By Anna Canals
Given all that Kosovo has given us, it feels our duty to give back. Before we traveled to Kosovo, all of us knew we had to complete a creative assignment. We were told this must explore the processes of peacebuilding in war-torn societies and raise awareness, the rest was up to us to decide. When thinking about how we would conduct research for our assignment, a worry came to mind: we don’t speak Albanian or Serbian, and many Kosovars do not speak English. I knew we were going to have translators with us, but a language barrier between us and the local population makes qualitative research complicated. Here is when art came to mind. Art is the language that everyone speaks. Thus, we thought it would be interesting to explore the power that art holds in building peace in a post-conflict society. In the beginning, this connection was not so evident. How can art and peace be connected? The memory of the person who initially revealed this connection to me remains vivid (whose name I will conceal to respect his privacy). This is his story.
He grew up in an unsafe neighborhood. His mother did not allow him to play in the streets, he was forced to stay indoors where she would know her child was safe. For this reason, he began to write plays. The children in the neighborhood would come to his house and would all make a theater play. Somehow, he found himself always being the director. His mother was an artist at heart. She wanted to become a singer but her husband, a patriarchal man, did not allow it. Seeing her child was intrigued by art, the mother took him to the theater to watch performances. He was fascinated. His father was not pleased but never opposed it. He studied Economics and Management. However, when he grew older he decided to follow his artistic heart, the one he shared with his mother, and study to become a theater director. Today, he is a Theater Director. He writes plays that address social issues, trying to talk about what no one dares to talk about. His plays are plays about hope. He sheds light on the atrocities committed during the war but provides hope for his war-torn society to heal and grow stronger. “The goal of art is telling the truth. Art is not political, it is a healer of these bad stereotypes.” These are his words, expressing how he believes art can be the shared language between ethnicities. He is part of the “Ice Breakers”, a collective of artists from Kosovo and Serbia who come together to do art. For them, art creates a safe space where ethnic distinctions are forgotten. This story is a powerful reminder to listen to your heart and pursue your dreams while highlighting the strong potential of art as a form of peacebuilding.
Kosovo is home to meaningful art and talented artists. This inspired us to create an art magazine. Our magazine depicts street art (graffiti, murals, statues), memorials, a mosque, a monastery, a film festival, a music school, and stories of inspiring artists and their initiatives. Through this magazine, we hope to celebrate art. Kosovar artists have taught us that art brings people together, and that art opens minds and hearts. They taught us art is a way to remember and honor fallen heroes, a way to communicate your dissatisfactions and desires, and a means to raise your voice when no one is listening and fight for your human rights. I learned that art can be a form of peacebuilding and artists can be peacebuilders. This occurs through the creation of a “third-wheel” identity. People are not identified as Albanians or Serbs; they are artists. This new identity gives people a reason to come together and get to know each other, leaving behind the conflicting narratives that they face in their everyday life. Through this magazine, we want to amplify the voices of these artists and raise awareness of the power art holds in peacebuilding and human rights protection.
This journey has changed my understanding of peace. Before traveling to Kosovo, my understanding of peace was theoretical in nature. As an International Relations major passionate about Peace and Conflict Studies, the notion of peace is one you come across all the time. However, how peace is built on the ground by ordinary people like you and me, remained somewhat mysterious to me. In Kosovo this became clear. Now I know how peace looks and feels in war-torn societies. It is not about the theoretical explanations that books provide you with, it is about what peace means to the affected society. What are their needs? What are their desires? How do they wish to attain them? The answers to these questions change from conflict to conflict, and only when listening to local populations will we understand what peace means to them and how this must be achieved. Living this journey has strengthened my belief that Peace and Conflict students and practitioners must have experience on the ground. We cannot look at peace from books, no matter how well-recognized these are. Every post-conflict society is special and unique on its own. Hence, there are instances when it becomes essential to close the books and foster active listening. It is in those moments that genuine understanding begins to unfold.
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