architecture will support boundary-breaking musical performances and inspire wonder, exploration and invention in visitors of all ages. This New Orleans Airlift project is the evolving brainchild of artists Swoon, Delaney Martin, Taylor Lee Shepherd and Jay Pennington in collaboration with over 100 more artists and musicians to date. Last year they debutedTHE MUSIC BOX, as a proof-of-concept for their vision.’’
‘‘Circus a Way of Life’’ will take place tomorrow, October 5th, at 6:00-7:30pm, between PEDONALJA (Tirana's only pedestrian street) and the PYRAMID. Led by the French theater company Capillotractee Cie’, 12 young artists (ages 15-18) will provide a unique show that includes acrobatics, juggling, dance performance, pantomimes, pyrotechnics and drama, music, etc.
The project's main goal is to support the homeless youth and to get them more involved in creative activities. Also, of importance is promoting a civic attitude and awareness toward street art and performance in order to revitalize the city.
Nesër, më datë 5 Tetor, nga ora 18.00-19.30 do të realizohet tek PEDONALJA dhe PIRAMIDA eventi i spektaklit të rrugës ‘‘Circus a Way of Life’’. 12 Artistë të rinj të moshës 15-18 vjec, të udhëhequr nga kompania franceze e teatrit Capillotractee Cie’ , do të ofrojnë një spektakël të veçantë që përfshin akrobaci, zhongleri, dance performancë, pantonime, piroteknikë dhe aktrim, muzikë, etj.
Projekti ‘‘Circus a Way of Life’’ synon të motivojë dhe mbështesë fëmijët e rrugës, të rinjtë e talentuar që ndodhen në kushte të vështira social ekonomike të meren me aktivitet krijues. Gjithashtu projekti synon të përhape një mendësi qytetare që orientohet drejt artit dhe spektalit të rrugës për të gjallëruar rrugët dhe sheshet tona.
Këtë vit, Takimet Muzikore të dy Botëve do të zhvillohet gjatë Ditëve të Trashëgimisë Kulturore Evropiane. Tashmë në edicionin e shtatë, festivali i organizuar nga ARGJIRO, do të mbahet në Berat në 5 - 6 Tetor, duke u ndjekur nga një grand finale në Tiranë më datë 7 Tetor.
This year'sMusical Encounters of the Two Worlds falls during The European Cultural Heritage Days in Albania. Already in its seventh edition and organized by ARGJIRO, the festival will be in Berat on October 5 & 6, followed by a grand finale in Tirana on October 7th.
Classical meets Traditional Albanian Music, together on one stage. If you happen to be in Albania this weekend, make sure to stop by!
Earlier this week, Highrise made its debut at the 51st annual New York Film Festival as part of the Convergence Program. The project is an interactive, open-source online installation/documentary/film/experiment that explores vertical living around the world. A collaboration of National Film Board of Canada and The New York Times Op-Docs, the interactive experience will launch in the New York Times soon.
The project explores a 2500 year history of vertical living by utilizing digital media. The story is being told by pushing all limits of media genres: bringing together different people to collaborate and share ideas; remixing life with art, cinema with the web and creating a participatory, interactive and networked experience, that will ultimately transform our physical space, our neighborhoods, our cities, our urban landscape.
Tirana/Shkodra Public Art Parcours An art exhibition on the road between Tirana and Shkodra.
Bus Tour starts at 11:00 a.m, Sunday September 29th 2013,
at Mother Tereza Square, in front of the National Archeological Museum.
The tour is free and will guide the public through the art work
s
on the road between Tirana and Shkodra.
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Tiranë/Shkodër Përshkimi i Artit Publik
Një ekspozitë arti në rrugën që lidh Tiranën dhe Shkodrën.
Autobuzi niset në oren 11 të mëngjesit, të dielën më 29 Shtator 2013,
në sheshin Nënë Tereza, përballë Muzeut Arkeologjik Kombëtar.
Autobuzi është falasdhe do ta drejtojë publikun në veprat e artit përgjatë rrugës Tiranë- Shkodër.
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artists//artistët:
Nikolin Bujari
Kueng Caputo
Ledia Kostandini
Matilda Odobashi
Guadalupe Ruiz
Susanne Schär & Peter Spillmann
Studio 203& Romeo Kodra
Johannes Willi
curators//kuratorët:
Adela Demetja
Eveline Wüthrich
‘‘100km Art- Tiranë/Shkodër Përshkimi i Artit Publik është një bashkëpunim mes artistëve bashkëkohor shqiptar dhe zviceran. Artistët janë ftuar për të punuar mbi një projekt të posaçëm (site specific) në rrugën mes kryeqytetit të Shqipërisë, Tiranës, dhe qytetit të Shkodrës, në kufi me Malin e Zi.
Ndonëse Tirana është kryeqyteti i artit dhe krijimeve artistike, Shkodra është qyteti më i vjetër dhe më i madh në veri të vendit me një tradite tepër të rëndësishme në art, muzik dhe film. Rruga e cila lidh këto dy qytete dhe e cila të drejton edhe për Kosovë, është ndër akset kryesore, e perdorur nga shumë njerëz në lëvizjet e tyre të përditshme.
Përveç disa monumenteve të bëra kryesisht për qëllime patriotike dhe çështje identiteti, siç janë statuja të figurave historike apo simbolika të ndryshme të këtij tipi, të cilat janë të vendosura pothuajse të gjitha, në qëndër të qytetit, arti publik në Shqiperi është me pakicë.
Jo vetëm duke lënë hapsirat e muzeve apo galerive, por edhe qytetin vet, projekti synon të shkojë përtej mureve fizike apo simbolike qofshin, për tu përballur me një territor dhe një publik më të gjërë. Një ndër synimet kryesore të ekspozitës ishte edhe bashkimi i artistëve shqiptar dhe zviceran të cilët në punët e tyre kanë fokus edhe artin publik. Të dy kahët kanë nevojë për njëri-tjetrin: artistët zviceran e kanë eksperimentuar artin në hapsira publike shpesh - një fenomen i zakonshëm në Zvicer dhe me një traditë të gjatë - ndërsa artistët shqiptar janë të familjarizuar me ambjentin dhe rrethanat në Tiranë dhe Shkodër.
Një film dokumentar nga Olsi Hoxha do japi nje këndvështrim të ekspozitës për ata që sdo të mund të jenë prezent.
‘‘100km Art – Tirana/Shkodra Public Art Parcours is a collaboration of Albanian and Swiss contemporary artists. The artists have been invited to realize site specific works on the road between the capital city of Tirana and the city of Shkodra, bordering on Montenegro. Whereas Tirana is today’s creative and artistic capital, Shkodra is the oldest and biggest city in the north of the country with an important tradition in art but also music and film. The street connecting the two cities and leading to Kosovo is a main axe, driven by many people on their everyday ways.
Besides some historical monuments as signs of identity and statues of national heroes mostly situated in the city centre, there’s not much art in public space in Albania. Not only leaving the inside space of the museum but also the actual city, the project is about going one step further and engaging with a new territory and addressing a different public.
Bringing Swiss and Albanian artists together that address public space in their work is the main goal of the exhibition. Both parts are needed, as the Swiss artists are experienced with art in public space – a common phenomenon in Switzerland with a long tradition – whereas the Albanian artists are familiar with the landscape and circumstances in Tirana and Shkodra.
A documentary of the exhibit will be filmed by Olsi Hoxha.
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