French-Albanian artist Anri Sala who in late 2014 was announced the winner of high-profile European contemporary art prize Vincent Award 2014 in the Netherlands and Adrian Paci, a contemporary artist who represented Albania at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale 2014, will be this year’s special guests
TIRANA, April 30 – Book, art, architecture, film and music events will revive cultural life in Tirana for one week in the second edition of the contemporary Book and Art festival.
“Tirana Open 1, the Festival of Books and Art is an invitation to spread the word that Tirana is an urban square with no cultural barriers, but only porous borders of cultural affinity. Inviting international cultural institutions to participate in this event, we hope that local institutions and Tirana citizens will feel somehow like visitors in their own town and make visitors feel like Tirana citizens. This is not a dress rehearsal but tangible reality,” organizers say.
“Reflecting a city which is at the same time an ancient Roman center, post-Ottoman and archetype of the Novecento Italiano art movement, the utopia fascist dream, an example of Stalinist brutality and lastly a model of a run in contemporary (not) architectural amok, Tirana Open researches into its co-citizens as in a live lab of hybrid culture and an alternative model for urban development and the commitment of the audience,” says the Culture Ministry.
Internationally renowned Albanian artists Anri Sala and Adrian Paci will be the special guests of this year’s second edition of the book and visual arts festival, organizers have confirmed.
Publisher Arlinda Dudaj, who is organizing the event, says French-Albanian artist Anri Sala who in late 2014 was announced the winner of high-profile European contemporary art prize Vincent Award 2014 in the Netherlands and Adrian Paci, a contemporary artist who represented Albania at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale 2014, have confirmed their participation.
This year’s second edition of the festival will be held under the Tirana Open motto from May 6 to 10, at the Palace of Congresses, the main venue of the festival but also at the National Arts Gallery and the FAB gallery of the University of Arts, featuring a book fair, visual arts, music and architecture events.
“The beautiful thing about this festival is that words and images come together,” said Culture Minister Mirela Kumbaro in last year’s inaugural event which also launched the “One coffee, one book” initiative targeting to establish a map of literary cafés in Tirana, where the Tirana Times Book House is already a member.
In the first book and art festival, a video installation by Armando Lulaj was announced the winner of a visual arts competition. Lulaj was awarded the Danish Jukni 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 expected to participate in the book fair.
