It will be a pre-gathering of the energies before we hit the fun at Vooscoop Open Air Festival Water Element-Fourth Edition that will be on the 24-27 July in Voskopoja’s best nature location.
Dj’s performing tonight:
Space Rock – Dreamgarden APC – Alb Adee ૐ Jay – Dreamgarden APC – Alb
Pipi – Dreamgarden APC – Alb
and with participation of two honored guests:
Elastik/Astraveta – Psyks & Phototropic Records – Ks
Balliou – Harmonia Records – Greece
For the first time ever, Rudina Pema is presenting her paintings to the Albanian public in a solo exhibition. We’re proud to host this special occasion!
Exhibition opening Monday, 24/02/2014, 18.00
– on display until March 7th.
Warm welcome!
On occasion of the International Day of Commemoration of the Victims of the Holocaust (January 27th) the NGO Roma Active Albania (RAA), based in Tirana, presents Shiko dhe Mos Harro, an exhibition on the remembrance of the Roma Genocide convicted by the Nazis during the World War II.
In August 2013 young Roma and Non-Roma from all over Europe came together to commemorate the day of the liquidation of the “Zigeunerlager” in Auschwitz in 1944. During four days they were gathering in workshops and discussion rounds to learn about this widely unknown part of the Holocaust and to work on an active culture of remembrance to fight antigypsyism, racism, hate speech and extremism in Europe.
RAA wants to share this experience and promote the recognition of the Roma Genocide in a wider public in Albania. After the opening of the exhibition there will be a screening of the documentary movie “A People Uncounted” to give more insight to the topic of Roma Genocide in general.
Roma Active Albania in Cooperation with Tirana Ekspres.
Photographs by Arnold Pöschl & Hans Hochstöger (Austria) – Opening Saturday, 25th January, 18.00 @ Tirana Ekspres! On display until February 6th 2014!
It were mostly young people who occupied Gezi Park in Istanbul and went to the streets to fight for their rights. They risked getting injured, beaten up, jailed, or even killed.
Who are they?
With their work, the artists want to give those protesters a face, and tell their story. They want to get them out of anonymity.
!!! Don’t miss the ARTIST TALK on Friday 25th January at the Opening !!!
About the artists:
*Arnold Pöschl, born 1981 in Klagenfurt, Austria. Focus on Portrait Photography, working for Magazines, Agencies and publishing companies.
*Hans Hochstöger, born 1982 in Melk, Austria. Since 2010 working as a photographer for international and Austrian magazines and corporations. Hans is based in Vienna, and does work frequently in IStanbul. He loves to photograph human beeings.
Arnold and Hans got to know each other while studying photography in Vienna.
View photo gallery of the opening. Photos by Arnold Pöschl & Dori Lyla:
Exhibition opening ‘NYMPHAE’ by Parid Dule, January 6th 2014, 18.00 @ Tirana Ekspres! On display unti January 21st!
Parid Dule finished the Academy of Fine Arts in Tirana in 1994. His creative artistic work begins in 1979 with a series of exhibitions of different genres and techniques, in- and outside the country.
He is opening the cycle of exhibitions of the New Year 2014 and will display his unique nudes to art lovers for the first time at Tirana Ekspres.
Nymphs, the main subject of this series of works, are embodied through color, motives and their fragilities. In this exhibition the viewer will perceive the sensitivity of the artist that reveals us another aspect of womanhood. The artist truly exposes the beauty and privacy of his characters by exploring their interior.
Saturday, 20th December is dedicated to “Thejmura”, an initiative of young Albanian artists with the aim of promoting and including Albanian artists that live as emigrants in different Balkan regions.
14:00 Photo Exhibition Opening with works by Bujanoci Flutura Aliu
15:00 Screening of two short films: “Në rrugë” by Gazmend Idrisi & “Zakonisht” by Kastriot Saqipiin -in the presence of the directors.
