People have been gazing at the night sky for millennia. What different cultures see there varies widely according to their beliefs and experiences. Yet the practice of looking to the stars for guidance is common to all humanity.
The Astronomy Club of Kosova works to nurture the sense of connection that stargazing brings. Entitled Under One Sky, their initiative goes by the motto “Boundaries vanish when we gaze skyward”. It brings together people from different communities and age-groups to study the stories and science of the celestial bodies. The restoration of Prishtina’s observatory has been one of their major projects in recent years.
During Manifesta 14, the club will be running its programme from the Grand Hotel Prishtina, while the observatory – still needing a telescope – will host an artistic intervention. Their programme consists of star parties and workshops, exhibitions, screenings and a field trip to Kokino, North Macedonia’s 3,800-year-old megalithic observatory.