Rewind With Kosovo 2.0 — The ’90s Magazine Issue Launch

About this Talk
(’90s Memorabilia Collection + Reading Session + Party)

Cassettes, VHS, Nirvana on MTV, Turbo chewing gum, flashy raincoat, a pan and a spoon to protest out loud… Remind you of anything?

If you’re old enough, it should remind you of an unforgettable decade for people across the world, and a pivotal decade for Kosovo; one that has played a major role in shaping contemporary society in Europe’s youngest state.

Kosovo 2.0 is launching its 10th and final print magazine edition in our current collection: ‘The 90s’ Issue.’ Through this magazine, we bring back from oblivion the decade’s spirit of solidarity and resistance, its people’s struggles and activism, its music and colors, and the most personal of stories. ‘The ’90s Issue’ provides context to the many political and social changes that took place in Kosovo during the last decade of the twentieth century, brings you the faces that made international headlines, and looks insightfully at the stories behind many of those who have been overlooked until now.

For the launch of this special edition, Kosovo 2.0 invites you to travel back in time. On Tuesday, April 26, join us for an evening of personal memories, revealing pasts and forgotten memorabilia.

Our Temporary Collection of ’90s Memorabilia will open its doors at 18:30, and will be followed by a very special reading session at 19:00. All activities will take place at Kosovo 2.0’s new space, near main entrance to Prishtina City Park (Parku i Qytetit). [Address: Rrustem Statovci 50, Prishtina].

**18:30: EVENT OPENING: ‘Temporary Collection of ’90s Memorabilia’**

Behind a coat, a pair of shoes, a drawing or a TV, everything and everyone has a story — or many. Memorabilia are the objects kept or collected because of their historical interest or personal significance. For many, the objects in this collection would have ended in the trash; for us, they represent unique identities and revelations of the past and present. Kosovo 2.0 has rescued part of the decade’s forgotten memorabilia, and brings it to you in the form of a temporary collection.

**19:00: READING SESSION: Rewind with Kosovo 2.0**

Prepare yourself for a special session where some of our magazine writers and special guests bring you their most personal ’90s tales, accompanied by music from Liburn Jupolli. (Simultaneous translation available).

– ARIF MUHARREMI: “Living Through Change” – The ’90s were a decade of importance — so why have we tried so hard to forget?
– VETON NURKOLLARI: “The Day the Music Died” – A decade that started with Bowie and Nirvana ended in a cacophony of war and poverty.
– AVNI RUDAKU: “The Parallel Lives of Crows” – The segregation of birds mirrored that of humans in Gjilan during the 1990s.
– MIHANE SALIHU-BALA: “The Color of Resistance” – Women in Black have been challenging war and atrocities for more than 20 years.
– ERALDIN FAZLIU: “Running to Live” – NATO’s intervention brought hope, but also retaliation, forcing many to flee their homes.
– ISAK VORGUCIC: “When War Comes to Town” – Like so many, Danilo Lukic’s family was forced out of Kosovo by the threat of violence.
– DAFINA HALILI: “A Talent, a Tragedy” – Adriana Abdullahu was something special, but her acting career — and life — ended too soon.

**From 20:30: ’90s Revival**

Stay with us for a summery garden party (with DJ) after the reading session; an authentic ’90s revival.K
Chronicle and photographs from the event
An evening to remember – The ’90s

By Devron Graham – 10.06.2016

A journey back to the ’90s as K2.0 launches its final print magazine.

It was a Tuesday evening. Doors opened, a team nervously prepared to welcome the first guests. A work complete, now made public, ready to be scrutinized, perused by countless curious fingers. The culmination of many sleepless, junk-food filled nights. An unveiling; the final magazine, titled “’90s.”
Staff waiting anxiously at the entrance to the new space, ready to greet the first comers. Anxiety peered through their eyes.

Then come the first group; greetings ensued. Some hugs, handshakes, smiles, compliments. They enter a living room, the gathering place of family and friends; today a time capsule encapsulating an era, the passions, loves, fears, struggles, triumphs, defeats and rebirth of the hopes of a people; a generation. An exhibit complete with a Cathode Ray Tube television set, videos playing on video cassette, once trendy now obsolete; time ever fleeting. The artwork on the walls, half bare; itself a work of art, the pictures and paintings: a collection of resistance, of freedom.

Enter the garden, television crew interviewing team members, guests filling seats, laughter, smiles, drinks flowing. Space normally ruled by plants yields to a blanket of humanity; standing room only. Behind the scenes, scurries to ensure perfection; relief the only guest yet to arrive.

A welcome to the mass of assembled people, more coming still. Readings of the magazine proceeded, some in English, most in Albanian, translations given for both. All were welcome to share in the moment. Smartphones capturing the moment illuminated the crowd; a paradox considering the theme of the night: “Rewind ’90s.”

Kosovo 2.0’s final magazine, at least for a while, was released; the end of a collection, each edition with its own unique challenges, its own insights. In spite of the cold; mere darkening blue sky and crossed fingers abating the elements. The evening was filled with hugs, smiles, ‘bisous,’ applause.

At the end of the night: anxiety surrendered to exultance. Dancing, laughter, music resurrecting memories of a past decade.

Photos: Petrit Rrahmani.
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