17:00 Presentation of the project “Thejmura” by the project organizers
20:00 Live performance by Donika Nuhiu & Leart Hajrullahut, Afterparty with DJAYJAY
Exhibition opening on monday, 16th December 18.00 @ Tirana Ekspres (exhibition is on display at Stacioni No. 1 until December 26th):
“Seven” is a photo exhibition produced with photos inspired by womanhood in Albania. More
than 30 photographer responded to call to submit photos and 15 of those were selected for the
participation in the exhibition named simply “Seven”.
A first part of the photos were exhibited during the performance of “Seven” in Tirana, on
November the 8th, 2013.
In no way this exhibition pretends to portray all the variety of women realities in Albania, it is a
modest collection of some of these realities. Hoping to inspire other’s attention at them!
At the opening ceremony will be distributed prizes for the three best photos.
This exhibition is part of Seven on Tour www.sevenwomen.se/en, Fb: Seven on Tour and it is
organized by Center for Legal Civic Initiatives, Swedish Embassy in Tirana, Civil Rights Defenders
and Hedda Production AB with the support of Swedish Institute – “SEVEN” is a groundbreaking
documentary play based on interviews with seven women’s rights activists from around the
world, whose difficult life stories and struggle are a source of inspiration.
You are welcome to join us at the launch or any of the days when the exhibition will stay open!
Seven partners in Albania.
Take part in a photo competition with Alliance Francaise, deadline is December 15th 2013!! Find more infos below:
Fondacioni i Aleancës Franceze të Parisit dhe Aleancat Franceze të Shqipërisë organizojnë një konkurs fotografie të titulluar « Të luajmë në Tokë ». Qëllimi i këtij konkursi është të prezantojë lojrat në funksionet e tyre të larmishme shoqërore dhe kulturore (lojrat shoqëerore pra që luhen nga shumë persona : letra, mos u nxeh, etj.; lojra me lekë si monopoli etj.; lojra video, lojra në natyrë, lojra fëmijësh, gara sportive etj.).
Ju mund të na dërgoni fotot tuaja deri më 15 dhjetor 2013. Pas vlerësimit të krijmtarive tuaja nga një juri profesionale, fituesi ose fituesja ka mundësinë ë fitojë një udhëtim në Paris dhe çmime të tjera gjithashtu. Çdo fotograf pjesmarrës duhet të paraqesë 2 foto.
Regjistrohuni pranë Aleancës Franceze të Tiranës ose me anë të e-mailit : [email protected]
La Fondation Alliance Française à Paris et les Alliances Françaises d’Albanie organisent un concours de photographie intitulé « On joue sur la Terre ». L’objectif de ce concours est de montrer les jeux dans leurs multiples fonctions sociales et culturelles (jeux de société, jeux d’argent, jeux vidéo, jeux de plein air, jeux d’enfants, compétitions sportives etc.).
Vous pouvez nous envoyer vos photos jusqu’au 15 décembre 2013. Après l’évaluation de vos créations par un jury professionnel, le/la gagnant/e a la possibilité de gagner un voyage à Paris ainsi que de nombreux autres lots. Chaque photographe participant doit présenter 2 photos.
Inscrivez-vous auprès de l’Alliance Française de Tirana ou via mél : [email protected]
Converscene is a project from Niku Aleks Muçaj on refunctionalisation of one of the most relevant symbols of the socialist realism, the bunker. He has build an installation on the outdoor concert space an will showcase it this Saturday, June 02 at 21h00. You will learn more about it during the event. Until then, please read the info below.
