Hapësira Zero Space Closing Doors

After six successful months, the Albanian pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia 2018 closes its doors. The "Hapësira Zero Space" installation closed with several events, which culminated in a Meeting on Architecture and an Exhibition / Performance by several Albanian artists.

Specifically, the final week of La Biennale di Venezia 2018 brought the public a collective exhibition on the premises of the Albanian pavilion, with the participation of artists Ardian Isufi, Albes Fusha, Ervin Bërxolli and Yllka Gjollesha. The Albanian artists created a balanced and interesting performance that dialogues coherently with the Hapësira Zero Space installation. Ardian Isufi brought 11 kinetic mini-sculptures in resin, in free movement, reflecting the arbitrary relationship that the capital's citizens have with shared space. Isufi brilliantly sublimates this meaning through his moving sculptures, turned into a performance in which the pavilion's visitor becomes, in and of themselves, its protagonist. Albes Fusha brought three images with a high communicative impact, portraying the feeling and state of Albanian society in a very personal and intimate way. The artist investigates the actions and behaviour of the private individual in public life and space. A collage of the autonomous management of public spaces that generates ever-temporary states. Ervin Berxolli contributes to this performance with an autobiographical and multisensory installation made up of 6 original photographs taken from his family album and audio material tied to the period. With significant anthropological and sociological value, this look "within the walls" allows attention to be focused on another important aspect of the Hapësira Zero phenomenon: during these ceremonies, citizens opened the doors of their homes, temporarily transforming private spaces into public spaces. Yllka Gjollesha closed the exhibition while simultaneously opening the "Meeting on Architecture" with her documentary "The Angel of the Tunnel".

"Meeting on Architecture" is a conference programme organised by La Biennale di Venezia under the care of its curators and organisers. For the first time, the Albanian Pavilion called for and organised such an event during its participation in the International Architecture Exhibition. This "Meeting on Architecture" was held on 23 November 2018 at the Teatro alle Tese, Venice. The meeting was a platform for discussion between the curators of Albania and Kosovo, Elton Koritari and Eliza Hoxha, the co-author of "Hapësira Zero Space", Jurtin Hajro, with the participation of Italian architect Pier Paolo Tamburelli, artist Albes Fusha, and the public present at the meeting.

The meeting brought the public an open discussion drawing on the contribution of the Pavilions of Albania and Kosovo, tied to the similarity of the experiences recounted and the concepts underlying the two pavilions, which express models of urban transformation carried out by their respective citizens during a period of political, economic or social crisis. The fil rouge of the discussion continues to be the way in which the citizens of Tirana or Pristina have opened the doors of their private homes to create public spaces, in service, then, of their city.

The transformation in the destination of a city's spaces, from private to public, represents an urban model of a deeply social nature, of bottom-up intervention, where the citizen acts proactively with space, activating the city starting from a personal and collective performance with deeply positive implications for quality of life.

Eutopian tyranny (a term coined ad hoc to play on the term "utopia" and the ancient Greek prefix "eu" — meaning good), converses with heterotopian Pristina, seeking to take this discussion further and to make an original and concrete contribution on urban models, at times utopian and at times subjectively pragmatic, but in any case clearly shown by both pavilions during #BiennaleArchitettura2018 #Freespace.

The Albanian pavilion of La Biennale di Venezia 2019 is conceived and produced by EJAlbum, Varka Architecture, commonsense.studio and FabLab Tirana. The personality and strength of Tirana are shown through the "Hapësira Zero Space" installation and the sensory experience created by composing elements aimed at engaging every sense and accompanying the visitor on a journey to perceive free space and the true essence of the city.