Artpolis – Centre for Art and Community is one of the organisations that uses art to create impact far beyond the stage. For years, Artpolis has used theatre as a tool to challenge gender norms and stereotypes, creating spaces for dialogue, reflection and interaction with the community. Through their direct work with young people, they engage them as active participants in discussing and transforming the way society sees and experiences gender roles. 

One of the initiatives that has made Artpolis particularly well known in Kosovo and beyond is FemArt – the International Festival of Artists and Activists. 

Founded by Zana Hoxha and organised by Artpolis since 2013, FemArt has become one of the largest feminist festivals in the Balkans. For more than a decade, the festival has created space for artists, activists, musicians, actors, directors, writers, photographers and other creatives from Kosovo, the region and around the world. 

FemArt not only fills Prishtina’s cultural calendar, but since its first edition, the festival has been built around questions and themes that affect the lives of women and marginalised groups: violence, freedom, equality, peace, solidarity, empowerment and challenging patriarchal norms. Each edition has brought new themes and voices, using art as a way to talk about issues that are often addressed only within activist spaces. 

As a member of the Kosovo Women’s Network, Artpolis has spent more than two decades building work that connects art with human rights, gender equality, the empowerment of women and young people and community dialogue. 

The organisation was founded in 2004 by theatre director and activist Zana Hoxha. Artpolis began with a clear idea: that art can be more than just a stage and a performance. It can be a way to talk about society, open up topics that often remain taboo and make people part of change. Today, the organisation describes its mission as building the cultural power of women and young people to become catalysts for social transformation. 

Artpolis works with young people across Kosovo, organising training sessions and theatre clubs, developing Theatre-Based Education and Forum Theatre methodologies, creating performances and opening spaces where young people can talk about the issues that concern them. 

Through Forum Theatre, the audience becomes part of the performance, discussing with the characters, questioning situations and proposing different ways of addressing them. In this way, the stage becomes a place where people can talk about violence against women, online violence, discrimination, prejudice, emotional control and many of the issues that affect everyday life. 

One example of this work is Prapa Ekranit, a Forum Theatre performance that has been presented in several cities across Kosovo during 2026. The performance addresses online abuse, emotional control, bullying and new forms of violence emerging in digital spaces. 

As a theatre director, Zana Hoxha has created and directed more than 20 theatre performances presented in Kosovo and various countries across the region, while extending her work to Europe, the US, the Middle East and North Africa. Before founding and developing Artpolis and FemArt, she was part of the artistic leadership of SKENA UP and served as Artistic Director of the Professional Theatre of Gjakova. 

In recent years, Artpolis has continued to expand the ways in which art can connect with the community. It has worked with schools, universities, young women and men artists, different communities and civil society organisations. 

Now, after more than two decades, Artpolis is taking another step. 

It is creating the Prishtina Cultural Station. 

The space, which is being built in the heart of Prishtina, is envisioned as a new home for art and the community, with a stage for performances, concerts and other events, a gallery for exhibitions, spaces for workshops and training, as well as shared spaces where people can meet. As the organisation has highlighted, an abandoned building is being brought back to life through a revitalisation process and transformed into a space where artists can create and the community can come together. 

However, to make the Station fully functional, Artpolis is currently raising €100,000. The funds will be used for theatre and technical equipment, lighting and sound equipment, gallery and exhibition equipment, as well as furniture and equipment for the shared community spaces. 

The aim is for the Cultural Station to open its doors on 25 September 2026, alongside the opening of the 14th edition of FemArt. 

For an organisation that has spent more than 20 years creating spaces for women, young people, artists and activists, this is an important step: it gives a permanent home to all the work that has taken place across stages, schools, squares, festivals and communities. 

Through this GoFundMe campaign, anyone who has the means and wishes to support Artpolis can make a donation. 

You can learn more about Artpolis’ work and activities on its official Facebook page. To support the organisation directly, you can also contact them by email at ojq.artpolis@gmail.com.