Exchanges – photo exhibition

TIRANA, Oct. 22 – “Exchanges” is the natural title of the photo exhibition of nine photographers from throughout the West Balkans on display at the National Gallery in Tirana. It is a unique opportunity to see the Balkans region from the artistic and diverse point of view of young photographers who have chosen different topical angles to represent their ideas about the contested West Balkans. Social developments, demographic realities and historical consequences are all topics their cameras focus on.
The concept of the project, brought to life by David Steets of Germany, was to portray the vital Balkans reality from many points of view. Participants come from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia and their photos are the final products of a workshop.
Armend Nirmani from Kosovo uses his camera to capture daily life with a series called, “Consequences Of War”; Tomislav Georgiev from Macedonia presents the cycle of politics and people with, “Independence Movement in Kosovo”; Ermal Ko詬 from Albania, examines border disputes in his presentation, “Border Studies” while Jasmin Brutus from Bosnia – Herzegovina sums up impressions as seen from the potential eyes of her father in an exhibition titled, “Tirana For My Father”. Ferdi Limani from Kosovo displays his series, called “De-Naturalization,” in which he maps the human activity that has harmed the environment and resources as seen through photos of the Kosovo landscape. Igor Pacevic from Serbia has an interesting mix of photos entitled, “The End Of Southern Serbia”. Fisnik Dobrecin, from Kosovo, portrays the Roma communities. Soela Zani, an Albanian, has focused on bridges, the interlocutors of communication, dialogue and exchange which in the Balkans have a very special history. Finally, Mahir Vranac from Bosnia displays photos of the revolution in popular music called “Turbo Folk”. (Tirana Times Staff)