About Us | KomshiLOOK

The KomshiLOOK Model

KomshiLOOK is a model for creating culture together with the people who live in a place.

Instead of bringing an audience to a traditional cultural venue, we start with the neighbourhood itself. Homes, balconies, courtyards, staircases, streets and local meeting points become part of the artistic process.

Neighbours are not only invited to attend. They can host, propose ideas, share stories, open their homes, cook, perform, help shape the programme or simply introduce us to the place.

Artists enter this existing network of people, architecture, memories and everyday life. The final work grows from these relationships.

The result is different in every place, because every neighbourhood already has its own people, rhythm and character.

Komshilook works through 4 steps:

1. We enter and listen

We spend time in the place, meet people and understand how the neighbourhood works.

2. We build relationships

Residents gradually become hosts, collaborators and co-creators.

3. We create together

Artists develop works in response to the people, stories and spaces they encounter.

4. We open the neighbourhood

For several hours, everyday spaces become a shared cultural landscape for residents and visitors.

Meaning of the word

Komšiluk is a Balkan idea of neighbourhood built on relationships.

It is the relationship between the people who live next to each other. Knowing who is behind the next door. Borrowing something. Sharing news. Helping. Watching out for each other. Sometimes arguing. Sometimes not speaking at all.

KomshiLOOK takes this everyday social value and transforms it into a cultural model.

Komšiluk has no exact translation in English. “Neighbourhood” usually describes an area on a map. Komšiluk describes the people and relationships within the small area immediately around you: the family next door, the people in your entrance, the neighbour across the balcony, the person you borrow something from, greet every morning, argue with, help, or simply know is there. It is a small social unit created by living close to one another.

We work with artists and residents to create art from the relationships, stories, routines and spaces that already exist in a place. Apartments, balconies, courtyards, staircases, streets and gardens can become stages, while neighbours can become hosts, collaborators, storytellers, performers or co-creators.

We do this because we believe the relationship with the person closest to us matters. If we can become more curious, open and responsible toward the people around us, we can also become more connected to the wider community we are part of.

A good society can start with a good neighbour.

Impact

We started testing the KomshiLOOK model in 2024, usually working with communities of up to around 300 residents, or roughly 150 apartments, houses or yards. Since then, we have tested it in different neighbourhoods, buildings and villages.

The impact is visible in several ways. People become more proud of where they live. Spaces that were previously ordinary, neglected or simply ignored start to feel valuable because they are being prepared, shared and seen by others. Neighbours communicate more, meet people they did not know before and find new reasons to help each other. Residents move from being an audience to taking an active role as hosts, storytellers, performers, organisers and co-creators.

At the same time, the neighbourhood itself becomes more visible. Visitors enter places they would normally never visit, local stories and knowledge gain value, and culture is created outside traditional cultural institutions.

For us, the impact is clear: stronger relationships between neighbours, greater pride and care for the place, more active local participation, and new cultural life in places that are often overlooked.

The KomshiLOOK Model

Komshilook works through 4 steps:

​1. We enter and listen

​2. We build relationships