Arts galore

The Hazel crisis made me forget about what we were doing while Hazel feasted on salmon and chocolate. We were immersing ourselves in ART. The art scene is thriving here, and one of the hot spots is the Traffic café, which is steps away from our apartment. It has (absurdly) frequent art openings and exhibitions. There are so many artists that want to show their work that the café can support bi-weekly exhibitions. Before Richard arrived, I saw the work of a photographer recently returned from West Africa. His pictures reminded me of Benin, so I had a strange merging of cultures and continents: an American talking with a Kosovar about trips to West Africa. I found the exhibit we attended a few nights ago more intriguing, both artistically and socially. It featured the work of a middle-aged psychiatrist and artist who started photographing graffiti in the 1980’s, which in turn fueled his own collage art. Before the war, he photographed hateful Serb graffiti in Prishtina. This type of graffiti, when combined with artistry, is an unnerving combination of beauty and terror. The Serb war graffiti in the exhibit was sans-artistry, so I started to wonder about the context of the exhibit. Serb graffiti disappeared from Prishtina after the war as the Kosovar Albanians filled up the city. A show featuring 10-year old Serb graffiti that no longer exists indicates to me that fear and suspicion is still perceived as well-founded.

And yet, you go to these events for more than the art. Unlike insular little art-scene cliques in Seattle and Tucson, these little parties are open and accessible. People seem generally interested in other people. There is a mix of Albanians and internationals, which on the one hand isn’t surprising, given that the city has been swimming in internationals for many years. But it doesn’t necessarily follow that they would mix so freely. It seems that everyone has a project or an upcoming event to promote. I met a British women who is organizing all-day seminars in a village not far here. The topics include Albanian language, Kosovar Albanian identity, wine tasting, and yoga. I hope to attend the identity seminar.