Autostrada Biennale

WHAT IF A JOURNEY…

IS AN EXHIBITION ABOUT THE UNFINISHED. IT CAN BE A ROAD, AN ELECTRIFICATION MAP, A HOUSE, A FLOWER FIELD, A STORY, A RELATIONSHIP, OR A COUNTRY. IT IS AN EXHIBITION THAT TAKES INCOMPLETENESS AS AN INVITATION TO RESPOND, TO RELATE, AND TO GROW.

WHAT IF A JOURNEY…

IS AN EXHIBITION ABOUT TWO ENDS OF THE ROAD THAT MEET IN BETWEEN A HOST AND A GUEST, IN BETWEEN THE DIASPORIC AND THE LOCAL, IN BETWEEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND INTIMACY.

WHAT IF A JOURNEY…

IS ALSO AN EXHIBITION ABOUT ART AS A FORM OF RECOVERY FROM EVERYDAY TRAPS. IT TAKES YOU ON A ROAD TRIP STARTING IN THE CENTER OF PRISHTINA, CONTINUING ALONG THE LUMBARDHI RIVER IN PRIZREN, AND ENDING IN AN ART BAR IN PEJA.

WORKING ON THE BIENNALE DURING THE PANDEMIC HAS MADE US REALIZE THAT ART TODAY IS FOREMOST A FORM OF RECOVERY, A VERSATILE BRIDGE BETWEEN THE NEEDS OF WHAT REMAINS INSIDE AND WHAT IS SITUATED OUTSIDE. DESPITE CLOSED BORDERS, PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERNS, REGULAR TESTS, AND OCCASIONAL LOCKDOWNS, THE EXHIBITION, TAKING PLACE PRIMARILY IN PUBLIC SPACE, IS ALSO A TEST OF RESISTANCE AND RESILIENCE.

“AS LONG AS THERE IS A JOURNEY, THERE IS HOPE,” SAYS VALBONA ZHERKA, AN ARTIST WHOSE WORK HAS TOO OFTEN BEEN MARGINALIZED IN THE PAST. HER WOVEN CLUSTER OF OVERLAPPING ROADS OFFERED US AN ORIENTATION MAP COMPOSED FROM RIVER FLOWS, ESCAPE ROUTES, MIGRATION PATHS, POSITIVE IRREGULARITIES, U-TURNS, UNEXPECTED MODES OF DEPARTURE AND ARRIVAL.

THE THIRD AUTOSTRADA BIENNALE IS AN INVITATION TO AN INCOMPLETE JOURNEY, WHERE ART AND SURVIVAL FORM THE EMERGENCY KIT ON A ROAD TRIP TO THE PRESENT, IN AND OUT OF KOSOVO—TO BERLIN, ISTANBUL, WARSAW, AND BACK. OR SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN.

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