Sounding Art Histories, An Albanian Perspective, sound installation as part of The Urgent (artist) Atelier presentation, Bulevard Art & Media Institute, Tirana, 2024

In conjunction with the presentation of The Urgent (artist) Atelier at Bulevard Art & Media Institute, the exhibition also featured Sounding Art Histories, an Albanian Perspective, a two-part audio series in English and Albanian, developed in conjunction with the Albanian Handbook for Art and Education, an open access collective research exploring the theme of art and education in Albania. The series is curated by Valentina Bonizzi, edited together with Jonida Gashi and produced with Max Parnell.

Written by a collective of researchers working within or in relation to Albanian Art Institutions – Drs Jonida Gashi, Ermir Hoxha, Raino Isto and Ylber Marku, the ‘histories’ presented here are envisioned as plural, in an effort to overcome the predominance of any single narrative or perspective, and to offer the ground from which a plethora of critical viewpoints can emerge.

Tracing a narrative that is still only partially accessible and complex to untangle, the series documents Albanian art history from 1920 until 1989, read by young Albanian artists and students.

The timeline shows the development of art institutions, including significant individuals and ateliers, intertwined with historical information that further contextualizes the people, places and events that feature in these narratives. Taken together, these elements demonstrate the multiple transformative approaches that we–as artists, researchers and writers–can take towards understanding the shifting character of Albanian Art Institutions.

Curated by Valentina Bonizzi 

Photography by Nadia Abazi @nadiaabazi

Exhibition 3-D mapping by @polynominal

Sounding Art Histories, an Albanian Perspective