As Ghana ThinkTank developed, the collective realized art could be used to create truly unlikely partnerships. The first of such projects was developed in Mitrovica. Subsequent projects include the partnerships across the US/ Mexico Border, African refugees seeking asylum in Israel, and links between the Dutch and former colonies.
Mitrovica is a town in Kosovo divided by a river. To the North are the Serbs. To the South are the Albanians. In between is a bridge, guarded by international troops with military vehicles. Following the Kosovo war, Mitrovica became a symbol of Kosovo's ethnic divisions. When Ghana ThinkTank began a project there in 2011, they found people on both sides who had not crossed the bridge since the war began in 1999.
Ghana ThinkTank applied its process to Mitrovica, collecting problems on one side of the Ibar River, and sending them across to be solved.
Problems such as “I don’t feel safe to cross the bridge,” and “I feel like I am a guest in my own home,” demonstrated the war-torn isolation felt by the people on both sides.
The experience was full of both hope and fear, but in the end, people who had not crossed the bridge since the war began came across to work with the other side.
We are grateful to CEC ArtsLink and SUNY Purchase College School of Art and Design for their support, and Aaron Krach for his invaluable help, as well as our Serb and Albanian counterparts.
