Allianz Foundation Hubs: How to grow in times of Shrinking Spaces

Sharri cheese is unique: The crumbly, salty specialty is exclusively made from the milk of sheep grazing in the lush mountains around Prizren in Kosovo - and it is almost impossible to export. Why? Because up to this day, the producers traditionally sell the cheese two weeks after it is made, right after the first stage of fermentation, in big loaves called “bread”. It then needs to be broken apart and treated by the buyers with water, salt and herbs to become edible and stay fresh. Otherwise, it would rot quickly. So, if you buy Sharri, you must work for it to become the cheese you want. Sharri cheese only exists because of this peculiar collaboration between producers and consumers. And that, in a nutshell, could be one way of describing the specialty of our Allianz Foundation Hubs partner Autostrada in Prizren: Everything is co-production. Since its foundation 10 years ago, Autostrada has been continuously growing and has always been open to new partners and new collaborations. Maybe it is because collaboration is inscribed into the core structure of the team, with co-founders and directors Vatra Abrashi, Leutrim Fishekqui and Barış Karamunco supporting and pushing each other since day one.

The team organized four biennials of contemporary art that connected international curators and visitors with the local population, and brought the rather cozy, but hyper-multicultural Prizren with its roughly 150.000 inhabitants onto the global art map. Last year, it was named one of the top ten shows in Europe by the influential art magazine Frieze. As if that wasn’t enough Autostrada opened a hangar for artistic collaboration and production in 2022, serving the community and local youngsters to make dreams and aspirations become material reality. And now, in 2024, they expanded with a second hangar, that also includes a residency space to share even more time with artists and cultural practitioners. This was only made possible thanks to Autostrada forging a unique network of stakeholders, including the municipality of Prizren, the local Innovation and Training Park which operates the former NATO base where Autostrada is located – and Allianz Foundation as an international partner. Partners from administration, economy and philanthropy brought together to share one vision: to create and to maintain spaces like Autostrada, spaces a living and breathing civil society needs. Cultural actors are more sustainable and more resilient if they have allies in various sectors – especially in times of division and reactionary politics. If one wants to learn how to grow in times of shrinking spaces for culture and civil society, look no further.

With this mode of operation, Autostrada was able to expand and evolve, even in the politically and economically fragile context of Kosovo – a young nation that is to this day not recognized by almost 50% of the UN-states, with one of the youngest populations in Europe, and high rates of unemployment and informal labor.

So, it comes as no surprise that Autostrada also celebrated their 10th anniversary in the spirit of cooperation and hospitality. They invited their partners from the family of Allianz Foundation Hubs - INLAND from Spain, Postane from Turkey, Recyclart from Belgium, Fondazione Studio Rizoma from Italy – to co-curate the second Hubs-Summit as a highly interactive and hands-on program. The kitchen teams of Recyclart, Postane and Autostrada prepared transcultural menus, while the metal production teams of Recyclart and Autostrada re-assembled an artwork by internationally renowned Kosovaran sculptor Alban Muja into six pieces (one for each region of Kosovo).

They once again connected their local and international partners – which brings us back to the Sharri Cheese. Prizren local and food historian Jeton Jagxhiu brought a glass of his cheese to a panel with the founder of INLAND, Fernando Garcia Dory, who himself had brought traditionally produced cheese from the mountains of Northern Spain. Two very local European histories were in conversation with each other, two traditions encapsulated in two very distinct products – and two unique tastes, as the audience could experience after the panel. This is both theoretical and material cooperation and exchange, including the mind – and the stomach. It will be exciting to see what kind of encounters Autostrada will curate in the future. Spoiler alert: The fifth Biennale, opening on July 5, 2025, and curated by Erzen Shkololli, might be a good moment to check. Save the date!

Nino Klingler works with the Allianz Foundation Hubs to build a future-oriented and diverse European solidarity network across the fields of art, civil engagement, and climate activism. He is also responsible for funding projects in the fields of fine arts and visual media and heads the Culture & Arts unit.