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By:
Shaban Maxharraj
- August 29, 2025 08:30
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The National Gallery of Kosovo, in the final chapter of the finalization of the process for enriching the public fund with works of art, has changed its approach regarding the purchase of works of art this year. As a result, the budget has remained unused and has not been allocated for this year either. The prices of the proposed works, the methodological and infrastructural challenges are among the reasons given by the Steering Council. The members of the selection committee say that they have completed their work with the submission of the proposals and their justification. And the Ministry of Culture, which is in charge of all responsibility, has remained silent
The National Gallery of Kosovo has decided not to purchase any artwork this year and to return 400 thousand euros. This decision was made at the very end of the process, when the Selection Committee Report was presented to the Board of Directors, along with the selected artworks, prices, and justification for that selection. Several justifications are the basis for this decision.
The Steering Council, at the end of the process that was approved by this body itself, has decided to change the approach because there are methodological and budgetary challenges. Infrastructure and the prices of the works are also reasons. KOHA in two previous texts has revealed the side of documents and reports of this process. And so is the experience of artists in this process along with the communication they had with the Steering Committee and the selection committee. This text discusses the responses of the institution itself, the Steering Committee and the members of the selection committee.
"The GKK Board of Directors has chosen not to make a hasty decision"
KOHA via email has requested clarifications about the process addressed to the deputy director of the National Gallery of Kosovo, Alisa Gojani, the Steering Council through the chairwoman of this body, Renea Behluli, and the chairwoman of the selection committee, also a curator at the GKK, Hana Halilaj. They have all responded together in a package with the justification that the questions are the same and that the Steering Council and the GKK have acted as a single body in this process and that it is a joint and unified institutional process. The institution has been ready at any time to provide clarifications and to create access to the documents of the case. The response initially shows the historical context and the process of enriching the GKK with works of art since its establishment in 1979. The 90s are mentioned and then the important turning point of 2021, when the GKK inherited about 120 works from the collection of the "Grand" hotel. It tells about the budget of one million and 50 thousand euros allocated by the Government in 2022, the two public calls of the Ministry of Culture, as well as the enrichment of the GKK collection with 82 works by local and foreign artists after the opening of the nomadic biennial "Manifesta 14". Beyond this, an overview is given of the analysis of historical gaps and the pronounced lack of gender representation, the internal commission of 2023 and the direct acquisition of works by local artists. It then comes to the decision of November 2023 of the then Minister of Culture, Hajrulla Çeku, now the acting minister, which mandates the GKK for acquisitions or direct purchases.
“The process is not over. After a seven-month work in December 2024, a list of works was proposed by the Professional Commission and the National Gallery of Kosovo (GKK) is ready for the implementation of the first phase, once the institutional and budgetary conditions are finalized,” the response reads. It is explained that in order to ensure a more sustainable and inclusive approach, the GKK has established an external commission based on the criterion of including professionals in the field with in-depth knowledge of contemporary art in Kosovo and also to ensure intergenerational representation to provide historicizing and critical perspectives on art developments in different periods. The commission consisted of Hana Halilaj, head curator at the GKK and members Arta Agani, curator and artist, Edi Muka, curator, Shkëlzen Maliqi, art critic and Vesa Sahatçiu, art historian. The GKK's responses indicate that the commission began work in June 2024 and issued a report in December.
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"After the submission of the report by the commission, in which case they have completed their mandate and responsibility, the GKK Steering Council has chosen not to make a hasty decision in December 2024, due to the fiscal year and the sensitive nature of the process. The direct purchase of works of contemporary art, without similar institutional precedent, has brought methodological and budgetary challenges," the institution's response reads, where the Steering Council is chaired by Renea Behluli and also consists of the following members: Guri Çavdërbasha, Somer Şpat, Linda Gusia, Agron Blakçori and Bariu Zenelaj, representative of the MCYS. This composition was appointed by the Minister of Culture, Hajrulla Çeku, in 2022, with the exception of Bariu Zenelaj, who replaced Arlinda Hajrullahu at the beginning of last year. Artrit Bytyçi had resigned in March 2024 and has not been replaced.
Question marks over prices and public perception
Another problem with the approval of that report that determined the works that should be acquired turns out to be the prices.
"Some of the prices proposed for appropriation have been questioned due to public perception. Although these prices are in line with the international market and reflect the real value of the work of contemporary artists, in a context like that of Kosovo, where art and culture have rarely been a public or budgetary priority, it is natural that some of these figures are perceived with skepticism. This gap between the real value of art and the way it is experienced in everyday life is a social and cultural challenge," the response reads. It is explained that this is also where they see their role as a public institution.
"Not only to buy art, but to build a common language around it. Against this backdrop, we have attempted to provide a clear methodology for purchasing and the logic behind purchases," the response reads. According to the GKK, beyond the real value of the works, they have chosen to be sensitive, considering how in the past the issue of prices has taken on a media disproportionate role, often detaching the discussion from the context of building a long-term model for public collecting and the importance of collecting as a pillar of building art history within an institution and beyond.
“There are media articles where a specific award is placed at the center of the debate. To illustrate how easily this discussion can risk being reduced to numbers, overshadowing the strategic importance of the collection as a shared cultural heritage. These awards are not an obstacle in themselves, but require clear responsibility in decision-making and communication with the public,” the response reads. It is explained that the institutional task is to build a collecting model that respects the work of artists, enriches public memory and remains sustainable for the future, without placing the wrong burden on individuals or on any single segment of the system.
