BECOMING HERITAGE SPACE
Since its founding in 2016, Heritage Space has unfolded as a platform for experimentation, mentorship, and dialogue in the field of heritage. What began as a project linking cultural heritage with Kosovo’s creative industries has gradually expanded into a space for research, artistic interpretation, and public discourse. The timeline below traces the key moments that shaped its journey, marking how the programme has grown, shifted focus, and redefined itself as an independent platform engaging with heritage as a living, dynamic process.
2016 — Heritage Space begins as a pilot linking cultural heritage with creative industries.Initiated by Cultural Heritage without Borders Kosovo, Heritage Space begins as a pilot platform connecting Kosovo’s cultural heritage with creative industries. Its first edition supports five projects and establishes a framework for experimentation and collaboration.
2017 — The programme grows to seven projects and organizes its first collective exhibition.Interest in the programme grows, with seven projects joining the second edition. Building on the mentorship model established in the first edition, Heritage Space begins to experiment more with public presentation. The first collective exhibition of fellowship projects is organised, and curatorial thinking starts to play a larger role in how the programme frames and communicates its outputs.
2018 — Launch of the first thematic open call, shifting toward intangible heritage and research-based practice. Applications surge.The first thematic open call campaign is launched, marking a shift toward intangible heritage and more locally grounded themes. Alongside a refreshed visual identity and clearer focus on research-based practice, the programme begins welcoming research- and process-oriented projects that unfold over time rather than only finished creative outputs. This new approach results in a significant increase in interest, with applications rising by more than 250% compared to previous years. Applications increase significantly, reaching 90 submissions.
2019 —Applications expand sharply, confirming Heritage Space as a reference for experimental heritage practice in Kosovo.Building on the success of the 2018 thematic call, applications grow sharply, confirming Heritage Space as a reference point for critical and experimental heritage practice in Kosovo. The programme deepens its research orientation and consolidates its mentorship model.
2020-2021 Public programmes expand with curated events, mentorship deepens with academics, artists, and cultural workers.Heritage Space expands its public programming, experimenting with new formats and more deliberate curatorial framing of events. Locations and contexts are chosen strategically to situate projects and bring audiences closer to the work. The mentorship framework becomes more embedded, bringing in a broader range of academics, artists, and cultural workers to shape annual themes and strengthen communication with applicants. This marks a shift toward collaborative knowledge production between mentors, fellows, and the programme.
2022 — Fellows bring radically diverse themes: countercultures, feminism, antifascism, natural heritage, language shifts.The scope of Fellowship projects expands dramatically, with participants bringing forward themes and methods rarely associated with heritage or collective memory in Kosovo. Projects address topics ranging from Prizren’s 1980s countercultural scene to feminist readings of pop culture icons, archival research on antifascist women’s movements, experimental literary works on natural heritage, and illustrated glossaries of local language shifts. This turn demonstrates how Heritage Space has become a laboratory for more experimental, critical, and cross-disciplinary approaches to intangible heritage and collective memory.
2023 — Organisational groundwork for independence, refining themes and partnerships.Heritage Space strengthens its organisational foundations in preparation for independence, expanding partnerships and refining its thematic frameworks. This period focuses on consolidating the mentorship model and curatorial approach while laying the groundwork for new programmes beyond the Fellowship.
2024 — Heritage Space becomes a multi-strand programme, launching In Conversation and piloting its first ever two-year Fellowship.Heritage Space develops from a single project into a multi-strand programme, expanding its scope and activities. It launches In Conversation, a public programme of talks, workshops, and presentations and pilots a two-year Fellowship model to give fellows more time for research, learning, and production. These developments mark a turning point toward a more structured, sustained platform able to commission new works and engage broader audiences.
2025 — New HS website and Archive launchesHS launches its new website with an extensive digital Archive and formally restructures the Fellowship into a two-year cycle, providing expanded support and deeper engagement for participants.
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