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PROJECT
MISSING INDENTITY WITH THEIR GALLERY IN PEJE, KOSOVO
There is a popular saying in Kosovo that "what is missing doesn't
hurt." It is here that a crucial point must be made. The project
aims to enhance the presence of what is gravely missing in society in
Kosovo: cultural, linguistic, and ethnic diversity. Missing Identity queries
the attempts to establish a unified national identity and propagates the
protection of difference. The goal is to change that missing reality into
a promising, European one -by help of cultural education, international
transfer of knowledge, promotion of international co-productions, publishing
of cultural productions and artistic-theoretical discourses at home as
well as abroad.
While the activities of "EXIT" precede its legal founding, the
majority of this organization's work begins in the summer of 1999, after
NATO's arrival in Kosova. EXIT was founded by artists as a direct result
of the lack of curators and cultural managers in Kosova and the needs
for artists to create and establish new and healthy relations with the
outside world as well as offering different artistic models as alternatives
to the already existing ones.
Founders and leaders of EXIT are Erzen Shkololli and Sokol Beqiri, both
artists from Peja. EXIT started its activities as a result of the frustration
felt by artists and other creative people in a post-conflict situation,
and from antagonism and heightened controversy that was ironically in
many ways "artistically" attractive. On the one hand, energy
accumulated over 10 years was such that it burst and exploded as it found
itself having to adjust to new circumstances after the end of the war,
which involved working once again in an environment lacking structure,
albeit under different overall conditions. Given these chaotic "artistic"
conditions, EXIT (and its supporters) continued to search, focus and specify
its needs for this kind of community and structure that shares a common
viewpoint, direction, and vision.
It's a fact by now that the young contemporary Kosova'r art is having
an important impact on the international art scene. The role that the
organizing of a prestigious international art events, such as exhibitions
in EXIT Gallery in Pejë, has a vital importance in not only having
made it possible this events, but also they have contributed a lot to
changing the image of the country itself.
This EXIT Gallery aims at presenting high profile
contemporary artists, with a lot of creative energy, selected by high
profile international standards. The previous years experience has shown
that EXIT Gallery has been a launching platform for many young and aspiring
artists, Kosovar and foreigner as well. This due to the combined showing
of their work with more established artists, as well as through contacts
with galleries, curators, and critics, invited, as participants to the
round tables organized within the framework of the shows. However, due
to a very unstable political condition that the country is constantly
experiencing, despite the very successful echo the project has had,
it hasn't managed yet to be a structure independent from political mood.
Therefore, it still needs all the support that can be granted to it,
by all institutions, foundations, businesses and individuals, who are
keen in changing and improving the image of this country and extend
the range of possibilities offered especially to a hopeless young generation.
Considering the challenge this project offers
and the above mentioned interest on the young Kosovar art scene, there
is already a large international interest to the outcome of EXIT Gallery.
Professional public, curators, critics, gallerists and art fans have
already shown a lot of interest in the events that they are happening
in the EXIT Gallery. The EXIT Gallery still offers the best chance to
luring a significant number of art professionals to Kosovo, for the
simple reason that EXIT Gallery offers a lot of possibilities to know
more and establish eventual exchange of benefit to the participating
artists and to the visitors as well.
On the other hand, considering the increasing interest with which the
local public has responded to EXIT Gallery, local public, either professional
or not, shall have the possibility to experience the artistic actions,
meet the artists, and also experience the cultural diversity such an
environment is going to offer.
Also regarding the follow up of the EXIT Gallery
project is planning to start with a series of encounters, and round
tables with public debates on issues of contemporary art and related
to the show's that they will take place in the EXIT Gallery itself..EXIT
Gallery aims at broadening the artistic audience, offering an incredible
chance of interchange between artists, critics, curators and public.
EXIT Gallery in Peja, where organizing a number
of exhibitions with some of the most important international and Albanian
artists, curators art critics of our times. Thus which they worked till
now with EXIT Gallery are:Shona Illingworth, Ermelinda Agalliu, Juan-Pedro
Fabra, Mohammad Hamid, Alban Hajdinaj, Gentian Shkurti, Jutta Benzenberg
Klosi,Henrik Andersson, Migjen Kelmendi,Edi Muka, Lekë Tasi, Adrian
Paci, Edi Hila, Danica Dakic, Kurt&Plasto ,Andreas Leikauf ,David
Moises , Monochrom , Ivan Moudov , Neboja eri? oba
,The Blue Noses Group, Margarethe Makovec & Anton Lederer, Dan Perjovschi,
Mislim Mulliqi,Gentian Shkurti, Maja Bajevic, Sejla Kameric,Edo Numankadic,Gordana-
Andjelic-Galic,Alam Suljevic,Sanja Ivekovic, Ayse Erkmen ,Sener Ozmen,Roza
El-Hassan, Nina Fischer/Maroan el Sani, Christoph Keller,Daniel Pflumm,
Heidi Specker,Inke Arns, Goran Devi?, Vlatka Horvat ,David Maljkovi?
,Mario Mikovi? ,Platforma 9, 81 ,Marko Tadi?, What, How, for Whom
(WHW) is an independent curatorial collective, Emanuel Licha,Stefano
Romano, Anri Sala, Michal Kolecek ,Pavlina Fichta Cierna ,Zdena Koleckova
,Michaela Thelenova,Oliver Musovik.
Missing Identity project did open EXIT Gallery for contemporary art
in Peja, in the framework of the EXIT Contemporary Art Institute the
only one of its kind in Kosovo. "Missing Identity" are developing
their program, and all this takes place in the framework of relations.
Relations is project initiated by KulturStiftung des Bundes (Federal
Cultural Foundation, Germany)
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