Blerta Ismaili is a cultural worker, sociologist, and program manager at Cultural Heritage Without Borders (CHwB) Kosovo, where she has led the Heritage Space program since 2018. As a Chevening Scholar, Blerta completed her Master’s degree in Cultural and Critical Studies at Birkbeck, University of London, focusing on the intersection of collective memory, historical documentation, and the critique of essentialist narratives, particularly within post-war Kosovo.

Her work focuses on facilitating interdisciplinary collaborations between artists, researchers, and cultural practitioners to challenge and reinterpret dominant narratives of heritage. Under her leadership, Heritage Space has developed into a platform that supports critical approaches to heritage-making, emphasizing the preservation of diverse and underrepresented histories. As a co-founder of PART (Punëtorët në Art), Blerta is also engaged in cultural policy activism, focusing on promoting inclusive and sustainable frameworks within the independent cultural sector in Kosovo.