Autostrada Biennale 2025 Opens: Unfolding Currents – The Pulse of Time

Graphics by Team Thursday. Courtesy Autostrada Biennale.

Autostrada Biennale 5: Unfolding Currents – The Pulse of Time
July 5 – October 5, 2025
Prizren, Kosovo
Curated by Erzen Shkololli
autostradabiennale.org

The 5th edition of Autostrada Biennale officially opened on July 5, 2025, in Prizren, Kosovo, celebrating ten years since the founding of the country’s most well known platform for contemporary art. Titled Unfolding Currents: The Pulse of Time and curated by Erzen Shkololli, the edition invites audiences to engage with newly commissioned and reimagined works by artists from across generations and geographies, situated throughout the city’s historic venues as well as established sites for Autostrada Biennale such as the Autostrada Hangar.

We were thrilled to see the energy and vitality that accompanied the opening days, festive images filled with joy, community gatherings, and moving artworks affirming the Biennale’s enduring role as a space of encounter, critical thought, and celebration. The opening moments underscored the strength of Autostrada’s unique model: rooted in place while building bridges across the world.

This year, the exhibition unfolds across a constellation of key historical and institutional venues, each activating different layers of Prizren’s urban, cultural, and architectural history:

Archaeological Museum and Clock Tower

Courtesy: Autostrada Biennale

Shani Efendi House

Courtesy: Autostrada Biennale

Dorambari Family House

Courtesy: Autostrada Biennale

Gazi Mehmed Pasha Hammam

Courtesy: Autostrada Biennale

Innovation and Training Park (ITP), Prizren

Courtesy: Autostrada Biennale

Autostrada Hangar – Center for Contemporary Art

Courtesy: Autostrada Biennale

Set within these remarkable spaces, the biennale invites direct engagement between artistic practice and site-specific context. A particular emphasis is placed on the Innovation and Training Park, a former military zone transformed into a cultural and educational hub. Within this area, the Autostrada Hangar—established by the biennale as a permanent center for contemporary art—now hosts exhibitions, residencies, educational programming, and serves as a laboratory for artistic and curatorial research year-round.

“Coming from Kosovo, I bring a deep understanding of both the rootedness and the fragility of artistic practice in this context,” said curator Erzen Shkololli. “Many of the projects in this edition—though temporary—aim to leave a lasting imprint on both the city’s fabric and our shared memory. This is a moment to reflect on the tensions between presence and disappearance, legacy and ephemerality.”

“The 5th Autostrada Biennale reflects what we have believed in since the beginning—that art can build bridges between people, places, and ideas. After a decade of work, we remain committed to creating spaces where dialogue, imagination, and connection can thrive,” added Leutrim Fishekqiu, Vatra Abrashi, and Barış Karamuço, Co-Founding Directors of the Biennale.

The exhibition features works by:
Blerta Hashani, David Fesl, Brilant Milazimi, Anita Muçolli, Doruntina Kastrati, Stephanie Rizaj, Edin Zenun, Robert Gabris, Armend Nimani, Elena Narbutaitė, Silva Agostini, Small But Dangers, Hassan Khan, Laurent Mareschal, Tao G. Vrhovec Sambolec, Nika Špan, Rivane Neuenschwander, Nathan Coley, Vadim Fishkin, Tamara Grcic, Ayşe Erkmen, Alije Vokshi, Lois Weinberger, and Simon Shiroka.

In parallel with the main exhibition, the Autostrada Archive continues to evolve as a repository of publications, materials, and curatorial reflections, deepening the biennale’s long-term impact on local cultural memory and knowledge-sharing within and beyond Kosovo.

The 5th Autostrada Biennale is made possible with the generous support and partnership of:
Allianz Foundation, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Prizren Municipality, Swiss Cooperation Office, ITP Prizren, GIZ, US Embassy in Prishtina, British Council, ProCredit Bank, Mondriaan Foundation, Erste Foundation, Goethe Zentrum Prishtina, Italian Institute of Culture in Tirana, Italian Embassy, French Institute, French Embassy, Austrian Embassy, Federal Ministry for Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport Republic of Austria, Netherlands Embassy in Prishtina, German Embassy, Sigma, Regional Center for Cultural Heritage in Prizren, Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Culture in Albania, Albanian Embassy in Kosovo, CulturAlb, Kontakt, Dokufest, GAK, IBA, Kreativ Qeramika, Pezull, and Pro Helvetia.

Learn more and plan your visit: autostradabiennale.org