Renovation and lack of space
A separate justification appears to be space. The response states that the main building of the Gallery is currently undergoing renovation and new warehouses are being built that will enable long-term storage with controlled atmospheric conditions and professional conservation as prerequisites for a collection and archive that is preserved in the future. But it is publicly known that the GKK has problems with space and the members of the Governing Council have been aware of this at least since they took office, two years before they planned the acquisition of works from the artists. According to the GKK, the acquisition process has not been interrupted, on the contrary, it has been structured in clear phases to guarantee continuity and responsible acquisition, and with transparent methodologies.
"The National Gallery of Kosovo and its Steering Council are in constant communication with the relevant departments of the Ministry of Culture, with the aim of implementing the first phase as soon as the institutional, budgetary and procedural conditions are ensured. We remain committed to ensuring that this process continues with professional integrity and in accordance with the principles of sustainable management of public funds," the response reads. However, the Ministry of Culture has informed the National Gallery of Kosovo that there is no budget foreseen for the acquisition of works of art this year and that, depending on the costs, a reorientation may be made at the end of September. In response, the responsibility of the Steering Council for the failure of the process last year is not even mentioned. It is written that the Council has the right to approve or reject the proposals of the engaged commission and that the Steering Council has decided that "the acquisitions should be carried out in clear phases to ensure transparency, controlled management and the construction of a sustainable collection model." They have attached what is titled "Report and syllabus for the acquisition of works for the GKK collection", the contents of which KOHA has published in the first text of this series.
"In conditions where collection standards are lacking and previous experiences in this field are limited, the KD has chosen to act carefully, not to reduce this process to a one-time decision, but to build it as a long-term practice beyond one calendar year," the response reads.
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The commission's acquittal and the silence of the Ministry of Culture
KOHA has also sought clarification from the members of the commission that selected the works. Chairwoman Hana Halilaj, also a curator at the National Gallery of Kosovo, beyond the representation in the GKK's responses, has also offered additional clarifications regarding the concept on which the selection of periods and artists was made, the way in which the work was carried out, and the responsibility that the commission had.
"The Commission has submitted the narrative report, which contains an overview of the history of the collection at the GKK, details on the research conducted by the Commission, the methodology followed, as well as the list of proposed artists. For several months, the Commission has held regular meetings, reviewed catalogues and materials from the GKK archives, conducted visits to the studios of artists, as well as meetings with their families in cases where they are no longer living. From this extensive research, which we hope will serve as a reference in the future, the Commission has proposed a certain number of works for acquisition", she said. Asked why the process has not been completed and whether they have sought responsibility for this, she indicated that the Commission has sought clarifications and responsibility on the progress of the process and has received a response from the Steering Council regarding their decision to postpone the procedure. He said that the Gallery has stated its views on the management of the process and further steps through the institution's responses and has nothing special to say.
Commission member Vesa Sahatçiu said that the selection of works was made based on the standards and criteria articulated and elaborated in the report and that they followed all procedures required by the institution.
"After the completion of the list of works to be appropriated and the report, which ended in November 2024, our mandate ended and we had no further mandate to hold the institution accountable. In the spring of this year, we received several emails addressed to the GKK from several artists who were part of the process and we realized that the process had stalled. As a former commission, we sent them a letter of understanding for their concerns, also informing them of the fact that our mandate had ended with the submission of the report in November 2024," she initially said. The report was not protocoled in November, but in December. After the publication of the first text, Sahatçiu completed her response.
"The process has been 'hit' with delays and I, as a member of the commission, have insisted on more frequent meetings and am interested in knowing why there are delays. The 'de facto' meetings began in June 2024, as scheduled by the GKK," she said. According to her, after submitting the list and report at the end of the mandate, they have not received any information about where the process stands and whether it has been successfully completed.
"It is only now, after the article published by 'Koha Ditore', that I, as a former commissioner, have been informed that 'de facto' our professional work had been cancelled and that another process had been started by the Steering Council. Regarding the concerns and correspondence of the artists: here too, with a delay, we, the external members of the commission, have been informed, that is, only after emails sent by the artists in the spring of this year (2025). There are 'emails' with artists, especially about the agreement process, which I, as an external member, do not have, so they have never been shared with me. And it remains a mystery why such a lack of information would occur," she concludes.
The KOHË team, after sending questions via email on this topic, met with members of the Commission at their request. They expressed a lot of dissatisfaction with the process, but in the official statement they had almost a completely different story. The official story was more or less the same for everyone. Edi Muka said that they were interested in knowing how things were going after the report was submitted, but simply on a personal basis, since they no longer had any mandate or right to demand accountability, and mostly to know what happened to their work, as well as to know how communication with the artists continued.
"Unfortunately, in the spring of this year we were contacted by several artists and learned that the process had not been further developed. In response to this situation, we have sent a letter to all the artists with whom we have been in contact, to express our support and understanding for their concern," he said.
Shkëlzen Maliqi explained that the delay in submitting the report was due to reasons that were not clearly explained.
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"Following the internal complaint of several artists with whom the GKK had initiated negotiations for purchase contracts - the commission did not deal with this matter - in the spring we requested explanations and transparency from the MCYS and the GKK, but as far as I know we have not received any notifications", he said. He added that he considers that the work and assessments as a commission have been carried out competently and without any intentional or abusive omissions and reiterated that the members of the commission have not received information about what is happening in the MCYS - GKK relationship. And the member of the commission, Arta Agani, who has led the Gallery for a term, has not had any response. He recommended that the chairperson of the commission and the National Gallery be contacted about this issue.
The Ministry of Culture has not responded to this issue for 13 days. KOHA has requested a response from the acting Minister of Culture, Hajrulla Çeku, who has appointed the composition of the highest body of the GKK, the members of the Steering Council and from whom he holds accountable and holds responsible those he has selected. Çeku, as well as his advisor Zana Fetiu and the secretary of the MCYS, Bislim Bislimi, have had their questions repeated several times.
