Autostrada Biennale
Art exhibition in Prizren, Kosovo
Autostrada Biennale
Logo
Image shows a lighting rig with lightbulbs that create the phrase I don't have another land. Behind the rig is a ruined department block and a former military site with weeds growing through the concrete.
I don't have another land by Nathan Coley
(Autostrada Biennale 2025)
GenreContemporary art
FrequencyBiannually
LocationPrizren
Coordinates42°13′23″N 20°45′6″E / 42.22306°N 20.75167°E / 42.22306; 20.75167
CountryKosovo
Years active2017–present
Inaugurated2017 (2017)
FoundersVatra Abrashi, Leutrim Fishekqiu, Bariş Karamuç
Most recent2025
Websiteautostradabiennale.org

The Autostrada Biennale is an international cultural exhibition hosted biennially in Prizren, Kosovo. The first edition was held in 2017, with subsequent editions in 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025. The first Kosovar to curate an edition was Erzen Shkololli [sq] in 2025. Artists who have featured across the editions include Libia Castro & Olafur Olafsson, Nathan Coley, Agnes Denes, Alban Muja, and others. The 2023 exhibition was recognised as one of the "ten best exhibitions in Europe" by FRIEZE magazine. In March 2025 the biennale signed a formal agreement with the Regional Center for Cultural Heritage to support the revitalisation and internationalisation of Prizren's cultural heritage.

Background

Founded by Vatra Abrashi,[1] Leutrim Fishekqiu and Bariş Karamuç,[2] the biennale has its origins in Prizren in 2014,[1] when recognition of the need for greater cultural exchange in the region was made.[3][4] The name "Autostrada" was chosen a commentary on the fact that Prizren lies between the existing biennales of Venice and Istanbul.[5]

The first edition debuted in 2017 in Prizren, building on the success of the city's documentary festival.[5] Key artists in this first edition were Valentina Bonizzi, Chang Chien-Chi, Libia Castro & Olafur Olafsson, Rena Rädle & Vladan Jeremic, Yang Shun-Fa and Alketa Xhafa.[5] As part of the biennale, rooms in private homes across the city were converted into temporary gallery spaces.[5] The 2021 edition focussed on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on society.[3] It was also the first to extend beyond Prizren, to locations in Peja and Pristina.[6]

In 2023 the former NATO base of KFOR in Prizen, which was a base of the Kosovo Peacekeeping Force,[2][6] was added to the biennale's exhibition spaces.[4] By 2025, this had developed to Hangar I, Hangar II, the Open Theatre and Artist Residency Space.[7] The fifth edition in 2025 increased its programming from two months to three.[1] It was also the first edition to be curated by a Kosovar, Erzen Shkololli (sq).[8] The 2025 installation Circulations by Tamara Grčić (de) used glass bottles to comment upon climate and sustainability, by recreating ocean currents.[9] Other key works included I don't have another land by Nathan Coley and I wish for your wish by Rivane Neuenschwander.[10]

Editions

Edition Year Curator Concept Cities
#1 2017 Manray Hsu[5] The Future of Borders Prizren
#2 2019 Giacinto Di Pietrantonio[11] The Revolution Is Us Prizren
#3 2021 Övül O. Durmuşoğlu & Joanna Warsza[6] What if a Journey ... Prizren, Prishtina, Peja
#4 2023 Övül O. Durmuşoğlu & Joanna Warsza[12] All Images Will Disappear One Day Prizren, Prishtina, Mitrovica
#5 2025 Erzen Shkololli[13] Unfolding Currents: The Pulse of Time Prizren

Reception and legacy

The 2023 exhibition was recognised as one of the "ten best exhibitions in Europe" by FRIEZE magazine.[12] Key installations in the edition were Who speaks from the dust, who sees from the valley by Hera Büyüktaşcıyanc and Sunflower Fields by Agnes Denes.[14] In particular Büyüktaşcıyanc's work took inspiration from folklore about waterways in Pristina and was presented at a former brickworks.[14] Denes' work planted two circles of sunflowers in Pristina and Prizren.[15] Following the sun, the flowers were situated "in the middle of cities struggling with pollution and gentrification".[15] Another highlight was the recreation of the large-scale sculpture Equality, Work, Knowledge by Alban Muja in Mitrovica; the new work was entitle Monument in motion - going back, 2021-23.[16] However this fourth edition has also been critiqued, with the choice of works by the duo Rena Rädle & Vladan Jeremic as not fully engaging with the complexities of a conflict-ridden area and muddling "the epistemological stance" of the curation.[17]

