Harabel Platform, on the evening of September 27th will host a dialogue with urban architect Eliza Hoxha on her latest work “The city is everywhere”.
Initially, architect Hoxha focuses on what is the genesis of the project, which is nothing other than what the Albanian citizens experienced in Kosovo during the conflict; while the final destination of this project is the space available for Kosovo at the Venice Architecture Biennale for 2018.
The project itself is essentially a trip down memory lane, already in artistic form, in a time of hardship throughout which the Pristina residents felt excluded from the public sphere and created a city within a city. Residential areas (in the surroundings) were converted into institutions (schools, universities, hospitals, etc.)
There is little documentation, to prove this truth because people were and are focused only towards the future, says Eliza. This is precisely the reason why the most important turning point taken by the Kosovo Albanian society who doesn’t just want to survive but also to develop thus overcoming the limits of survival, is out of the focus.
Eliza Hoxha herself is a witness of that time, the time where “The city is everywhere” emanates. In this meeting, not by chance, she adheres to her vital and professional journey. Part of this journey is also her dedication as a photographer; with camera shots that represent not only mass protests, but also special moments that speak between the lines about reality at that time; also not lacking in simple human momentum.
A mutual, strong influential space, by the inhabitants but also by the attackers, were the walls, as described by Eliza the “Speaking Walls”. Worth mentioning and of great importance is another proof: deflection from academic art and its replacement with realistic rebellious artists.
Coffee bars, Eliza ads became political, diplomatic and artistic institutions. Many meetings and conversations, exhibitions were also held in these spaces. The “satellite” element, so prevalent in Kosovo at that time, was an indicator of the need to know and to say; to maintain the connection to the world.
“The house became a city and city a great family”, says Eliza. This is of great importance for the society itself, thus, it is imperative to create the museum of the 90s; as well as placing appreciation plaques in any of the buildings which served one way or another to protect the future.
The artistic installations created with satellites, the wallpaper created with Pristina map (which points to the city’s developmental points during the war) are some of the elements used in the Kosovo pavilion at the Venice biennale. This platform is open to and for anyone who knows the history of Kosovo Albanians, but the architect does not exclude readings by other visitors.
Architect Eliza Hoxha at the end concludes that Pristina was not destroyed during the war however it went through a post-war destruction because the development platforms were not appropriately implemented.
