Late dictator’s residence to turn into art space

TIRANA, April 1 – A forbidden place under communism but even during the past two decades of the transition to democracy, the villa of late dictator Enver Hoxha turned into a contemporary art space this week when several artists performed in an “Iron Curtain” multidisciplinary event of dance performances, installations and videoart.
“The event is conceived as an individual process by artists in relation to the past, the memory and the present in a space which brings together all perceptions in a single and personal moment which artists want to share with the public,” organizers said.
Visitors watched the performance through a video wall installed in the villa’s yard in the Bllok area, downtown Tirana once the residence of the country’s communist elite, but one of the most popular sites of youth entertainment in the past two decades.
The Culture Ministry has proposed using the villa of the ex-dictator as an art residence for experimental art.