StoryLab was honored to be among other creative producers from the Balkans, Ukraine, and Central Asia to visit Manchester and Liverpool on a research visit to the UK as part of the Creative Producers program organized by the Curated Place with the support of the British Council.
We return full of creative energy, project ideas, and new friends.
Some of the highlights of the visit include:
-Manchester Central Library
-North West Film Archive
-Hybrid Futures Exhibition at Salford Art Gallery
-Paradise Works
-Manchester Museum
-Liverpool Biennial
-Open Eye Gallery
-Foundation for Art and Creative Technology
-FACT Lab
-HOME Manchester
-The School of Digital Arts at Manchester Metropolitan University
-SOUP Manchester
-PROFORMA
-Short Supply at Islington Mill
We are more than grateful for this amazing opportunity and we look forward to future collaborations.
StoryLab brought creativity to life at DokuTECH‘s Game Jam, showcasing our prowess in crafting immersive narratives and engaging gameplay mechanics.
Through brainstorming sessions, quick problem-solving, and experimenting with new tools and techniques, we gained invaluable experience in game development, enhancing our coding, design and teamwork abilities along the way.
Having “Tomorrow comes today” as the theme of this year’s edition, it inspired us to conceptualize a time management video-game. In our video-game so called “MemoryLab”, the players step into the shoes of our lovable but procrastinating character who must navigate through various tasks while toggling between the present and the future. As them, players face a constant race against time, striving to complete tasks before they become urgent deadlines.
With our adept team of developers and designers (Artrit Bytyçi, Yll Avdiu, Erin Krasniqi, Art Domi), we seamlessly blended storytelling with cutting-edge technology to deliver a captivating gaming experience.
Thank you, DokuTECH, for organizing such an inspiring event. We look forward to future collaborations!
On March 1st, Autostrada Hangar hosted the launch of “This is a Mirror” an art book by Likana Cana and the exhibition curated by Artrit Bytyçi and produced by Autostrada Biennale.
The night began with a conversation between Likana and Artrit, followed by attendees exploring the exhibition and closing the event with selected music by Arbër Salihu & Likana.
We are more than happy and grateful to have Autostrada Biennale support this celebration of literature, art and music.
You are cordially invited to the book launch exhibition for This is a Mirror, an art book by Likana Cana.
Please set a date for Friday, 1 March 2024 at 8:00pm at Autostrada Hangar, ITP Prizren.
About the artbook: This artbook is a collection of instructional poems that make use of the reader’s participation. Its main topic is an investigation into different ways to better relate to ourselves, by providing a service of care and hope through art. It pays tribute to the mind, each other, the planet, and the universe.
The mind has infinite dimensions, blue speaks the language of infinity. It opens a portal where the seen and unseen, conscious and unconscious merge. Blue lives in both planes of existence. Blue makes the invisible visible by giving what it surrounds an immaterial dimension.
This is done through instructional poems, inspired by the Fluxus movement, that focus more on the creative process rather than the artwork itself. As the readers perform the artist’s instructions, they are transformed from an audience into co-creators therefore the launch of the book is transformed into an exhibition where the audience can interact with the scores and understand the overall feeling of the book
About the author: Likana Cana is a transdisciplinary practitioner, working both with the arts and sciences. She is a cognitive psychology graduate, from which she lectures, does research, and is a PhD student. She is a published author in both creative and academic mediums a conceptual art student and is involved in several creative practices which include music videos, directing, exhibitions, and publishing.
Agenda: 20:00 – 20:30 This is a Mirror — a conversation between Likana Cana and Artrit Bytyçi
20:30 – 21:00 Enter, Meet Yourself — an exhibition by Likana Cana,
curated by Artrit Bytyçi and
produced by Autostrada Biennale
21:00 – 22:55 Breathe — music selection by Arbër & Likana
Come and find us at Tirana Independent Artbook Fair during 25-27 November 2023!
Check out publications and works from Artrit Bytyçi, Likana Cana, Fatmir Mustafa Karllo, Liburn Jupolli, Ardi Shishko, Argjenta Beqiri, Vlera Azemi and all bunch of KSci-Fi authors.
