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    Young Kosovo artists display artwork at Camp Bondsteel

    Young Kosovo artists display artwork at Camp Bondsteel By Staff Sgt. Tawny Schmit – Regional

    Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Tawny Kruse | Col. Eric Soults, deputy commander of Regional Command-East, Kosovo Force, is...... read more read more

    CAMP BONDSTEEL, KOSOVO

    04.30.2021

    Story by Staff Sgt. Tawny Kruse 

    KFOR Regional Command East

    CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo—Young artists from the Ferizaj/Urosevac municipality in Kosovo displayed their artwork in a small exhibition at Camp Bondsteel on April 24, 2021. U.S. Soldiers assigned to Regional Command-East, Kosovo Force, viewed the paintings and spoke with the artists about their work.

    KFOR’s Kilo 21 Liaison Monitoring Team and leadership with the Ferizaj/Urosevac Art and Mural Festival Association worked together to make the event happen.

    “Kilo 21 is very involved with our municipality,” said 1st Lt. Jacob Bruggeman, officer in charge of K21. “We try to find any sort of philanthropic events we can assist with. In this case, we all thought bringing the event on to Camp Bondsteel would be beneficial to bridge the gap between Kosovo culture and Soldiers stationed at the base.”

    Lebibe Topalli, executive director of the association, hopes the event is only the beginning of a long cooperation between the organization and KFOR. One of their primary goals is to exchange cultural experiences between Soldiers and artists.

    “Art is special, it’s like therapy,” said Topalli. “For my generation, it wasn’t easy to study art. So based on my experiences and the difficulties I had, I’m trying to help these young artists now so they can practice it more easily and use their talents.”

    The students were energetic and happy to represent their communities at the display, and Bruggeman said seeing the Soldiers’ reactions to their artistic capabilities was rewarding.

    Topalli also presented Col. Eric Soults, deputy commander of RC-E, with a black and white painting featuring a Soldier reuniting with their child as a token of appreciation and long-lasting partnership.

    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 04.30.2021
    Date Posted: 04.30.2021 10:19
    Story ID: 395244
    Location: CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ

    Web Views: 168
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN