Site writing: Diaries of a Trip to Pristina - Manifesta 14 Tour

This artistic practice exemplifies **narrative-driven curatorial exploration**, blending personal reflections with participatory experiences to engage with themes of history, politics, memory, and identity. The journey to Pristina for the Manifesta 14 Biennale unfolds as a multi-dimensional narrative where the artist navigates public spaces, curated exhibitions, and collective memory through personal observations and encounters.

Type of Artistic Practice:
This is a **research-based and reflective narrative practice** that integrates **site-specific exploration**, **archival engagement**, and **emotional storytelling**. It serves as both an individual exploration and a larger commentary on socio-political landscapes.

Key Elements:

1. Site-Specific Engagement: The practice explores the urban environment of Pristina, from iconic spaces like the Bulevardi Nënë Tereza to the Grand Hotel. These locations become canvases for reflection on urban history, public memory, and the socio-political fabric of Kosovo. The engagement highlights the intersections of space, history, and identity.

2. Personal Narrative:By weaving personal experiences of displacement and reflections on political parallels between Palestine and Kosovo, the artist creates a dialogue between her own identity and the spaces she inhabits. This personal lens adds depth to the exploration, turning the journey into a tapestry of collective and individual memory.

3. Artistic Encounters: The practice involves in-depth interaction with curated works, such as:
- Emily Jacir's **"A Letter to a Friend"**, which examines anticipatory resistance to oppression.
- Lawrence Abu Hamdan's **"Earwitness Inventory"**, exploring the power of sound in evoking memory and politicized narratives.
- Hana Zeqa's kinetic installations, which question the interplay between clothing, identity, and privacy.

4. Themes of Resistance and Memory: The practice is imbued with themes of archival preservation, storytelling, and speculative futures. From reflections on Mother Teresa’s monument to speculative narratives surrounding soundscapes of war and displacement, it challenges the erasure of marginalized histories.

5. Philosophical Underpinnings: The practice draws from philosophical frameworks of identity, memory, and resistance. It employs speculative imagination, as seen in Maria Nalbantova's coffee cup installation, to reframe historical and personal narratives.

Purpose and Impact:
This artistic practice is a layered exploration of how personal and collective histories intersect with urban and curated spaces. It invites viewers and participants to consider how narratives of oppression, resistance, and memory can be preserved, challenged, and reimagined. By connecting historical contexts, artistic interpretations, and personal experiences, it bridges the gap between the past, present, and speculative futures. This practice exemplifies how art can act as a vessel for storytelling, healing, and advocacy within complex socio-political landscapes.



To access the full diaries, contact the author.