Diving into Cultural Dimensions

 

The sun rays were beaming so beautifully when my friends and I decided to visit the Ethnographic Museum in Prishtina. It was our first time visiting it and we were very eager to learn even more about our ancient culture. We packed our backpacks and took a camera with us to capture these precious moments and freeze them in time.

The exterior of the museum itself astounded me. There were two white houses facing one another. The walls had an intricate design to them and lots of wooden framed windows. We encountered three men sitting underneath a tree, laughing and enjoying a drink. One of them felt our presence and put a big smile on his face. He guided us to the first house and showed us what we were seeing.

Cooking tools

            I looked to my left and saw a few cooking tools hung up. On my right I saw a round table (sofra) accompanied with some chairs. I quickly figured out that I was looking at the dining room. The fireplace nearby gave the room such a welcoming atmosphere that made me stare in awe. It was time to go to the second floor. While climbing the stairs, I got so worried because the wooden planks were bending, however, the man I mentioned earlier, assured me that they will not break. After laughing together at my clumsiness, I entered the next room. The reds, greens and blues were dominating my sight. I quickly noticed two cradles (djepa) that even nowadays parents use to put their children to sleep.

Sofra

  

The final room was probably the most intriguing for me. There was a human sized doll wearing our traditional costume. The details on it were phenomenal. The beautiful embroidery attached to the soft, white material made me gasp. I could not help myself and had to comment about it to my friends. 

"Djepat"
Picture taken by Anisa Rushiti

After a few days, I decided to visit the National Art Gallery. The art exhibition was called “The Conspiracy of Tirana”, and it certainly had some experimental elements to it, which were captivating and fresh for the audience. I firstly noticed three moving visuals in a dark room. Rollercoasters were surrounding some old Albanian buildings and travelling back and forth. I was quite confused by this and tried to understand the meaning that the artist had put behind it. Perhaps, they wanted to showcase how entertaining it is to learn about our history, the same way rollercoasters are known for being fun. Maybe the rollercoasters signified the turbulent and hard past we have had...

       

         Next, I noticed a few paintings on the wall. They resembled the same old man in different profiles. There were other pieces hung on the walls, like an animal skull wearing a gas mask and even a small sculpture wearing a blowing horn on the top of its head. Newspaper articles and postcards were present too.

 

When I entered the last room, there was an old fashioned TV broadcasting news from the communist era in Albania. I was tapping my feet on the ground and clicking my pen while watching it. It was heartbreaking to see how even the media was not objective and how manipulative that regime was. 

The museum and art gallery gave me a new life perspective. One that was more appreciative and proud of my culture. It was truly amazing to see how much things have changed and how far we have come by being brave and protecting one another. I cannot wait to see all the new upcoming exhibitions and events and broaden my horizons even further.

TV broadcasting news

Newspaper article

   

Postcards