You can also find publications from our collaborators like Lumbardhi, Autostrada Hangar, and Arif Muharremi.
StoryLab’s “Summer of Code 2023” is officially done.
After a long, hot, and super-productive summer, we are happy to announce the successful completion of our latest initiative for exploring storytelling via digital arts, video games, interactive projects, and other amazing narrative experiments that employ technology.
StoryLab is at Prishtina Book Fair at the Palace of Youth!
Come and check out some of our latest artbooks, zines, and upcoming projects.
Check out works by Artrit Bytyçi, Likana Cana, Fatmir Mustafa Karllo, Vlera Azemi, Ardi Shishko, Argjenta Beqiri, Librun Jupolli and a whole lot of zine writers across our many imprints like StoryLab, Artro Books, KSci-Fi, Art/Work.
You will find art books, literature, zines, comic books. fantastic tote bags, free stickers, and a lot more.
Find us at the Palace of Youth following the directions on the video down below.
On Saturday of May 20th at 6:00pm in Prizren at Kino Lumbardhi, the launch of “Arnautistan Noir” took place.
Written by Artrit Bytyçi, illustrated by Ardi Shishko, and soundtrack composed by Liburn Jupolli.
The comic book is set in alternate reality and follows Detective Sami Kaleolli through the streets of Prizren, the capital of Arnautistan, as he meets a cast of captivating characters while investigating a case that just might be the thread to unravel a conspiracy that spans from the grimy alleys and all the way to aristocratic mansions.
We were honored and more than grateful to have had Lumbardhi as our host. We also thank all the other partners and collaborators that helped in the making of this event.
Lumbardhi Foundation is proud to announce the launching of “Arnautistan Noir,” a new comic book written by Artrit Bytyçi and illustrated by Ardi Shishko on May 20 starting at 18:00 at Kino Lumbardhi.
Join us for the launch of “Arnautistan Noir,” the latest comic book from the Lumbardhi Foundation. Immerse yourself in an alternate history universe where Prizren is the capital of Arnautistan, and the place where the once-declining Empire was transformed into a Confederation. Written by Artrit Bytyçi and illustrated by Ardi Shishko, this comic book features an immersive multimedia experience with a soundtrack composed by Liburn Jupolli.
Get ready to experience a range of thorny and provocative topics, from graffiti around town, a speakeasy located next to a mosque, the atmosphere at the nightclub, and all the way to the murder scene. With illustrations by Ardi Shishko and a soundtrack by Liburn Jupolli, “Arnautistan Noir” is a unique artistic concept that you won’t want to miss.
“Arnautistan Noir” is published under StoryLab’s KSci-Fi imprint, which aims to promote science fiction and fantasy from Kosovo (by fostering a community, organizing creative writing workshops, supporting publications, and serving as a seal of approval and recommendation for new works).
This project was created as part of the Lumbardhi Foundation’s QARK Program. It has been made possible thanks to the generous support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the International Relief Fund of the German Federal Foreign Office, the Goethe-Institut, and other partners.
Join us for the launch event and experience the immersive multimedia world of “Arnautistan Noir.” Get your copy of the comic book at Lumbardhi Foundation or at “selected” bookstores. See you there!
StoryLab is proud to announce the third issue of StoryLab Zine. The theme for this edition is KSci-Fi: Reality Machines and Altered States. Stay tuned for more info.
StoryLab is happy to announce our upcoming publication: This Is A Mirror by Likana Cana. Coming Summer 2023.
Likana Cana’s This is a Mirror is a collection of instructional poems that make use of the reader’s participation. They merge the playful with the philosophical, transform the artistic into the everyday, and encourage the reader to digest rather than consume.
During our recent trip to Berlin, in December 2022, StoryLab was honored to further its collaboration with Humboldt University of Berlin.
Beside presenting some of our works, artbooks, workshops, and activities during the event hosted by the Southeast Europe Association, we also cooked up some collaboration deals with the Cultural Studies Department at HU Berlin.
