Arbër Qerka-Gashi

Balkanism

Balkanism, established by Arber in 2020, is a dynamic digital platform dedicated to showcasing the richness of Balkan culture, identity, history, and diaspora experiences. With a forward-thinking and inclusive perspective, the platform addresses historical inter-ethnic challenges within the Balkans.

Balkan London Collective

Arber serves as the co-founder of the Balkan London Collective (BLC), an events organization established with the goal of creating inclusive spaces for members of the Balkan diaspora community and their allies in London and Britain. The BLC curates events that foster cultural engagement and joy, showcasing emerging artists with Balkan heritage and hosting themed nights that celebrate the region's diversity.

Queering the Diasporic Balkan table

Queering the Diasporic Balkan Table - Spring 2024. We invite members of the diaspora Balkan and LGBT+ community to join our first seasonal event, curated by the Feminist Library and the Balkan London Collective. These gatherings offer LGBTQ+ Balkan diaspora members in the UK a space for dialogue, expression, and cultural immersion.

Meet our Community Curators - Migration Museum

Our Community Curators have a shared connection to Lewisham - living, working, studying, volunteering, or organising in the borough. Read more

Exploring Kosovo's History & Culture: An Evening of Representations - Poplar Union

Join us for an immersive evening exploring Kosovo's rich history, vibrant culture, and path to independence. Through a blend of storytelling, scholarship, and artistic expression, this event offers a rare chance to engage with a nation often overlooked and misrepresented.London-born Kosovar heritage curator and researcher Arber's Growing Library will showcase a compelling collection of archival materials, historical insights, and cultural artifacts, bringing Kosovo's heritage to life.

Exploring Kosovo's History & Culture: An Evening of Representations

Eventbrite - Arber Qerka-Gashi presents Exploring Kosovo's History & Culture: An Evening of Representations - Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at Poplar Union, London, England. Find event and ticket information.

Inside/Outside and All In Between: Private View + Panel Discussion - Migration Museum

Join us for a private view and panel discussion at the Migration Museum, exploring the themes of Inside/Outside and All In Between, a community curated exhibition featuring local artists with a connection to Lewisham. Read more

A museum honouring the history of migration - Arts Professional

Despite a world-class museum sector and a complex history of migration, Britain does not have a permanent museum exploring the movement of people to and from these shores. Mona Jamil of the Migration Museum is working to rectify that.

Community Curators

Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art builds upon the university's world-renowned reputation for art practice, providing an inspiring source of creativity and debate for artists, students and the public.

Academic Pathways: Exploring History, Culture & Academic Careers | ALSA UK

Join us for a panel discussion with academics at various stages of their career for their insights. We will be discussing their university experiences, challenges they faced and how they overcame them, their advice to aspiring scholars, and much more!

Gaza Remains the Story Exhibition

Eventbrite - Arber Qerka-Gashi & Amalia Yonaki presents Gaza Remains the Story Exhibition - Thursday, November 21, 2024 | Saturday, November 23, 2024 at Poplar Union, London, England. Find event and ticket information.

Closing night celebration: Dante & Shakespeare on the Move

Eventbrite - Migration Collective presents Closing night celebration: Dante & Shakespeare on the Move - Wednesday, November 27, 2024 at King's College London, London, England. Find event and ticket information.

This reading highlights the voices published in The Other Side of Hope, the UK’s first literary magazine of sanctuary, accredited by City of Sanctuary UK. The Other Side of Hope provides a platform for marginalised stories and perspectives from migrants and refugees. The evening also features the voices of Young Roots, a London-based charity working with refugee and asylum-seeking young people. The writers read from their contributions to the latest issue of The Other Side of Hope magazine.

Inside/Outside and All In Between - Migration Museum

Inside/Outside And All In Between is a community curated exhibition at the Migration Museum, featuring local artists with a connection to Lewisham. Read more

Undisciplining II

The Sociological Review Foundation's Undisciplining II conference will take place from 10-12 September 2024 in Salford, England. Academics and educators, artists and activists, and thinkers and doers across many fields will consider the question: "Who is sociology for?" Arbër will be presenting his work with building a digital educational and archival space on the 11th.

