On Tuesday, September 3, 2024, about 60 people gathered in K2.0’s courtyard to discuss “Who does public space belong to?”

This discussion aimed to shed light on recent developments regarding the closure of the Center for Narrative Practice (CNP), which was a key legacy left by Manifesta 14 Prishtina. It also addressed the transfer of some offices of the Directorate of Culture of Prishtina into part of the former Hivzi Sylejmani library space, which has sparked opposition among independent cultural workers, artists, art and culture organizations and civil society groups. In June 2024, these groups responded with a public letter addressed to the mayor of Prishtina, Përparim Rama, the director of the Directorate of Culture, Sibel Halimi and members of the Municipal Assembly. The letter requested, among other things, that the Directorate of Culture of Prishtina remove the offices from the former Hivzi Sylejmani library space and initiate a participatory process regarding the future of the space.

At the end of June 2024, a meeting called by the Municipality of Prishtina was held at the CNP, in which municipal representatives and citizens discussed the future of the space and the use of other public spaces in the capital and beyond. This discussion occurred as the Draft Law on the allocation for use and exchange of municipal immovable property, approved by Kosovo’s government in December 2023, is expected to be voted on in the Kosovo Assembly. Civil society organizations have expressed opposition to the law’s content, stating that their recommendations have been ignored.

The discussion’s participants included Prishtina Mayor Përparim Rama, Yll Rugova, a board member of Manifesta 14 Prishtina, Rozafa Maliqi, a representative of Workers in Art (PART) and Dren Puka, director of the Department for Research and Advocacy at the Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF).

Rugova started the discussion by providing details on why the CNP was closed at the beginning of the year, the reasons behind the relocation of the Directorate of Culture offices to part of the building and the future of the space according to Manifesta 14 Prishtina.

CNP’s program was scheduled to last until the end of 2025, based on the contract between the Municipality of Prishtina and Manifesta 14 Prishtina. However, according to Rugova, due to changes at the Luxembourg Embassy and the Ministry of Culture, part of the funding was cut earlier, leading to the program being halted earlier this year.

In an effort to find a solution, despite numerous letters and requests from Manifesta 14 Prishtina to the institutions, a concrete resolution was not achieved. Instead, a verbal agreement was reached with the Municipality of Prishtina. According to Rugova, the two parties agreed that “the Municipality of Prishtina will temporarily take over the building until a new plan for organizing the space is determined.”

However, according to Rugova, this process has also led to misunderstandings. The Municipality of Prishtina remains in the space, despite other proposals for organizing the center. In a letter addressed to Mayor Rama a few weeks ago, Manifesta 14 Prishtina requested that the space be vacated by the Directorate of Culture and returned to the community.

“The essence is that the space remains for the community and is not just an office for the Directorate of Culture, because in this way we are diminishing a space that was open to the community,” said Rugova. He also mentioned that there is no signed agreement with the municipality regarding the placement of offices in the space. According to the contract between the two parties, the space is designated for the use and management by Manifesta 14 Prishtina until December 2025.

Rugova also emphasized that an open call is being planned, inviting organizations to apply for a three-month program at the CNP so that they can be put to use. According to this plan, a jury will be formed to review the proposals and select the organizations based on the program and the timing of their proposals.

After Rugova, Rama explained that the municipality stepped in to keep the space, which had closed due to a lack of funds for Manifesta 14 Prishtina, open. He emphasized that the municipality aimed to support the community by keeping the CNP open until they found a stable solution. He stated that they did not attempt to occupy the space but worked to keep it open since it was closed. Rama believes the community should decide the future of these public spaces. He noted that, after discussions with Manifesta 14 Prishtina and based on their mutual “understanding,” the Municipality of Prishtina took this step to help the organization reopen the CNP in the absence of other forms of support, such as financial support.

Rama emphasized that, in his view, the situation at CNP remains the same, and the space is still open. He invited everyone to submit a proposal for a project or program, assuring them they would immediately “Get the space. The Directorate of Culture exists to support the community, not to oppose it.”

In response to Rugova and the letter from Manifesta 14 Prishtina requesting the Municipality of Prishtina to vacate the space, Rama said they are ready to release the space immediately “whenever you submit a project proposal or program that results in keeping the space open.”

Then, Puka presented his proposal, which is also the first point of the letter that independent cultural workers, artists, art and culture organizations, and civil society organizations initially sent to the Municipality of Prishtina. He requested that they start a participatory process from the beginning, clearly defining the purpose of the CNP space and creating a transparent process involving the community in selecting the entity that will manage the space. Puka stressed the importance of drafting a contract that clearly defines the responsibilities and duties of each party.

He stated that the CNP unfortunately “best reflects a major problem we have with defining public space, determining who public space belongs to, and in what way public space is managed.”

Maliqi then explained that the reaction to the CNP reflects not only the recent situation but also the urgency to revisit the conversation about public spaces in general. She emphasized “the importance of focusing on common terms and creating a shared vision for public spaces as a community, staying ready to act whenever such a space is endangered.” She noted that until now, the community had not been genuinely consulted about how to manage the CNP space, and this is where the process should begin.

Maliqi emphasized that the Directorate of Culture should not manage a public space. She repeated the need for an open call to manage the space and requested that the directorate vacate it, seeing this as the first step in the process. Maliqi added that the space could be managed and maintained without the Directorate of Culture’s physical presence. She suggested finding a common approach to manage the space during the transition period and stressed the importance of designing this process collaboratively with the community.

Community members joined the discussion, asking questions and sharing their views.

One point raised was that the municipality has generally neglected public spaces. Audience members cited several examples, including the lack of renovation for Oda Theater, despite starting procedures years ago, and the failure to grant access to some organizations to public spaces, even though they had signed a memorandum with the municipality.

One of the concerns raised was that the CNP space is no longer as open as it once was, and the presence of administration in the space limits artistic freedom, potentially leading to censorship or self-censorship. Participants also discussed how the municipality should not tie the use of the space to specific projects or concepts. Instead, it should ensure that the space remains accessible to the community, regardless of whether they are artists or cultural workers.

At the end, Rama announced that they would remove the offices from the space by September 10. He also invited the community to participate in a workshop to discuss the future of the space. The workshop, Rama said, will take place on September 10, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. at CNP, which was also proposed as a good moment for discussing the Manifesta 14 Prishtina open call.