Landscapes of Repair is a collaborative project on post-traumatic landscapes in Kosovo, arising from a partnership between the University of Sheffield and the forumZFD Kosovo. The project links University of Sheffield research on post-traumatic landscapes together with forumZFD’s expertise in dealing with the past in Kosovo and the Western Balkans. Landscapes of Repair seeks to establish a collaborative platform through the involvement of local, regional and international researchers, civil society actors, local communities and artists with a focus on post-traumatic place-making and the construction, availability and transformation of public space within post-conflict Kosovo. Foregrounding the localised reclamation of spaces that have been shaped by trauma in the region, the project fosters academic research, documentation, and the articulation of civil society actors in the context of landscape repair as signifier of local, regional, and international socio-political dynamics.
Landscapes of Repair Symposium
The Landscapes of Repair symposium was a two-day online event taking place on 13/14 July 2021. The symposium brought together international researchers, artists and local civil actors to explore post-conflict place-making in Kosovo. Over 40 participants from Kosovo, the Western Balkans and beyond explored the reclaiming, reoccupation and reformation of regional sites that have been shaped by difficult, violent, or traumatic histories, and the importance of artistic as well as community interventions within such sites. The two-day symposium was simultaneously translated in Albanian, English and Serbian.
The detailed program of the symposium including an overview on the panels and speakers can be found under http://landscapesofrepair.org/savethedatesymposium/
Landscapes of Repair Exhibition
Arising from a collaboration between the University of Sheffield and the NGO forumZFD Kosovo, the Landscapes of Repair exhibition showcases the work of six Kosovo-based artists who grapple with the reoccupation, repair, and reformation of the built and natural environment in post-conflict Kosovo.
Art interrogates and invites us to bear witness to past trauma in the present, and it is from this vantage point that Landscapes of Repair responds to the following questions: How are post-conflict landscapes implicated in processes of local memorialisation, reoccupation and repair? What does repair look like in the post-traumatic landscapes of Kosovo and the Western Balkans? What are the possibilities afforded by creative practice in critically engaging these places in the present? How might we build landscapes of care or architectures of peace in post-conflict societies?
The exhibtion can be accessed via the Landscapes of Repari website http://landscapesofrepair.org/online-exhibition/
Next Steps for Landscapes of Repair
For further information on the Landscapes of Repair project please contact info@landscapesofrepair.org or visit www.landscapesofrepair.org