StoryLab is happy to announce our upcoming publication: Atlas of Fantastical Realism by Artrit Bytyçi. Coming Spring 2023.
Atlas of Fantastical Realism is a collection of short stories that explore Kosovo’s journey as a country through a lens of the fantastical, surreal, mythical, absurd, and, occasionally, humor and playfulness. State- and nation-building in the Balkans often fall into the realm of legends and myths rather than history and facts, and so, these kinds of stories attempt to reconcile the many disparaging narratives and realities one may encounter.
StoryLab is proud to announce the second issue of StoryLab Zine. The theme for this edition is KSci-Fi as this time around we will focus on science fiction and fantasy from Kosovo and beyond.
StoryLab had the honor of hosting a group of students and professors from The Courtauld Institute, London.
As part of their Global Conceptualism course, professors Sarah Wilson and Elizaveta Butakova are interested in the relationship between conceptual art and art in the present day, as well as global social and political contexts.
During StoryLab’s presentation, we discussed how science fiction is a great tool not only to study, understand, and deal with history, but also to explore contemporary issues our societies are faced with.
We also discussed several possibilities on how to extend the cooperation between StoryLab and the Courtauld Institute of Art.
In September 2022, StoryLab had the pleasure to host a group of students and professors from Max Planck Institute for Art History based in Rome. Our meeting took place at the Center for Narrative Practice in Prishtina, Kosovo.
We presented some of our past and upcoming projects, as well as our current involvement with Manifesta 14 Prishtina.
We discussed non-traditional education methods that StoryLab uses for its workshops and focused on some of our publications.
A Summer of Science Fiction: Creative Writing Workshops, Lectures, and KSci-Fi Zine
StoryLab, as part of Manifesta 14 Prishtina, invites you to apply for a 7-week series of creative writing workshops and lectures with a special focus on science fiction, by the end of which participants will have one piece of peer-reviewed writing ready for publication in the upcoming KSci-Fi zine.
If you are passionate about cyberpunk, space opera, environmental sci-fi, speculative fiction, fantasy, criticism, personal essays about sci-fi, or some hybrid experiment that mixes them all — then KSci-Fi – Kosovo Science Fiction Foundation is the space (and time) for you.
Even though writing science fiction is not very common in Kosovo, we at StoryLab believe that it is essential. In a young democracy like Kosovo, it may sometimes be easier to comment on and explore the societal developments through a “filter” of literary texts that feature robots, space ships, hackers, environmental apocalypse, multiverses and alternate realities, utopias and dystopias, explorations into the potential of the mind, and ruminations on space and time.
Time and Place:
This 7-week program will feature creative writing workshops, lectures, and group discussions. Workshops and lectures will be held in person at the Centre for Narrative Practice, a new permanent interdisciplinary institution and a Manifesta 14 Prishtina venue on the premises of the former Hivzi Sylejmani Library.
For the convenience of our international participants, we will also provide an option to follow the workshops online.
The program is expected to start in late July 2022 and end in early September 2022.
Format:
The creative writing workshop will be led by Artrit Bytyçi, M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the New School in New York City.
The workshop will span over seven sessions, with around 10-14 participants, and will meet once a week. Each week, 2-3 students will submit their texts in advance, which will be workshopped by their peers. Each session will also feature discussions and lectures on the craft of writing, exploration of various authors and methods they use, as well as comments, suggestions, and constructive critiques. For each class, participants will also be assigned readings, and short assignments.
Submitted texts can be in Albanian and/or English.
StoryLab will also organize a lecture series alongside the workshops, where we will cover topics related to science fiction and how it intersects with society, the environment, feminism, arts, film, architecture, music, etc.
The texts from the workshop will be collected and published in the inaugural issue of KSci-Fi zine.
Application:
Please make sure you apply before our deadline: June 27, 2022. The deadline is extended to July 5, 2022.