BALKAN PRIDE 2024

Eventbrite - Balkan London Collective presents BALKAN PRIDE 2024 - Friday, 23 August 2024 | Sunday, 15 September 2024 at Ridley Road Market Bar, London, England. Find event and ticket information.

Albanian Youth Empowerment Summit | ALSA UK

Discover various organisations to get involved with, share your ideas for community projects, and network with others who share your passions. This event offers a unique platform to connect with inspirational speakers, engage in meaningful discussions, and form valuable connections.

Lunchtime Lectures: Discovering the Balkans- Balkan material culture in the V&A Collection - Talk...

This talk is part of the V&A Academy Lunchtime Lecture Series. No booking is required. Join Arber Gashi as he seeks to juxtapose this unrepresentative narrative by exploring the stunning Balkan material culture present in the V&A collection.

In Search of Some Phantom, 2024

International Body of Art are excited to announce their first exhibition of 2024, 'In Search of Some Phantom'. Arber contributed his multimedia collaged pieces titled 'The "Aliens" Who Became 'British'. These pieces critiqued the process of naturalisation for immigrants and refugees.

Goddess on the Throne Exhibition 2024

Curated by Arber Gashi and Tringa Kelmendi, held at the Kosovan Embassy in London, this exhibition brought Kosovan women and their narratives into focus in honour of International Women's Day. Arber and Tringa worked tirelessly to produce an engaging, informative and interpersonal exhibition.

Keep In Touch - Exhibition at Host of Leyton in London

Keep In Touch showcases visual responses to the notion of 'home as solace; home as exile' from artists of the Caribbean, Latin America, East and South Asia, North and West Africa, and their diasporas. Arber's work, that explored how his family continued remembering their heritage from the diaspora, was included in this exhibition.

Beyond Medicine

When Britain went into lockdown in March 2020, it was not only dealing with a health crisis, but a social one too. Stories of doctors and nurses battling on the frontline are numerous, but what happened in local communities is less well documented. Arber was a Oral History interviewer on this project.

Balkanism

Listen to this episode from AMAN on Spotify. Last episode in 2021, we spoke with the founder of Balkanism, an Instagram account (for now) which posts and discusses "all things Balkan". Here is the link, and we hope you enjoy it!

'A Mother's Tale' Exhibition - celebrating the legacy of Motherhood - GUAP

The theme for this year's International Women's Day is 'Breaking the Bias' and in reflection, we could think of no greater example than that of Mothers: first-generation Mothers, migrant Mothers, working Mothers, stay at home Mothers, disabled Mothers, refugee Mothers, young Mothers etc.

Around the Table: A Festival Exploring Food and Migration - Migration Museum

Arber was a panelist at this festival focused at highlighting Food and Migration. He spoke on a panel consisting of Jimi Famurewa and Cynthia Shanmugalingam that engaged in a very thought provoking conversation pertaining to food markets, access to international produce, and the building of solidarity between migrant communities through trade.

LGBTQIA+ Tours - Tour at V&A South Kensington · V&A

Arber is a skilled LGBT+ history tour guide at the V&A Museum, where he brings a fresh perspective to his tours by actively incorporating diverse narratives and experiences. His guided tours go beyond traditional narratives, ensuring that the LGBT+ community's history and contributions are thoughtfully and inclusively represented.

Our Refugee Garden: My reflections on memory, space, resilience and cultural preservation.

"Arbër, hajde pina çaj me babin në oborr" (translated from Albanian: Arbër come drink tea with me and your father in the garden). This is an invitation I can't see myself refusing, and I don't think...

Beyond the frame: Kosovo and Albanian representations in Yugoslav cinema - DWP-BALKAN

I still remember the first Yugoslav film I watched about Kosovo when I was about 13 and the great discomfort it stirred in me. It was the 1989 film "Boj na Kosovu" (Battle of Kosovo), directed by Zdravko Šotra. I had found it after hours of scouring the internet searching for cinematic depictions of Kosovo and its history.

