Beats, Bites, and Belonging: Creating 'Home' Through the Senses

What if a bite or a beat could take you home? That’s the magic behind Beats & Bites, now bringing its soulful, sensory concept to Prishtina. Read the story from the founders themselves.

We at Suzanne Substack try to bring the best of Prishtina every week, even if we’re sometimes annoyed with the worst of Prishtina, from traffic to pollution. Which is why we love talking to visitors who see the best in us.

So, in a city where creative energy tries to come out in odd corners, streets and nooks, a Turkish duo behind Beats&Bites arrives in Prishtina with special edition. We announced it in our Monday Marks list of events (the event is tomorrow, April at 16 at Juliet of the Spirits, from 17:00-21:00), but now we’re doing a bit more in-depth discussion of WHAT exactly their mission is?

And what a mission it is! As heartfelt as it is sensory: to create home, wherever you are. Born from a “cosmic moment over martinis and music at Servis Fantazia”, this eclectic concept dreamed up by Ali Emre and Yasemin Tekgurler blends gastronomy, music, fashion and visual arts into immersive events that explore memory, identity, and belonging.

From Istanbul to Rio and now Prishtina, Beats & Bites invites communities to connect through the tastes, sounds, and sights that stir something deep and familiar—something that feels like ‘home’. We sat down with the duo to talk about the origins of the project, why Prishtina felt like the perfect next stop, and what to expect from this unique celebration of culture and connection.

Can you tell us a bit about your eclectic concept Beats & Bites. What does it entail?

In a very cosmic way, the idea actually first came to us at Servis Fantazia [Prishtina’s foremost audio bar]. It was our first trip to Prishtinë together, and Ali Emre was showing Yasemin his favorite spots in town. Servis had a Martini special and the olive Ali Emre tasted reminded him of his hometown in Edirne, and some of the beats in the DJ set reminded Yasemin of melodies from childhood, and then when we both turned to each other to share this, it sort of all clicked together; these moments of ‘home’ that find you when you least expect it.

Something we taste, something we smell, something we hear, it can all come together and remind you of ‘home’, of places we belong to, even when that belonging is shaky and complicated. Home is always complex, it can be very heavy, it can be very comforting; it can feel like a warm hug, it can bring nostalgia to moments lost, it can make you truly ‘feel’. With Beats&Bites, that’s what we had in mind; finding, creating, and sharing moments of home collectively, through sensory experiences that when come together can be so powerful. In our events, this is our focus; gathering stories and moments of home together by bringing artists together to collaborate on a multi-sensory journey for participants to also be a part of and contribute to.

In each event we have gastronomy, music, and visual arts mixed together. That way we bring all kinds of senses together from a special curated food and drinks menu by culinary artists and mixologists, to music selected by DJs that are culturally important and reminders of home, to various artists like fashion designers, ceramic artists, photographers, street artists, jewelry makers…any form of creativity that connects stories, memories, and culture in an experienceable form.

People get to experience the artists’ visions of ‘home’ while connecting it to their own and to each others’. They also get to share their own definitions of home and collaborate on art pieces that we set up, contributing to a growing global collection of “home” and “belonging”. Beyond an exhibition or a party, it is primarily an experience that aims to deepen our connections across the globe, create spaces of belonging for people, and bring new narratives to life to counter those that are supposed to polarize us. As two people who feel like eternal migrants at times, not sure where we fully belong, we try to create homes wherever we go, and Beats&Bites is part of that eternal journey.

Why Prishtina and how did you find ‘Juliet of the Spirits’ as a space?

Prishtinë had been sort of a home among many others for Ali Emre. He has a hair transplantation clinic here with other partners, and on and off he has been living here for over a year. Especially with the similarities to where he grew up in Turkey, in Edirne, in the Balkans, he felt a special closeness to the ~balkanism~ of his childhood. Sometimes even things he hears on the street are similar to some phrases in Keşan, even though our languages are different. When he brought Yasemin to visit, especially after getting to know the creative side of the city, the arts community, and the warm & close-knit vibes of the people we met, we really fell in love. There is something special about here that has been so inviting. While we wanted to host the first edition in Istanbul, a city both of us lived in, felt home in, and met in, we’ve had the Prishtinë edition in mind since the start.

