ARTiLERIA Sazan

The demilitarisation of an abandoned bunker island becomes fertile ground for creative settlements. Sazan is the only island of Albania, utilised primarily for strategic and military intentions throughout history. This approach towards the island reached its peak during the totalitarian communist regime, when Sazan became the vanguard bunker of Albania towards the west. Before being abandoned in 1991, the military and civilian infrastructure which hosted 1000 soldiers and 300 families was standing ready with a relentless eye, in order to protect Albania from a capitalist invasion from the west. Nonetheless that enemy never came, and the once glorious structures were slowly engulfed by the wild nature of the island, inhabited by few lonely soldiers mostly on the lookout for illegal trafficking routes.

ARTiLERIA Sazan is the reawakening of the island of Sazan as an experimental playground for design, architecture, and visual arts. How can decolonizing military infrastructure become the bridge of connection and dialogue between cultures scarred by conflict?

Project by:
Elian Stefa

Collaborators:
Anna Baranowski
Valentina Bonizzi
Helidon Gjergji
Ana Hoxhaj
Dritan Hyska
Giaime Meloni
Ioana Vreme Moser
Niku Alex Muçaj
Driton Selmani
Abi Shehu
Gerta Xhaferaj