Body as an archive—presentation and thematic walk with Anyla Kabashi

Walking the Gender (In)visibilities of Resistance in Prishtina

Interdisciplinary Workshop
University of Prishtina
13–17 October 2025

The five-day interdisciplinary workshop Walking the Gender (In)visibilities of Resistance in Prishtina took place at the University of Prishtina, organised by: Prof. Vjollca Krasniqi (University of Prishtina), Diana Salahieh (Czech Technical University in Prague), Dr. Layla Zibar (Ghent University), Vjollca Islami Hajrullahu (Pro Peace), Korab Krasniqi (Pro Peace) in collaboration with Artrit Bytyçi (StoryLab).

As part of the program, on the third day of the workshop, on October 15, a thematic walk and presentation titled Body as an Archive was led by Renea Begolli and Anyla Kabashi, based on their ongoing research for the forthcoming book Body as an Archive: Performative Art Practices in Postwar Kosova, supported by the National Gallery of Kosovo.

The workshop examined how artists in postwar Kosova created independent, self-organized cultural events that reshaped Prishtina as a site of memory and resistance. Revisiting early interventions such as Ballkani i Ri (2000) and I kemi 12 orë (2004), the group explored how bodies acted as both medium and archive—negotiating questions of identity, trauma, and futurity in the absence of institutional infrastructures.

The presentation also highlighted the practices of Rudina Xhaferi, Zake Prelvukaj, Xhevdet Xhafa, Merita Harxhi Koci, Flaka Haliti, and Charlie’s Angels, reflecting on how performative art reclaimed public space, unsettled patriarchal and nationalist narratives, and opened new imaginaries in the urban landscape of postwar Kosova.