Converscene/Konverkene introduction
The fall of the regime in 1991 presented an unprecedented conundrum for the Albanian territory. Land which was confiscated by the Albanian Labor Party following the Liberation of Albania was being returned to their original owners with a massive amount of foreign objects built by the regime, and placed regularly and ubiquitously: the bunkers. These defense structure, built under the clause of national defense were a reflection of the paranoia, populist militarization efforts, and xenophobic policies which became the core of Party doctrine. With estimates which vary from 500,000 to 1 million bunkers built between 1967 and 1986, the actual number, cost, and localization strategies of the bunkers remain just educated guesses due to the regime’s tight control over information, and the post-regime’s lack of interest in this section of albanian history. What is clear is that Albania was prepared for a land invasion, it’s just that no one bothered to come…
The transitionary 90’s presented Albania to the international community after 45 years of isolation, and left any supposed threat of military altercations in the past. The bunkers quickly transformed from our land’s armor into stubborn relics of a painful past, without any clear purpose or meaning. Their cost (estimated to be equivalent to an apartment during Hoxha’s rule) built a subtle resentment in the minds of albanians, but their weight and rigidity prevented them from being removed or destroyed. So there they stayed, where they were placed, covered by vegetation and slowly sinking into the ground. The bunkers were transforming into a natural part of the landscape, both physically and metaphysically.
During this period of massive informal territorial transformation, appropriation became the default process. It’s better to say sorry and pay a kafe than ask for permission. Part of this zeitgeist was also the independent ad-hoc transformation of a limited and scattered number of bunkers. A shoe smith’s workshop here, a chicken coop there, a depo a little further down, a restaurant inside a larger “Pikë Zjarri”, and so on. These isolated cases were gradually becoming more prevalent, also fueled by tourists’ curiosity and surprise. The bunker transformations became more lucrative in nature, and more visible in the landscape.
The Concrete Mushrooms project, presented at the Politecnico di Milano in 2009, was the first formal effort to research and explain the bunkers at the national and international stage; with the aim of raising awareness and revitalizing the structures with a holistic project in the context of tourism. Initiated as a humble academic research, the project took a life of its own with the creation of a website which hosted elements from the project. Responses were categorically positive and unexpectedly numerous by both Albanians and foreigners– something which for the team translated into a clear indicator of the potential these bunkers hold, and also that we were not the only ones to believe so; therefore the project was determined to remain conceptually as a set of instructions and a platform for debate and bunker-related creativity.
Mucaj’s ‘Converscene/Konverskene’ installation at Tirana Ekspres presents the first realized transformation project done following a collaborative research and a formal project. The scene, installed in the outdoor space of Tirana Ekspres, overthrows three “Qëndër Zjarri” bunkers’ domes to create a new open air scene for the gallery. The stage is a new platform for all artistic expression and is inherently a powerful base for bringing up issues such as isolation, collective memory, and identity. Thus, the stage can be understood also as an agora– a public space where the appropriation and democratization process is happening physically. The purposeful deconstruction of the “concrete mushrooms” – the bunkers – and their transformation into a multi-modular stage shall be a symbol for the social transformation: the necessity for Albanian society to go through a similar process – from bunkers to stages.
Other bunker related documentation, research, and projects, such as Violana Murataj’s research “The Bunkers”, Martijn Payens’ documentary “Mushrooms of Concrete”, Olia Miho’s intervention “Cathedrals”, Alicja Dobrucka’s photoessay “Pillboxes”, and David Galjaard’s photo-book “Concresco”, define clearly an increasing realization of the impact and interest that these bunkers hold. This appears to be only the beginning for Albania’s forgotten bunkers.
Tirana Ekspres in collaboration with Tirana Institute for Contemporary Art (T.I.C.A) will host today the final exhibition of the programme artists in residence. The works of the following artists will be showcased:
Vahida RAMUJKIC from Serbia
Armando LULAJ from Albania
Astrit ISMAILI from Kosova
Following up a DJ SET by MiniMim. Don’t miss out!Tirana Ekspres in collaboration with Tirana Institute for Contemporary Art (T.I.C.A) will host today the final exhibition of the programme artists in residence. The works of the following artists will be showcased:
Saturday, 29th March 2014, 22.30: Tirana Ekspres (The alternative art space of Tirana) will open its doors to the Dreamgarden APC (Albanian Psychedelic Community) for the Psychedelic Spring edition 2014.