In March 2025 the biennale signed a formal agreement with the Regional Center for Cultural Heritage to support the revitalisation of heritage in Prizren.[18] This memorandum had the additional aim of internationalising Prizren's cultural heritage.[18] This led to the renovation of Shani Efendi House in Prizren, which included a new exhibition space for contemporary art.[19] The project was undertaken by Walter Kräutler, an architect from Vienna.[19] The cultural partnership also led to the revitalisation of the Shemsedin Ahmet Bey hamam, which hosted work during the biennale by Vadim Fishkin.[10]

  • Artist's Residency building
    Artist's Residency building
  • Hangar 9 in 2025 hosting The Infinite Hip-Hop Song
    Hangar 9 in 2025 hosting The Infinite Hip-Hop Song
  • I wish for your wish - Rivane Neuenschwander (2025)
    I wish for your wish - Rivane Neuenschwander (2025)
  • Autostrada Hangar – Center for Contemporary Art
    Autostrada Hangar – Center for Contemporary Art

References

  1. ^ a b c ""Autostrada Biennale" announces expansion in the fifth edition". KOHA.net. 2025-03-07. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  2. ^ a b Casavecchia, Barbara (2023-07-31). "Autostrada Biennale Chronicles the Unarchivable". Frieze. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  3. ^ a b ""Autostrada Biennale" presents the curators of the third edition - Telegrafi". telegrafi.com. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  4. ^ a b Begisholli, Blerta (2023-07-24). "Why You Should Visit This Edition of Autostrada Biennale". Prishtina Insight. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  5. ^ a b c d e Sahatciu, Nol (2017-08-23). "Highway to contemporary art in Prizren". Prishtina Insight. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  6. ^ a b c Gratza, A. (2021). Letter from kosovo. Art Monthly, (452), 41-42.
  7. ^ "Autostrada Biennale's 10th anniversary exhibition awaits the public at Autostrada Hangar I - Telegrafi". telegrafi.com. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  8. ^ "Erzen Shkololli appointed curator of fifth edition - Announcements". e-flux. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  9. ^ ""Circulations" with nearly 12 thousand bottles floating for environmental protection". KOHA.net. 2025-07-17. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  10. ^ a b "International Biennial begins to measure the pulse with contemporary art in Prizren". KOHA.net. 2025-07-04. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  11. ^ "The road to Autostrada - K2.0". Kosovo 2.0. 2024-10-10. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  12. ^ a b ""Autostrada Biennale" in the ten best exhibitions in Europe". KOHA.net. 2023-12-18. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  13. ^ Express, Gazeta (2025-07-04). "The new pulse of the old city". Gazeta Express. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  14. ^ a b "The artistic rivers from "Tulltorja" water the sunflowers". KOHA.net. 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  15. ^ a b Biebl, Anton; Hartung, Elisabeth (2023-12-20). Art and Society 1972–2022–2072: From the Art for the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 to Artistic Design Concepts of the Twenty-First Century. Hatje Cantz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7757-5707-2.
  16. ^ "In Mitrovica, the missing monument of the time of communism is revived". KOHA.net. 2023-07-11. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  17. ^ Blackwood, Jonathan; Tumbas, Jasmina (2025-10-20). Contemporary Art in the Post-Yugoslav Space: Case Studies in Hauntology. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-040-44537-2.
  18. ^ a b "Biennale Highway and QRTK Prizren aim for innovative re-functionalization of cultural heritage - Telegraph". telegrafi.com. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  19. ^ a b "Shani Efendi's renovated house – the mark left by the "Biennale Highway"". KOHA.net. 2025-08-30. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
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