Initially created as a temporary public artwork for Manifesta 14 in Prishtina, When the Sun Goes Away, We Paint the Sky is now a permanent installation donated by Petrit Halilaj to the city. The work activates the rooftop and façade of the Grand Hotel Prishtina with new signage and multiple stars. These stars spread across the building and beyond, creating a collective sky that traces back to a young girl’s dreams. Inspired by the 2014 essay of 12-year-old Prishtina resident, Njomza Vitia, the project reclaims communal space for desire across time.The constellations in the installation draw from diverse cultural myths and traditions, symbolizing guidance, connection, and our place in the universe. Halilaj’s work questions the conflicting meanings of the five-pointed star – used in both ideals of freedom and in oppressive systems – highlighting life’s contradictions and the role of the sun, as the force that sustains life. In relation to the Art Encounters Biennial’s explorations, When the Sun Goes Away, We Paint the Sky resonates with Timișoara’s complex history, reflecting on how collective memory and identity are continually shaped by both past traumas and future hopes. Halilaj’s installation, with its dynamic constellation of stars, becomes a metaphysical space where the past and present collide, amplifying the struggles of migration, oppression, and desire for freedom, that echo not only through cities but across time, inviting viewers to confront the unresolved fractures across both local and global histories.