Many in Kosovo remember the much-hyped Manifesta 14 Prishtina, held in 2022, which remade the capital city and sought to open more public spaces across the city through art and culture. Manifesta was intended to inspire a transformation in how public space and culture are perceived and utilized.
Manifesta 14 Prishtina attracted over 800,000 visitors to Kosovo. According to Manifesta, the biennial generated over €20 million: approximately €5.4 million were expenditures of Manifesta 14, while around €14.9 million was the total consumption made by visitors.
Among the most popular venues of Manifesta 14 were the Brick Factory, the Grand Hotel, the Rilindja space, the Green Corridor railway park, and the Centre for Narrative Practice (CNP).
Two years later, the Brick Factory is slated for redevelopment by an American consortium into a mixed-use complex, with 40% of the space dedicated to arts and culture, providing funds to support citywide cultural initiatives, according to the mayor. The Grand Hotel has continued to serve as an exhibition space and multiethnic cultural hub, thanks to the Barabar Centre and HAJDE Foundation. Meanwhile, the Rilindja space is in the planning stages to become Kosovo’s new Museum of Modern Art.
However, the Green Corridor railway park has been neglected, and cinemas remain closed, among other unused spaces. Manifesta expressed disappointment that the Municipality of Prishtina did not fulfill its commitments to these areas.
The biggest letdown is the closure of the Centre for Narrative Practice (CNP), intended as Manifesta's legacy, due to funding challenges. The CNP announced a temporary closure effective February 1, 2024, to prepare for a spring reopening and to explore sustainable public and private partnerships for future maintenance. However, almost a year later, the space remains closed despite initial investments and commitments from Kosovo authorities.
The Centre for Narrative Practice: Closed for Business
Housed in the Hivzi Sylejmani Library in Qafa, the Centre for Narrative Practice (CNP) was renovated with €400,000 from the Embassy of Luxembourg to serve as a cultural center, multiethnic library, exhibition space, artist studios and a communal workspace. Earlier this year, it closed due to a lack of operational funding.
The Municipality of Prishtina and the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport had agreed to maintain the CNP, with the municipality signing an agreement with Manifesta to operate it until 2025. The Swiss Embassy also contributed funds to the project.
The city invested €1.7 million into Manifesta 14, while the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport provided €2 million, accounting for 5% of its budget at the time. These contributions comprised about 69% of the budget, with an additional €1.6 million (31%) coming from donors, according to Manifesta 14’s final report.
Manifesta 14 was unable to secure the €100,000 in annual funding needed to keep the CNP fully operational, including its programming such as school workshops, free photography classes and studio spaces for artists. Without funding, staff were let go. To prevent the buildings from sitting empty, Prishtina’s Mayor, Përparim Rama, allowed the culture department to move their offices into the library space in summer 2024, attributing this decision to a lack of support from the central government.
Civil society soon protested the takeover of the space by the municipality insisting that it be restored to its former use. But the municipality says it doesn’t have the funds to keep the CNP running as envisioned.
However, by September 2024, the culture department was moved out of the buildings at the behest of CSOs and an ad hoc group of artists and cultural workers angry that the city did not keep its commitment to the CNP’s purpose. The mayor has now created a scheme where civil society organizations can apply to use the space for activities. But the buildings remain largely closed to the public.
A recent visit to the CNP showed there was no activity. I asked the municipality how the scheme to allow local NGOs to apply to use the space has gone but have not received a response.
In a written statement, Manifesta 14 said, “The board of Manifesta 14 Prishtina (both international and local) is still discussing the future of the CNP and how this will be continued in the new year.”
The closure of the CNP highlights the struggle to sustain cultural initiatives in Kosovo. Despite its potential and significant investments, the space remains closed without a clear future.
*In full disclosure, New Perspektiva, the NGO I work with, attempted to help Manifesta create a fundraising project to keep the CNP open during January and February. Despite submitting proposals and reaching out to other potential partners, no funding was secured.
*Requests for comment from the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport, as well as the Swiss and Luxembourg Embassies, went unanswered.
