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By:
Shaban Maxharraj
- February 10, 2025 08:05 AM
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The demands and expectations of the representatives of cultural institutions remain almost the same in these elections. On Sunday, the strikers of the National Theatre of Kosovo broke their “decision” to remain silent in the election campaign, while warning that today (Monday) they will continue with their union plans and actions, as there has been a lack of reflection on the part of the Government. “For us, it is completely irrelevant who governs, but what is important is the government that takes care of the theatre...”, said the member of the Strike Council, actor Adrian Morina. The National Ballet of Kosovo has urgent demands, and for the Kosovo Philharmonic, the next four-year plan for the cultural scene should focus on two main points
In a few days, the strike of the actors of the National Theater of Kosovo will enter its fourth month. For the management that will lead the Ministry of Culture after Sunday's elections, the strike that has defunctified the TKK is one of the most urgent issues. For the cultural scene, in addition to this problem, the regulation of infrastructure is the main demand and at the same time the greatest expectation. For almost two decades, the conditions for rehearsals, performances and concerts remain the main promise of political parties on the eve of elections.
Creating conditions, urgency for Ballet
The Kosovo National Ballet is the institution that currently has the most difficult tasks in terms of developing its activities. It holds rehearsals in the afternoons at the premises of the national song and dance ensemble "Shota", while for premieres in the last two years it has moved to rented spaces, both in Obiliq and in the Atelier of the Palace of Youth and Sports. The latter is rented by the Kosovo Philharmonic, which uses it itself. After the premiere of "Hope" at the beginning of this month, there are no announcements about reruns, due to the lack of space.
"We expect improvement in working conditions. This is the most important thing for the Kosovo National Ballet," said the director of this institution, Sinan Kajtazi, on Sunday evening.
The problems with the KNB's space began in July 2022, when the Ministry of Culture closed the building of the National Theatre of Kosovo to send it for full restoration in the name of "risk to staff and the public". It took more than two years for the design and necessary permits, and work through a 7-million contract began in the fall of last year. The building is used by the National Theatre of Kosovo and the National Ballet of Kosovo. The KNB operates in the Amphitheater of the Palace of Youth and Sports, a space that has conditioned the institution to focus mainly on smaller productions.
But since mid-November last year, the actors of the TKK have been on strike because they consider that they have been discriminated against in salary coefficients. The category of those considered "the first in the Theater" has a coefficient of 8, while the demands are for 11. Since entering the strike, they have said that they have not had contact with the Ministry of Culture. During a month of the election campaign, the TKK Trade Union Association has been silent.
Theater strikers, after the elections in action
On Sunday night, Strike Council member, actor Adrian Morina, said that since they have been silent throughout the entire campaign, not wanting to politicize the general strike, from today (Monday) they will continue with union plans and actions, as there has been a lack of reflection on the part of the Government.
"The MCYS has proven once again that all the statements that 'we are working hard and it is a matter of time for the solution to the demands of the TKK actresses...' have been empty statements. On the 15th, it will be 3 months since the TKK has been on strike and has paralyzed its work due to the failure to realize our demands for two and a half years now," said Morina. According to him, it seems unbelievable for a normal state and even more so for a Government that proclaims that it is investing millions in the Theater.
"For us, it is completely irrelevant who governs, but what is important is the government that takes care of the theater and does the work, not just the facade and the nonsense. The government that makes mistakes and does not discriminate against the theater, closing it, moving it to basements, and above all, a government that allows artists to strike. At least a government that accepts the mistakes and improves them. So, in anticipation of this type of government, the strike continues until the demands are fully met," he said.
Infrastructure and coefficients, the first two points for the Philharmonic
The Kosovo Philharmonic also holds concerts in the Youth and Sports Palace complex. The Red Hall and the Atelier are the spaces where the Orchestra and Choir of the Institution perform. The roof of the Red Hall does not hold water and for almost two decades now the Opera and Ballet Theater has been a promise of political parties. Less than a week before the elections, the new conceptual project of the Danish Bjarke Ingels, worked on together with a local partner, was presented. It soon became known that the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Pristina are clashing over the space behind the Youth Palace where the Opera and Ballet Theater was planned to be built. The Ministry has filed a criminal complaint against the Municipality, after the local institution has launched an urban development project there without seeking consent from the cultural heritage institutions and is encroaching on the space of the Theater along with 2.5 million euros for this project. And the Municipality's project costs 6.5 million euros. The two contracts have now been signed and the case is in the Special Prosecution Office. The potential building would be home to four institutions: the Kosovo National Ballet, the Kosovo Philharmonic, the national song and dance ensemble “Shota” and the Kosovo Opera.
The acting director of the Kosovo Philharmonic, Dardan Selimaj, has said that the next four-year plan for the cultural scene should focus on two main points.
"Investments in workspaces for central institutions at a faster pace and the adjustment of coefficients within the Kosovo Philharmonic, as some of the workers still do not have them adjusted. Support for central institutions must continue, but at the same time they must take more responsibility for the internationalization of their activities," he said. According to Selimaj, cultural institutions are often represented at peripheral events, and this should not remain a practice.
"Regarding subsidies, support is important, but monitoring mechanisms must be created, which are currently lacking," he said.
As for cultural heritage, Sali Shoshi, who heads the Kosovar foundation, Cultural Heritage without Borders (CHwB Kosova), said last week that the approach must change completely.
"The approach to heritage should be completely changed. It is not only a burden of investment, but also a source of income for society. Sustainable management and programs are needed so that society can have heritage as a development resource. This should be the new approach. A complete change of vision is needed," he said.
According to Shoshi, so far there have been investments in the technical aspect, in restoration, but not in functionalization as a resource for society.
"People in the places where they live, despite having monuments around them, do not have any interaction with them. As a result, the motivation to live there is small. I am not saying that heritage is the solution, but it can help bring people together. It helps local people to gather for different activities," he said. He reiterated that museums are often seen as buildings and start without a clear concept of how the curation should be and what will be presented.
"The construction of the museum building is the last thing that should come in the process. Often, mistakes are made and the building starts first. An example is the Museum of Nature, which started without a concept and has stopped. I am a proponent of the functionalism of current monuments, not the construction of new buildings. This is an approach that is seen in many countries," he said.
