Some 120 photos of 300 successful Albanians in the United States are displayed in the exhibition
TIRANA, May 11 – Photographer Roland Tasho has opened a photo exhibition at the National Museum of History in Tirana featuring the Albanian community living in the United States. The exhibition called “I Speak Albanian” was supported by the US embassy in Albania and the Ministry of Culture.
Some 120 photos of 300 successful Albanians in the United States are displayed in the exhibition which opened last Tuesday.
Tasho, who has also photographed Albanian immigrant communities in Italy, Greece and Switzerland, said the Albanians in the US were more successful, open and communicative.
“The community was well-organized. They had associations which really worked hard organizing different activities including book promotion and opening of exhibitions,” said Tasho.
Among the successful Albanian immigrants living in the America are also photos of writer Naum Prifti, photographer Fadil Berisha, director Sten Dragoti, actress Eliza Dushku, model Valbona Coba.
The exhibition also brings photos of successful ordinary people working as shopkeepers, barbers, policemen, but also students and professors.
The exhibition was also visited by US Ambassador John Withers and Culture Minister Ferdinand Xhaferaj.
Regretting that he doesn’t speak Albanian, ambassador Withers said he was proud of the famous and ordinary Albanians who have contributed to the development of the United States. According to Withers, more than 1 million Americans proudly call themselves American-Albanians.
The “I speak Albanian” exhibition will later travel to Boston, New York and Detroit where Tasho spend three months photographing his characters.