Vera e fantashkencës: Punëtori të shkrimit kreativ, ligjërata dhe zinë “KSci-Fi”
StoryLab, si pjesë e Manifesta 14 Prishtina, ju fton të aplikoni për një seri 7-javore të punëtorive të shkrimit kreativ dhe ligjëratave me vëmendje të veçantë në fantashkencë. Në fund të këtij programi pjesëmarrësit do të kenë të përpiluar nga një shkrim që do të publikohet në zinën e ardhshme “KSci-Fi”.
Nëse jeni të apasionuar pas cyperpunk-ut, operave hapsinore, fantashkencës mjedisore, trillit spekulativ, fantazisë, kritikës, eseve personale mbi fantashkencën, apo për ndonjë eksperiment hibrid që i përzien të tëra — atëherë, KSci-Fi është hapësira (dhe koha) për ju!
Edhe pse shkrimi i zhanrit fantastiko-shkencor nuk është shumë i përhapur në Kosovë, StoryLab beson se zhvillimi i tij është thelbësor. Në një demokraci të re, si Kosova, ndonjëherë është më e lehtë të komentohet dhe hulumtohet mbi zhvillimet shoqërore përmes një “filtri” letrar ku shfaqen robotë, anije kozmike, hakerë, apokalipse mjedisore, multiverse dhe realitete alternative, utopi dhe distopi, eksplorime të potencialit të mendjes, dhe shqyrtime mbi hapësirën dhe kohën.
Koha dhe Vendi:
Ky program 7-javor do të përmbajë punëtori të shkrimit krijues, ligjërata, dhe diskutime në grup.
Punëtoritë dhe ligjëratat do të mbahen fizikisht në Qendrën për Praktikë Rrëfyese, në institucionin e ri ndërdisiplinor e permanent, hapësirë e Manifesta 14 Prishina në ndërtesën e ish-bibliotekës “Hivzi Sulejmani”.
Gjithashtu do të ofrojmë mundësinë e vijimit të punëtorive online, për lehtësi të pjesëmarrësve tanë ndërkombëtar.
Programi pritet të fillojë në fund të korrikut 2022 dhe të përfundojë në fillim të shtatorit 2022.
Formati:
Punëtoria e shkrimit kreativ do të drejtohet nga Artrit Bytyçi, M.F.A në Shkrim Kreativ nga The New School në New York City.
Punëtoria do të shtrihet në shtatë sesione me rreth 10-14 pjesëmarrës të cilët do të takohen një herë në javë.
Secilën javë, 2-3 studentë do të dërgojnë tekstet e tyre paraprakisht, të cilët do të komentohen dhe përpunohen në bashkëpunim me pjesëmarrësit e tjerë. Në secilin sesion do të mbahen diskutime dhe ligjërata mbi zanatin e të shkruarit, hulumtime të autorëve të ndryshëm dhe metodave që ata përdorin, si dhe komente, sugjerime dhe kritika konstruktive. Për secilin takim, do të ketë detyra të vogla leximi dhe shkrimi.
Tekstet e dërguara mund të jenë në gjuhën shqipe dhe/ose në gjuhën angleze.
StoryLab gjithashtu do të organizojë një seri ligjëratash krahas punëtorive, ku do të shqyrtohen tema që kanë të bëjnë me fantashkencën dhe se si ajo ndërlidhet me shoqërinë, mjedisin, feminizimin, artet, arkitekturën, muzikën etj.
Tekstet nga punëtoria do të përmblidhen dhe publikohen në numrin inaugurues të zinës “KSci-Fi”.
Aplikimi:
Afati i fundit për aplikim: 27 qershor, 2022. Afati është zgjatur deri më: 5 korrik 2022.
StoryLab is honored, proud, and excited to participate in Manifesta 14 alongside so many amazing artists, collectives, initiatives, and organizations. Manifesta’s 100-day artistic program will take place from July 22, 2022, until October 30, 2022, in Prishtina, Kosovo.
Manifesta 14’s curatorial concept — it matters what worlds world worlds — focuses on exploring ways we tell stories, which, incidentally, is also StoryLab’s main focus.
