First book and art festival announces winners

TIRANA, May 1 – A video installation by Armando Lulaj has been announced the winner of a visual arts competition held as part of the first book and art festival in Albania.
Lulaj was awarded the first prize for his “NEVER” work featuring the video documentation of an intervention on Mount Shpirag overlooking the southern city of Berat, switching the first two letters of the name “ENVER,” painted on the mountainside in 1968 in honour of the late dictator.
The literary Ardian Klosi award went to Ardian Vehbiu for his “Sende qe nxirrte deti” (Items the sea used to retrieve) making a reflection of Albanian culture in comparison to western countries.
Dozens of publishers from Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia are participating in a five-day book and art festival which opened on April 23, the World Book Day. The National Museum of History and the National Art Gallery were the main hosts of the first festival of this kind.
“The beautiful thing about this festival is that words and images come together,” said Culture Minister Mirela Kumbaro at the opening of the fair.
The Culture Ministry also launched the” One coffee, one book” initiative targeting to establish a map of literary caf고in Tirana.