1 Përtej, 20 years later By: Shkëlzen Maliqi Organizing an exhibition of Kosovar art in Belgrade in June 1997 was not an easy decision to make. Even in the offices of the Soros Foundation in Prishtina, which was the exhibition’s financial backer, there were people doubting it out loud: “Have you thought through what you’re doing and where you’re going?” The artists didn’t have a problem with it at all. Quite the opposite, when I told them that the exhi- bition can be held anywhere in what was leſt of Yugoslavia — for example in Budva, or Subotica or Novi Sad, they said that they were interested, but they had a suggestion. Yes, they said, the cities that were mentioned are interesting, but if the location is still up for debate and you’re asking for our opinion, we would pick Belgrade. They felt it was a great center of contemporary art and, without undermining Montenegro and Vojvodina, there was a bigger audience and critique for their art waiting there, art which was targeted at the conscience of Belgrade. It was fine for me that the artists insisted on Belgrade. As the initiator of the exhibition, I immedi- ately had a space in mind for where it could be held. In February 1997, together with Sokol Beqiri and Mehmet Behluli, I visited the Center for Cultural Decontamination (CZKD). The building was built between the two world wars by a Serban minister who was an admirer of art and in that glyptotheque he kept his private collection of copies of Italian renaissance sculptures. But what was most important was that CZKD was a prominent institution of the resistance against the Milošević regime. When we evaluated the conditions and decided that the exhibition would be held in early June, what worried the artists was the space itself — how their works would look in that space, not the political considerations that cynics talked about in regard to the opportunity to exhibit in Belgrade. It’s not that we didn’t consider the sceptic’s remarks. Some of them had good intentions and were worried about our reputation. Organizing the exhibition in Belgrade under those conditions was considered a stupid undertaking. To add to that, as well as political arguments they were making artistic ones as well. The mainstream of the Kosovo art scene was skeptical of the new artistic trends present in the works that were being exhibited in the Dodona gallery and Hani i 2 Robertëve café-gallery. The mainstream did not like the exhibition being in Belgrade, because it was the head of the regime that had occupied us, and was almost entirely suffocating educational and cultural activities in Kosovo. 2 They would tell us: if for us it’s impossible to exhibit in our own galleries, which are usurped by Serbs that are directed from Belgrade, then why the hell are you going to Belgrade? This only serves to legitimize the existing conditions in Kosovo! Or, even worse, why should we be at Belgrade’s feet, recognizing their supremacy? Even though the CZKD gallery opposed the Milošević regime... There were even heavier accusations that considered us servile, collaborators of the occupier, traitors, ignorant and offensive to the victims of repression. Having this context in mind, in the invitation that was printed for the exhibition (the catalogue would be published later, in the fall) I wrote the following text: “Figurative arts in Kosovo up until the early ‘80s have cultivated a type of happy, provincial acade- mism. (…) During the ‘80s, this academism experiences a crisis — the already fragile cultural system becomes one of the first victims of the harsh inter-ethnic conflict. During the period between 1989 and 1991, educational and cultural institutions in Kosovo (galleries, the Academy of Arts, etc.) are “cleansed” of Albanians. Kosovar Art is thrown to the margins and forced to live a parallel life outside of its rightful homes. The art of resistance, though of a fluctuating quality, would give a final blow to academism. The generation of young artists, affirmed in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, is almost entirely aligned against “reality in painting” in favor of abstraction or experimentation with media (Sokol Beqiri, Mehmet Behluli, Gani Llalloshi, Visar Mulliqi, as well as some marginalized middle-aged artists, like Gani Bajraktari and Haxhi Kastrati). Is the emer- gence of the new and angry artists just an earthquake of local importance, or can they, as authentic breakers of conventions and provincialism, nevertheless establish a wider communi- cation through trends in contemporary art? The Përtej project was initiated with the mission of breaking through borders and taboos that prevent normal artistic and interpersonal communi- cation. This is, above all, an artistic project, but which nevertheless has other implications, one of them being political. Although we don’t see them as unimportant, and we don’t shy away from the provocative aspects of the project, we invite the silencing and ignoring of the objective, and