StoryLab’s projects will contribute to the upcoming Center for Narrative Practice at the site of the former Hivzi Sylejmani Library in Prishtina.
As part of our Crosspollinations initiative, StoryLab is proud and honored to announce our collaboration with Dhemetra Foundation. StoryLab will develop a series of introductory creative writing workshops for their Zana Literature Festival in Mitrovica. More info, coming up soon.
As part of our Crosspollinations initiative, StoryLab is proud and honored to announce our collaboration with Kosovo 2.0 in developing the Writing and Publishing workshops as part of their third edition of Lokomotiva 2.0 educational program. More info, coming up soon.
Instituti Undesignate dhe Shkolla e Cineks-it në bashkëpunim me StoryLab kanë hapur thirrjen për programin “Shkrim për Kulturë dhe Film” i cili integron një seri ligjeratash dhe punëtorish të cilat synojnë të zhvillojnë aftësitë e shkrimit për kulturë dhe film. Ky program synon zhvillimin e aftësive për të kritikuar dhe analizuar në mënyrë koherente veprat kinematografike dhe artistike. Ligjeratat e ndryshme kanë për qëllim t’i ndihmojnë pjesëmarrësve t’i shohin filmat dhe veprat artistike nga këndvështrime shoqërore, filozofike, antropologjike dhe artistike.
“Programet e Cineks-it e adresojnë edukimin kulturorë në dy aspekte. Një, përmes ofrimit të arsimimit kualitativ interdisciplinor dhe të përqëndruar për të rinjtë. Dhe dy, edukimin e përgjithshëm përmes blogjeve, video eseve, artikujve dhe dokumentarëve kreativ që do të publikohen dhe shpërndahen çdo javë për publikun nga Cineks.com.” tha drejtori i programeve tek Instituti Undesignate dhe Cineks-i, Lum Çitaku.
Nita Luci, Lura Limani, Lum Citaku, Norika Sefa, Fatmir Mustafa – Karllo, Liburn Jupolli, Shpetim Selmani, janë vetëm disa nga shkrimtarët, artistët dhe profesorët që do të trajtojnë tema duke filluar nga arti, kultura, antropologjia, feminizmi, teoria e filmit, kritika, aktrimi, muzika, letërsia, dhe filozofia.
“Çka e veçon këtë program të parë”, thotë Artrit Bytyçi nga StoryLab, në bashkëpunim me të cilin është zhvilluar programi, “është mënyra se si i kemi strukturuar punëtoritë dhe ligjëratat. Për të shkruar efektivisht për film, një krijues duhet të dijë ta dekodoj gjuhën e filmit, të ketë njohuri për artin e fotografisë, muzikës dhe aktrimit. Poashtu është mirë të mësohet arti i të intervistuarit. Nëse shkruan për film, intervista me një aktore apo regjisore do të shtojë një dimension shtesë të interpretimit të filmit.”
Në fund të seminarit dhe serisë së ligjëratave, krijuesit pjesëmarrës do ta kenë nga një shkrim të gatshëm për botim në Blog-un e Cineks-it, si dhe të paktën dy tekste në zhvillim për t’u botuar në muajt në vijim.
Progami është falas.
Shkolla e Cineks-it mbështetet nga Agjensioni Zviceran për Zhvillim dhe Bashkëpunim – SDC
Afati për aplikim është deri me 12 Korrik dhe formulari për aplikim gjendet në webafqen e Cineks.com me poshtë:
Institute Undesignate and Cineks, in collaboration with StoryLab, invite you to apply for a series of lectures and workshops which aim to develop your writing for film and culture skills. Be it criticism, nonfiction, creative writing, journalism, texts with an academic focus, blogs, or some experiment that mixes them all — This is the space for you.
This 6-week program will not only focus on the art of writing, but will also aim to develop your ability to critique and coherently analyse cinematic and artistic works. To achieve this we have set up a series of lectures with diverse topics to help you view films from societal, philosophical, anthropological and artistic perspectives. The workshop will also pave the way for you to be commissioned to write for us and our blog, and give you the chance to gain experience and make connections.
