Photography exhibition marks 25 years since KFOR deployment in Kosova

Wednesday, 10 December 2025 08:02

By David Murphy

An acclaimed photojournalism exhibition commemorating 25 years since the NATO-led KFOR mission in Kosova is coming to Rochdale next month.

Titled ‘KFOR and Kosova +25’, the exhibition will run from 16 January to 28 February 2026 at Number One Riverside in Rochdale town centre. It features over 50 images captured by renowned photographer Nick Sidle during the early days of the international peacekeeping operation.

The exhibition offers a rare visual record of the humanitarian and military efforts that followed the 1999 conflict, as well as personal stories from those affected, including Kosovan refugees who fled to Manchester. Some local veterans who took part in the peacekeeping mission will also be featured in the programme.

The collection, funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, was developed in partnership with the cultural organisation Heartstone. It has previously been displayed at prominent venues including the Tower of London, NATO HQ, the House of Commons, and the National Museum of Kosova in Pristina.

The exhibition will be officially opened on 15 January at 4pm by the Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Janet Emsley. Sita Kumari, Heartstone director and curator of the exhibition, will speak at the launch, offering insights into the stories behind the images and the process of gathering them during a pivotal period in European history.

KFOR, the NATO-led peacekeeping force, entered Kosova in 1999 under UN Security Council Resolution 1244, following a series of resolutions passed the previous year. The deployment was intended to halt violence and support the rebuilding of civil society after years of conflict.

Organisers say the exhibition is non-political and cultural in nature, intended to foster empathy and understanding through shared human experience. It invites visitors to explore themes of resilience, identity, and peacebuilding.

Councillor Emsley said: “Twenty-five years later, this story holds many lessons for our time in a world where many are living with conflict and the same issues of prejudice, intolerance and hate. It’s also a positive story, about human resilience and hope in extraordinary circumstances.”

Former NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, who was in office during the original deployment, has praised the exhibition. He said: “The armed forces who liberated Kosovo and the people they liberated are now remembered in a historic photodocumentary of real human interest.”

The Rochdale exhibition is part of the town’s calendar of cultural events for its year as Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture 2025–26. The status, awarded by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, celebrates the borough’s creativity, diversity and cultural heritage.

The project is being delivered by Rochdale Borough Council and Rochdale Development Agency with support from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Arts Council England.