"Urban Memory: How to do things with cities" – Korca

IDMC in collaboration with Korca Youth Centre organized on 17‒19 March 2017 the "Urban Memory: How to Do Things with Cities workshop".

On Day 1 of the workshop, same way as in Vlora workshop, the core concepts of the weekend were explained. After reading of the text by Michel Butor's Mobile, the trainers and the participants went through the images that the latter had submitted in advance, telling in first person why the selected image showed something that they cared about. The explanation of the images was followed by a brief group exercise in observation-based methods, working together to describe the room through "showing not telling". The second part of the day, the participants went out into the city for two hours to do research ‒ making observations, walking and thinking.

On Day 2 after the reading from Cybermohalla, a Delhi-based neighborhood project that explores the city through community initiatives, which was followed by a brief discussion, the trainers decided that the group would refocus and work on a single topic: how to reimagine the newly reconstructed bazaar as the "people's bazaar". After a brief group exercise in thinking through context—what is happening in Korca as the participants are thinking through their writing — all the participants walked to the Pazar accompanied by the trainers and IDMC coordinator. At the bazaar they walked around and discussed ideas for what could fill the empty spaces; how we could make this a popular bazaar. After lunch, the final hours were spent writing. The afternoon continued in focused silence, with participants writing intently.

On Day 3 the morning reading, an excerpt from Stephane Hessel, was followed by an extended group editing session. Each text was projected on the wall and was deconstructed on group, collectively editing and rewriting each piece. The 3rd day was ended by filling out evaluations form for the workshop and certificates for each participant were distributed.

For this workshop, IDMC partnered with Korca Youth Centre.

About the Trainers

• Leah Whitman-Salkwin is deputy editor of Harvard Design Magazine. She was the curator of the 2016 Albanian Pavilion of the Venice Architecture Biennale, entitled "I Have Left You the Mountain".
• Simon Battisti is an architect, educator, writer, and founding editor of the journal Very Vary Veri. He was the curator of the 2016 Albanian Pavilion of the Venice Architecture Biennale, entitled "I Have Left You the Mountain".