supposed inartistic implications of the project, so that we can establish communication between Kosovo and Belgrade, through the universal language of art and spiritual concerns, that over- come today’s tenuous, poisoned and xenophobic reality of the Balkans. We have named the proj- ect ‘Përtej’ which in Albanian means above, across, on the other side of. This title is not of a programmatic character. It only marks the border situation of artists who would wish to be beyond the harsh reality.” Përtej, with a refined figurative language, considered the then-explosive crisis of nationalism and attempts to install regimes of dominance over the ruins of the destroyed federation or, even worse, the elimination of any mutual respect, common life and good neighborliness. 3 Përtej shaped a status of regained dignity, because the worst shock experienced by Kosovars in the ’90s, everyday people and artists, were various forms of permanent humiliation. The main message of the exhibition, if it can be simplified in this way, was: It’s you who should be ashamed, not us! What did Përtej bring? Aſter the exhibition, there was a rapid international affirmation of the artists who participated in the exhibition. Kosovo entered the contemporary art map of the region. Renowned curators Harald Szeemann and René Block visited Kosovo several times, claiming that they had ‘discovered’ interesting and very meaningful art. Even though their excur- sions in the Balkans were criticized as having a neocolonial approach and of ‘exoticism’, their exhibitions nevertheless affected the establishment of benchmarking standards and stimulated the interconnection of art scenes and the advancement of communications with European art and beyond. Aſter Përtej, there is an emergence of new names in the contemporary art scene. Towards the end of the ’90s, Erzen Shkololli and Albert Heta are well known, aſter that comes the generation represented by Jakup Ferri, Lulëzim Zeqiri, Dren Maliqi, Driton Hajredinaj, Merita Harxhi Koci, Alban Muja, etc. We are still witnessing the successes of Flaka Haliti, Fitore Isufi Koja, Alketa Xhafa, and the ‘Haveit’ collective. Also part of the scene, with their frequent visits and participa- tions in exhibitions and seminars, are the internationally affirmed artists Sislej Xhafa and Petrit Halilaj. All these names, and others, create an extraordinary liveliness and say something about the general societal approach towards contemporary art. It becomes accepted by the National Gallery and the Faculty of Arts, and is even imposed as a new mainstream. In the meantime, the forms of communication between Kosovo and Serbia, with all their difficul- ties, are enriched and today the exchange of exhibitions or mutual translations, where memories of the Përtej exhibition come with a natural and eternal glow. Aſter 20 years, the participation of Sokol Beqiri and two other artists from Kosovo, Agim Çavdar- basha and Lala Meredith Vula (the latter with British roots), in Dokumenta 14, in Kassel and Athens, comes as a confirmation of the earlier premonition that Kosovar art will find its place on the map of the international contemporary art scene. By proposing to mark the 20 year anniversary, Borka Pavićević and I agreed that Përtej should only serve as a starting point for research into Përtej 2. For a genuine exploration of the eternal into today, it must be a task for the conscience of younger generations of artists and thinkers to show courage in reflection. I wish them success. 4 5 Përtej By: Borka Pavićević Scene I Everybody was acting like nothing important or out of the ordinary was going on. It was a sunny day, the Përtej exhibition was being set up at the Center for Cultural Decontamination (CZKD). The opening was scheduled for 7 p.m., the usual time. The organizers of the exhibition were the Center for Contemporary Art, the Fund for an Open Society and CZKD. It felt like one of those events where the atmosphere was just below the surface, not noticeable at first, which is the tensest, most exciting kind of initiation; when not much is revealed, and the greatness is subdued. Art historians Jovan Despotivić and Dejan Sretenović were walking casually around the CZKD yard, whereas I, the host, was very angry because there were no journalists, no press confer- ence, everything was minimized, quiet, scarcity before something grand. I didn’t realize at first that the intention was to prevent a reaction beforehand and later cause a “scandal,” which was repeated and would be repeated all those years before and aſter. This was a “provocation,” or a cultural and artistic event which was “targeted” at birth, when it was named as “controversial.” The exhibition of Kosovo Albanian artists in Belgrade, Përtej was the first exhibition ever which was not created under representative “keys,” but a free artistic selection by Shkelzen Maliqi, the widely known intellectual, hard working culture enthusiast and friend, long-term, historical.