Retracing Their Beginnings by Arbër Qerka-Gashi

As a child of refugees, I did everything in my power to conceal my reality from others. I anglicised my name, refused to speak my mother tongue, and asked my parents to act in ways...

Arbër Qerka-Gashi: A multitude of narratives can be explored on the platform - K2.0

Kosovo 2.0 is a prominent multimedia platform based in Kosovo that focuses on journalism, storytelling, and activism.

Young Social Leader - Arbër Qerka-Gashi

healing and sharing circles, panel discussions, book clubs, and mini exhibitions. I believe that approach has drawn many members of the Balkan diaspora to this community, and opened the door for their non-Balkan friends and allies to appreciate and celebrate our rich cultures.We aimed to create a space for members of the Balkan queer community to engage with cinema that explores Balkan and trans identities, as well as historical experiences.

Balkan v Londonu | MLADINA.si

Slovenske popevke, jugoslovanski synth pop in novi val, srbski trap, hrvaški rap, pa tradicionalna in popularna glasba vseh držav balkanskega polotoka, vključno s...

Celebrating diversity in the Balkans

Balkanism is a digital and educational collective dedicated to exploring Balkan culture, history, society, and identity, serving as both a visual arts platform and an annual publication. Their core mission is to strengthen interethnic relations in the Balkans and among diaspora communities worldwide with a progressive educational approach.

Arber sat down with Balkan Insights Perparim Isufi to discuss his project Balkanism.

Featured in one of Kosovo's most prolific newspapers "Koha Ditore", the Balkanism project recieved a full page spread exploring its first issue. Arber provided comment on various contributions to the first Balkanism issue of its publication.

Yugo-nostalgia overlooks Albanians - Arber Gashi

Anti-Albanian sentiment persists, even in diaspora communities.

'What is seen cannot be unseen, and there's serious power in that' - K2.0

Voices in support of Palestine.

Image-Maker in Residence: Arbër Gashi

Kosovar-heritage London-based historian Arbër Gashi on how and why he founded Balkanism, an online platform that re-narrates what it means to be Balkan beyond national identities.

Azl Collective

AZL is London based collective. Arber contributed a series of collaged prints, which incorporated his words, archival images and photographic pieces from Kosovo. This project was titled 'Homecoming', which retraced disaporic memories. AZL's first edition focused on the concept of grounding.

Liberation through Education: The case of Kosovo - Mangal Media

By writing this piece, around the 16th anniversary of Kosovo's independence, I aim to motivate others to think more critically about Kosovo's history and to expand our collective understanding of educational resistance movements.

Why Palestine has my full support as a Kosovar-Albanian.

For the past month now, the world has watched by while the Palestinian people continue to be ravaged by Israeli air strikes on Gaza, indiscriminately killing civilians, with a death toll that is...

Generational Trauma, Oppression and Avatar: The Last Airbender

Arbër Gashi discusses their experiences as the child of Kosovar-Albanian refugees and how this led to a love of The Last Airbender.

I am Kosovar-Albanian

"Kosovar" does not undermine my Albanian identity.

A night of Balkan Pride

With glitter tattoos and turbo-folk, members of the diaspora's LGBTQI+ community have created an inclusive annual celebration in east London

I Saw My Fellow Albanians in Kosovo Die from Afar

Born in Britain after his family fled ethnic persecution in Kosovo, Arber Gashi discovered how his fellow Albanians suffered during wartime when he saw images of mass graves online. He argues now that the victims deserve to be treated with more care and respect.

Mos Harroni - Don't Forget

This written piece explored what notions of "home" meant for Arber and his family from a diasporic perspective. The piece was accompanied by a series of images titled "Mos Harroni" which translates to Don't Forget in English, and they focused on the process of remembering ones heritage at a distance. These images were featured in the 'Keep in Touch' Exhibition held in Leyton, November 2023.

'Ti nuk je shqiptar'

The standardization of Albanian culture and the erasure of diversity.