By the end of the workshop and lecture series, you will have one piece of writing ready for publication at Cineks.com Blog, as well as at least two in-development texts for publication in the following months. Our aim is to commission each writer’s texts.
Format:
This 6-weeks program includes writing workshops, lectures, discussions, and interactive/immersive learning experiences.
Nita Luci, Lura Limani, Lum Çitaku, Norika Sefa, Fatmir Mustafa – Karllo, Liburn Jupolli, Shpëtim Selmani, are just some among the prominent writers, artists, and professors to tackle topics ranging from art, culture, feminism, film theory, criticism, acting, music, literature, philosophy.
Writing workshops will be led by our resident writer, Artrit Bytyçi of StoryLab.
Application:
Please make sure you apply before our July 8, 2021 deadline. Deadline extended to July 12, 2021.
Instituti Undesignate dhe Cineks, në bashkëpunim me StoryLab, ju ftojnë të aplikoni për një seri ligjeratash dhe punëtorish të cilat synojnë të zhvillojnë aftësitë e shkrimit tuaj për kulturë dhe film. Qoftë kritikë, letërsi artistike, shkrim kreativ, gazetari, tekste me fokus akademik, blogje ose ndonjë eksperiment që i kombinon që të gjitha — Kjo është hapësira për ju.
Ky program 6-javor përveç që do të përqëndrohet në artin e të shkruarit, ai gjithashtu synon zhvillimin e aftësive për të kritikuar dhe analizuar në mënyrë koherente veprat kinematografike dhe artistike. Për të arritur këtë ne kemi planifikuar një seri ligjeratash me tema të ndryshme që t’ju ndihmojnë t’i shihni filmat nga këndvështrimet shoqërore, filozofike, antropologjike dhe artistike. Punëtoria gjithashtu do të hap rrugë që ju të angazhoheni të shkruani për ne dhe blogun tonë, dhe t’ju japë mundësinë për të fituar përvojë e për të krijuar lidhje profesionale.
Në fund të seminarit dhe serisë së ligjëratave, do të keni një shkrim të gatshëm për botim në Blog-un e Cineks.com, si dhe të paktën dy tekste në zhvillim për t’u botuar në muajt në vijim. Qëllimi ynë është që pjesëmarrësit të angazhohen dhe kompensohen për shkrimet e tyre, duke u bërë kështu bashkëpuntorë tanë.
Formati:
Ky program 6-javor përfshin punëtori me shkrim, leksione, diskutime dhe përvoja mësimore interaktive / gjithëpërfshirëse.
Nita Luci, Lura Limani, Lum Çitaku, Norika Sefa, Fatmir Mustafa – Karllo, Liburn Jupolli, Shpëtim Selmani, janë vetëm disa nga shkrimtarët, artistët dhe profesorët e shquar që do të trajtojnë tema duke filluar nga arti, kultura, feminizmi, teoria e filmit, kritika, aktrimi, muzikë, letërsi, filozofi.
Punëtoritë e shkrimit do të drejtohen nga shkrimtari ynë rezident, Artrit Bytyçi nga StoryLab.
Aplikacioni:
Ju lutemi sigurohuni që të aplikoni para afatit të fundit me 8 Korrik, 2021. Afati është zgjatur deri më 12 Korrik, 2021 Klikoni këtu për ta plotësuar aplikacionin.
Platforma dhe shkolla e Cineks-it është krijuar nga Institute Undesignate. Ky program mbështetet nga Agjensioni Zviceran për Zhvillim dhe Bashkëpunim – SDC Punëtoritë e shkrimit organizohen me bashkëpunimin e StoryLab.
As part of our Crosspollinations initiative, StoryLab is proud and honored to announce our collaboration with Institute Undesignate in developing and crafting the Cineks School. More info, coming up soon.
As part of our Crosspollinations initiative we are happy and honored to announce StoryLab’s art and culture collaboration with On Top Residency. Stay tuned for more exciting projects coming up.
