Bashkë Urban Art

An open-air museum in the Arbëreshë village

In Piana degli Albanesi, in the province of Palermo, the Bashkë Urban Art festival has brought to life one of the most original urban art projects in Sicily. Born in 2023 from the Bashkë Cultural Association in collaboration with the local municipality, the event chose the Sheshi district—the historic core of the town—as its stage, gradually transforming it into an authentic open-air museum featuring murals, iron sculptures, and rock carvings.

The word bashkë in the Arbëreshë language means "together": a name that encapsulates the entire essence of the project, which is to reunite the community around its own identity through art. Piana degli Albanesi, founded in 1488 by Albanian refugees fleeing the Ottoman advance, is one of the most important Arbëreshë communities in Italy, with a language, a Greek-Byzantine rite, and traditions that are still very much alive.

Urban art telling the story of a minority

The works created over the years tell the story, symbols, and spirituality of the Arbëreshë community. Among the works that have made Sheshi famous are "Il Dono" by Andrea Buglisi, inspired by traditional local goldsmithing, and "San Giorgio: il Trionfo della Luce" by Igor Scalisi Palminteri, with its references to golden filigree. Artists such as Angelo Crazyone, Mirko Loste, Daniele Paternostro, and Sergio La Barbera have also left their mark.

More than just a mural festival

Bashkë Urban Art is not just about mural painting: during the festival days, the district comes alive with exhibitions, musical performances, theatrical shows, creative workshops for children (the Bashkelab Junior), talks, and tastings of local products. The goal stated by the organizers is not to create isolated events, but to build shared experiences capable of bringing life back to a district that had been suffering from depopulation.

A neighborhood reborn

According to those leading the project, the impact on Sheshi is tangible: young people are returning to gather in the streets, residents are socializing in open spaces, and visitors are frequenting the village cafes. "Today, the district has returned to being a place that attracts people," the organizers explain. Bashkë Urban Art has thus become a model of how contemporary art can serve as a tool for protecting and relaunching a cultural minority, reaching far beyond the borders of Piana degli Albanesi and Sicily.