How Many Betting Shops Does My High Street Really Need?

Arber explores the presence of betting shops in outer city high streets, and the negative effects of this on communities.

Embracing intersectionality: Affirming liberation for all of the LGBTQ+ community

Just Like Us ambassador Arbër Gashi discusses the need for LGBTQ+ people to think more intersectionally in activism and life

Recounting the refugee stories that shaped me

Guest blog by Arber Gashi, @gashiarbs_ on Instagram (Writer, Oral Historian and Visual storyteller) My Mother, Firdeze, and Father, Mehdi (Dini), in the early days of their relationship - photo was taken in Kosovo, which at the time was a part of the Former Yugoslavia, 1985

Let's not forget to break down stigma around men's mental health this Pride Month too

Just Like Us ambassador Arbër Gashi details his "significant journey with mental health" for Men's Health Awareness Month.

Being queer doesn't excuse your Islamophobia. LGBTQ+ Muslims need your allyship

Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric in certain Muslim countries is no excuse for Islamophobia - and is hurting LGBTQ+ Muslims.

'Films taught me that LGBTQ+ and faith identities couldn't co-exist - but that wasn't true'

"Many LGBTQ+ films made me feel as though I would be expected to give up my religion," says Just Like Us ambassador Arbër Gashi.

It's a Sin still reminds me of how our fight continues today

Arber Gashi on the importance of fighting for inclusive education and breaking down sexual health stigma, as inspired by the hit Channel 4 series.

'Being LGBTQ+ in London isn't easy as you might think'

"Let's make London the city I know it can be," writes Arbër Gashi, ambassador for LGBTQ+ youth charity Just Like Us.

Balkanism #1

Serving as the Editor-in-Chief of Balkanism's first issue, Arber worked extensively to produce this publication. From conceptualising the issues theme "Diversity as Strength" to developing its creative direction. He worked tirelessly alongside Balkanism's designer, Verica Petrović, in producing a publication that now being read by audiences globally.

Retracing Their Beginnings: A creative ethnography of my Kosovar refugee parents’ initial...

Established in 2021, the other side of hope: journeys in refugee and immigrant literature is a UK-based literary magazine edited by migrants. So far we have donated 2,100 copies to refugee centres, hotels with new arrivals and public libraries of sanctuary. In their most recent fourth issue, Arber contributed a creative ethnography exploring the experiences of his refugee parents in London from an intergenerational perspective.

ANARKISS

The Counterculture Zine: On a mission to heal a sick society, ANARKISS is an unquestionable compliance diverging/political awakening inducing collective fuelled by political anger and our need for change. Arber contributed his poem, life in the System to this project's thrid volume. His piece explores his experiences of London, and is heavily influenced by his critique of how captialism, gentrification, commercialism and greed has impacted his life.

Unearthing Kosova

This piece explored Arber's relationship to his country of origin Kosovo, and how the decisions his parents made in leaving Kosovo impacted him.

Music as Knowledge. Music as Rememberance. Music as Intergenerational History.

Established in July 2021, The Developing Room was created as a free-to-join creative network to celebrate, support, and finance young & emerging filmmakers and creatives. They are committed to helping talented up-and-coming creatives learn, grow, and mature as artists. Arber contributed to their very first issue, exploring the importance music plays as a medium to explore identity, history and diverse narratives.

Embracing the Inbetween

This piece explored the intersections of Arber's British Kosovar-Albanian identity, and the complexities that have often arised because of this. You can go to the offical Neighbourhood Magazine website to purchase the magazine if you wish to read Arber's essay in full.

Diasporic Memory: My process of remembering Kosovo from afar

In this piece Arber explored the way his diasporic identity impacted his existence in Britain. It presents the practices his family engaged with in the diaspora that provided a sense of memory for him, despite not having been born or raised in Kosovo. It then also explores how Arber became compelled to create the digital platform Balkanism, that seeks to provide education, knowledge, and healing for the Balkan community in the diaspora and in the region. Please head over to the Road To...