Tirana
Open 1 presents the first of its kind
initiative in the Balkans, bringing together under one umbrella an
unprecedented array of Albanian and International cultural
institutions presenting a rich multi-disciplinary program of
exhibitions, events, and public interventions.
Reflecting
on a city that is at once an old Roman center, Ottoman outpost,
Italian Novecento archetype, Fascist utopian dream, an example of
Stalinist brutalism, and finally, a model of contemporary (non)
architecture run amok, Tirana
Open 1 explores its locale as a vibrant
lab of cultural hybridity and an alternative model for urban
development and audience engagement.
“Tirana
Open 1 is an invitation to a
pass-the-word that Tirana is the urban square that has no cultural
barriers, but only porous borders of cultural belonging” says
festival co- director Helidon Gjergji. “By inviting international
cultural institutions to participate in this city-wide happening, we
hope to make the local institutions and citizens of Tirana feel a bit
like visitors in their own city, and to make visitors feel like
citizens of Tirana. This is not a role play, but a playful reality.”
Kostis
Velonis, How One Can Think Freely in the Shadow of a Temple, 2008,
Video Mod HD, Duration : 2'45''
Pamur,
the festival’s contemporary arts section, presents a special guest
project by celebrated artist William
Kentridge (South
Africa), alongside a a juried competition of video art by prominent
international and local artists, including Yuri
Ancarani (Fondazione
Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Torino), Olivo
Barbieri (MAXII,
Rome), Henry Chapman
(T293 Gallery, Naples), Donika
Cina (Galeria
e Vogël, Tirana), Alberto Di
Fabio (Gagosian
Gallery, London), Nathalie
Djurberg (Museo
Pascali, Polignano a Mare, DZT
Collective (Stefano
Romano & Eri Çobo) TICA
(Tirana Institute of Contemporary Art,
Tirana), Yllka Gjollesha
(Zeta Gallery, Tirana), Elis
Gjoni (Art
Kontakt, Tirana), Felix Gmelin
(Stacion - Center for Contemporary
Art, Prishtina), Ibro Hasanovic
(Tirana Art Lab, Tirana), Aurora
Kalemi (Zenit
Gallery, Tirana), Santiago
Mostyn (Moderna Museet, Malmö),
Alban Muja (Tulla
Culture Center, Tirana), Marzena
Nowak (Galerija
Gregor Podnar, Berlin), Matilda
Odobashi (FAB,
Tirana), Anri Sala
(Hauser & Wirth Gallery, Zurich),
Sissi (MAM
Foundation, Tirana), Cauleen
Smith (Museum
of Contemporary Art, Chicago), Stefanos
Tsivopoulos (Thessaloniki
Center of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki), The
Two Gullivers (Flutura Preka &
Besnik Haxhillari) MAI
(Marina Abramovic Institute, Hudson,
New York), Nasan Tur
(Blain/Southern Gallery, London), Nico
Vascellari (The
National Gallery of Arts, Tirana), Kostis
Velonis (Kunsthalle
Athena, Athens), Driant Zeneli
(Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella).
Granting an award named after the renown Albanian artist Danish
Jukniu, competition jury includes
Edoardo Bonaspetti (Mousse
Magazine), Cathryn Drake
(Artforum & Frieze Magazine), and
Michele Robecchi
(Phaidon). Artist Adrian
Paci (Shkodër/Milano)
will be delivering a featured artist talk.
Tirana
Open 1 Directors: Arlinda
Dudaj, Helidon
Gjergji & Vladimir
Myrtezai- Grosha. Tirana
Open 1 is organized by Tirana Open,
under the auspices of Edi Rama,
Prime Minister, and the Ministry of Culture, Republic of Albania.
6-13 May 2015
