Politics and Contemporary Art
Event1: Vetëvendosje as Resistance
Public Debate

22 September 2007, 13:00 hrs

Moderators: Besnik Pula

Panelists: Agon Hamza, Tina Finnas, Branimir Stojanovic, Shkumbin Brestovci and Dukagjin Gorani


Lëvizja 'Vetëvendosje! (Movement for self-determination) for a long time is seen as the only active voice against the current political process of negotiations for the final status of Kosovo. At the
same time it could be defined as the only active part of the society that is clearly using artistic
expression with political goals. Their actions resemble art interventions and activist art groups.

However, they are never brought forward to discuss their relationship with art practice and their
strategies in an art platform. Similar initiatives in our region such as Otpor movement in Serbia could be compared with the actions of 'Vetëvendosje!'.

Main points of this debate are finding answers to questions like: How can art be used and is used as a political tool? What are the differences of the activist art practice and the active art practice? Is 'Vetëvendosje!' the only case where activists/ politicians act as artists? Can the activities of movements such as 'Vetëvendosje!' be positioned in the framework of an art practice? How can we comment the statement of the Prime Minister '...we need to include more culture in the politics...'? Why ambassadors and other higher officials of influential states present in Kosovo have been given frequently space to exhibit personally in galleries and influence various cultural events with their presence? Is art being used merely as an instrument for existing politics, or can art serve as means to create new political identities and articulations?

The debate will try to position these issues in a platform of a discursive articulation and answer question of politicized culture and cultured politics.


Event1: Vetëvendosje as Resistance is part of the project 'Politics and Contemporary Art' initiated by Albert Heta and Vala Osmani, produced by Stacion - Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina and supported by: Pro Helvetia - Swiss Culture Program in Kosovo, Kosova Foundation for Open Society, KIJAC and DZG.