How Koperativa brought Jakup Ferri’s uto

Journalist: Besartë Elshani

While the discourse on Europe remains at the policy level, Europe House in Pristina has shifted the debate to the imagination of young people in the country. The workshop led by the well-known artist Jakup Ferri was a deep reflection on what the European Union represents for the generation that aims to experience it as a reality. It is one of the many activities planned to mark Europe Day on 9 May.

For four intensive hours of work, the workshop brought together young people from the country on Saturday afternoon to build, through art, a utopian city. In the works of around 15 participants, there are no borders, conditions or compromises, as happens in reality.

The white blocks on which they project images and apply colours are a symbolic space where borders are bridges and national identities coexist. Their works are a shared visual language that will come together to shape the image of the imaginary city of the country’s young people, specifically young women, as all the participants were girls.

Artist Jakup Ferri is known for the unique style of his work, especially the distinctive figures and forms in his colourful pieces, the everyday life theme, and works that, among other things, also touch on dreams. These were also conveyed in the workshop as a preliminary product of the exhibition titled “Celebrating Europe through Art”, featuring the European “city” created as a collage of participants’ objects and works by artist Jakup Ferri. The exhibition will start at noon on 9 May. The event is expected to open with a welcoming address by the Acting Head of EU in Kosovo, Eva Palatova.

Artist Jakup Ferri said that three of his works will be included in the exhibition. “We will have a corner where we will exhibit. I have brought three paintings to decorate the space a little, but in the city, all the events include my drawings, designed by the Koperativa’s designers,” he said.

He explained that the idea of the workshop, in terms of content, is to build a city with surreal buildings. “I was invited by Europe House to hold a workshop, since they also used the image branding with my drawings. My idea was to try to build a city that is as utopian as possible, with non-existent but very surreal buildings,” he said.

According to Ferri, artists are best placed to imagine the future, and therefore also the future of membership in the European Union. “Kosovo is a country that aspires to join the European Union in the future, so this is our wish, and the artist is the best at imagining something that may happen in the future, after several decades. Everything the participants design, these figures and buildings, we cut them out and build an entire city. Like the Amsterdam work, so we are still in the process,” artist Jakup Ferri said.

During the process, he said the workshop was going well and the girls were very committed.

Altina Gashi, a student at the “Ali Sokoli” secondary medical school in Pristina, said that despite the field she has chosen for her education, drawing and painting have always been her passion. She said the workshop was a good opportunity to continue her hobby. “I am very excited to be part of this workshop. As for my work, I have created a kind of building in the shape of a trunk and a tree, where on its branches there are the flags that are part of Europe, and then in general there is the flag of Europe, stylised with its 12 stars,” she said.

It will be the first time her work is exhibited to the public, and this is one of the things that makes it exciting for her. “This is one of the reasons that encouraged me to be part of the workshop, because my work will also be seen by the public,” she said.

In the workshop, Europe was a kind of map on which ideas about it could be painted, deconstructed, and rebuilt. In this way, the utopian city imagined by young people was not merely an architectural project, but also a presentation of values such as unity and diversity. The model for its realisation is the work showing the image of Amsterdam, the Dutch capital, where artist Ferri lives and works.

The event is part of a programme of numerous activities marking Europe Day across Kosovo. Music, sport, art and educational events are at the centre of collective reflection. This year, the artistic spirit of the organisation bears the imprint of Jakup Ferri. According to Europe House, this embraces local creativity while celebrating European values, culture, inclusion and unity.

There was no lack of interactivity in the workshop. Conversations between participants and artists also focused on their futures in the art field. Some study it, while others find it a pleasure-based activity. Overall, however, there was more work than conversation in the warm environment of Europe House, at the table where, in addition to blocks, pencils and colours, fruit and sweets were also laid out.

The organiser of events at Europe House, Engjëll Berisha, said that by inviting Jakup Ferri for the workshop and the institution’s Europe Day branding, they aimed to embody the country’s culture on such a day through a local artist. “Our initial idea was to make the branding inspired by Jakup Ferri, as well as by his works. If you look at our social media, everything carries the character of his works, and in this case, we decided that, in addition to the design element and the general branding of Europe Day for this year, we would create this workshop,” Berisha said.

He illustrated how the participants’ work takes Jakup Ferri’s work as its model. “One of the specific points of this workshop is that many of Jakup’s works incorporate parts of cities, but with a very interesting presentation. For example, one of the works we see here is inspired by Amsterdam. So, we decided to invite people to use Jakup’s elements while also drawing inspiration from famous buildings in Europe, specifically in EU member states. We are trying to turn the collection of all Europe Day events into an exhibition that opens on 9 May,” Berisha said.

According to him, when all the participants come together, something very special is created. “The general idea is for them to create objects and symbols inspired by the European Union, for which each person has the freedom to express themselves and use them in the way they wish. In this way, a general collage will be created with the works produced today,” he said.

The exhibition promises to be a window into the European Union through the eyes of a generation that does not see it as a distant project but as a space in which it can shape itself. Through art.