Thanks to our friends Simon Kurti and Marianne Auffret, who loved the idea and got involved for this edition since our first conversations with them, we were able to realize that dream. Simon was the one to suggest we checkout Juliet and get in touch with Patrik, who turned out by some cosmic connection to be one of the owners of Servis, where the idea was bor —even we couldn’t believe that! Getting to meet him, Lindor, and Fisi, and see this beautiful space right at the heart of Prishtinë, bringing old and new together, we immediately felt like this was the spot. While it is very new, it feels like a restaurant that brings various sub-cultures of Prishtinë together. The cherry on top was Patrik offering us to use Servis as the after-party spot, making our original dream come true.

What can the audience expect for your Prishtina gig?

First and foremost, just like our previous two editions, one in Istanbul, the other in Rio de Janeiro, and a smaller one in Petropolis in partnership with Iniciativas de Mudança Brasil, you can expect the warm comfort and surprise of home. We hope to create a space where there is something for everyone to feel connected with and remember ‘home’, to find moments of nostalgia, to connect with others through that shared feeling, to taste something that brings them to childhood, to see a piece of art that inspires them within their own culture, to leave the event with a deepened connection both to their own thoughts on home and to the broader community’s.

It can be rare to find moments where one can slow down and question where they belong, what home means to them, and where their roots can be connected to others’; so we invite people to have this in mind when sharing this beautiful evening with us. In this edition, we will make both Juliet and Servis a home, with the first part focusing on gastronomy and exhibition and second part to music.

At Juliet, they can expect a special event menu with food, pastries, and drinks; each with their own twists and surprises, designed specially for Beats&Bites by ‘artists’ Lindor, Mari, and Fisi who had ‘home’ in mind when curating each bite and sip for us. At the same time, they can expect an exhibition of local artists showcasing projects that fit to the idea of home, that explore topics of belonging and childhood, that welcome us to see the world from their eyes and memories. We feature each artist on our instagram page @beats.x.bites, and share snippets of their stories there before starting our YouTube interview series where we will share deeper conversations around home and belonging, and their art careers and visions. After Juliet, we will move to Servis to experience DJ Erleta Kadrija's ‘beats’ of home, inspired by her own various adventures and homes. In each place, we will have moments to co-create where we welcome all participants to draw, write, depict their own understanding of home, and connect to each other.

What's your favorite thing about Prishtina so far?

Definitely the close community, especially in the creative field. Thanks to Simon and Mari, we started our Prishtinë adventure jumping around from one event to the next, each bringing us new perspectives, new inspirations, new learning moments. As creative spirits who love exposure to culture, to arts, to new experiences, it has been so fulfilling. This city has such a vibrant creative scene.

From the launch of Balkanism magazine at Project Space Sekhmet, to opening of Dyvolab, from various exhibitions of Galeria 17 to the new space of StoryLab Kosovo, from events at Hajde Foundation to various music performances all across the city, we’ve experienced an incredible array of creativity. And in each place, we got to meet new artists, new creative spirits, new people who now became part of our ‘home’. We really loved this community aspect of this city, and feel lucky to get to be part of the creative cultural scene by bringing Beats&Bites to Prishtinë.

The city is a bit chaotic but also dynamic, how does it compare to your previous experiences?

We honestly love the chaos and dynamism of the city, it gives us the energy and inspiration to dive deeper into the art scene. In the previous versions, we were also in quite large, chaotic, and dynamic cities, each with its own challenges. In both Istanbul and Rio de Janeiro, we had about 2 weeks to fully organize the event, secure the venue, bring the artists, advertise and bring people together. They were both more successful, wholesome, creative, and chaotic in a beautiful way, than we had expected, for which we are so grateful to all our incredible collaborators, who are now dear friends.

For Prishtinë edition, we had more time, and more connections to start with, which allowed for more artists to be involved. The main challenge we thought of was to find the right time among many beautiful creative events, and for that I think we found a good moment, and collaborating with artists across many areas and sub-cultures of the city. It is actually beautiful to see that in such a close-knit community, we were able to bring together artists who haven’t met each other before, who can now think of future collaborations and expand their own networks. We really love bringing people together, and doing it in the midst of such creative chaos shows how open, welcoming, and dynamic Prishtinë is.

We can’t wait for tomorrow and to create a ‘home’ all together.