Content area
Full text
Out in the Open
The very name of the Autostrada Biennale holds the promise of a journey, such as a road trip along the awe-inspiring highways that link the far-flung corners of the tiny landlocked state at the heart of the Balkans. For the first time, the artist-run biennale that Leutrim Fishekqiu, Vatra Abrashi and Barış Karamuço co-founded in 2014 spread from its base in Prizren to two other cities in Kosovo whose names also begin with 'P': Prishtina and Peja - the three connect to form a triangle. Making good on its titular promise, 'What if a Journey...' channelled visitors from one end of the country to another along the eponymous Autostrada.
My own journey began with a ferry crossing from Bari in Apulia over to Durrēs in Albania; several hours, a broken bus and a taxi ride later, I finally made it to Prizren in time for the mid-afternoon muezzin call echoing across the city centre with i ts numerous mosques. Despite Prizren's multi-faith population, the number of mosques apparently rises with the construction of every new road that is financed by Turkish building companies - a tacit trade off. Prizren-born Doruntina Kastrati's interview-based film When It Left, Death Didn't Even Close Our Eyes, 2020, screened above the city at the Castle of Prizren, documents the plight of construction workers building Kosovo's highways, hired for a pittance by the likes of the Bechtel-Enka joint venture which reportedly operates with total disregard for their safety.
That evening, at the welcoming party held at the Autostrada Biennale's Education and Production Space located within the former KFOR (Kosovo Peacekeeping Force) Hangar, we were served flia, a Kosovar and northern Albanian staple consisting of densely layered savoury pancakes cooked for hours, often by the roadside, in a special round dish covered with a hot iron lid lined with charcoal....