2023 ARDHJE Award Finalists’ Exhibition

With artists: Eros Dibra, Xhulian Millaj, Elsamina Musiq and Abi Shehu

October 6, 2022 @ 18:30 – 21:00

@ZETA, Tiranë

2023 ARDHJE Award Winner will be announced during the opening of the exhibition, on October 6, 2022.

The international jury members are: Nathalie Anglès, the Executive Director and co-founder of Residency Unlimited (RU), (USA); Iro Katsaridou is an art historian, Director of the MOMus-Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, Thessaloniki (GR) and Miroslav Karić, curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade (SR).

The 2023 ARDHJE Award is supported by: The Trust for Mutual Understanding – New York;  YVVA – The Young Visual Artists Awards and Residency Unlimited – New York.

The exhibition of the finalists of the Ardhje Award 2023 will remain open until October 20, 2022.

Get to know with ARDHJE Award 2023 finalists!

XHULIAN MILLAJ (*1998, Shkodër, Albania). He studied painting and graphics at the Universtity of Shkodër and attended postgraduate studies in multimedia at the University of Arts in Tirana. Currently Lives and works in Shkoder.His work has been presented in group exhibitions: NEPOTIK Nr.4 (2022); Bregenz Biennale, Austria (2022); Kunst Kola; Over The Seas, Group Exhibition, Switzerland (2022); Fondacioni 17, Prishtinë, Kosovo (2021); Transition, Arka Youth Center (2021); Dedë Jakova Fanzine, Marubi National Museum of Photography (2021); Lifespan, Art House, Shkodër (2021); Visual Art Lab, Tulla Culture Center, Tiranë (2021); Shapes From Earth (workshop/exhibition), Civic Gallery of Arts, Shkodër, (2020); Salloni i Vjeshtës XIV, Civic Gallery of Arts, Shkodër (2020); Quarantine in Colors, Galeria Qahili, Prishtinë, (2020); The Day After Tomorrow, Civic Gallery of Arts, Shkodër (2020); Pritje, Civic Gallery of Arts, Shkodër (2019); Etiketa, Civic Gallery of Arts, Shkodër, (2019); I see gray, Civic Gallery of Arts, Shkodër (2018) among the others.

ABI SHEHU was born in 1993 in Lezha. She studied Photography at University of Applied Science Europe (BTK) Berlin, currently lives and works between Albania and Germany. Her work is condensed an esthetical research on the fundamental existential experiences, that create a portrait of humanness in contemporary societies: life rituals, memory, amnesia and death. Shehu’s work has been exhibited in Hauser & Wirth Menorca (2023); Manifesta 14 Prishtina (2022); Bazament Art Space, Tirana (2020-2021); Galeria e Bregdetit, Vlora (2019-2021); Bulbul, Berlin (2020); EMOP, Berlin (2020); ex-Kino Rinia, Pristina (2020); Das Gift, Berlin (2019); CLB, Berlin (2019); ArtHouse, Shkodra (2019); GlogauAir, Berlin (2018), among others.

ELSAMINA MUSIQ (*1998, Shkodër, Albania). She studied painting and graphic design at the University of Shkodra (2017-2020) and attended postgraduate studies in multimedia at the University of Art in Tirana (2020-2022). Currently she lives and works in Shkodra.Her work has been presented in group exhibitions: Take action for the climate, Sarajevo (2023); Secondary archive, Tirana Art Lab (2022); Biennale #NO, Oda Gallery, Shkodra (2022); Situated AIR, Artist In Residence, TICA (2021); Tulla visual art lab, Tulla Culture Center, Tirana (2021); Quarantine in colors, Qahili Gallery, Prishtina (2020); Tranzicioni, Arka Youth Center, Shkodra (2021); The day after tomorrow, Civil Gallery, Shkodra (2020); Format prej dheut, Civil Gallery, Shkodra (2020); Tabula-rasa (2020); AARGH, London – U (2020); Etiketa, Civil Gallery, Shkodra (2019); I see gray, Civil Gallery, Shkodra (2018), among the other.

EROS DIBRA (*1991, Shkodër, Albania). He studied at the University of Arts in Tirana (2009-2014). He currently lives and works in Tirana.His solo exhibitions include: “Escaping Space” Galeria Kalo (2022); “The Plagues – Die Wunden, Atelier am Eck, Germany (2016); “Burned sensations”, FAB Gallery, Tirana (2013); “Love at morgue”, video art-film “Epershtetshme”, Tirana (2011); “Welcome to Tirana, Epërshtatëshmja, Tirana (2009); “The Lost city”, “Marlin Baleti”, Shkodër (2008); “Whims of Age”, Shkodër (2007).His works have also been exhibited in collective exhibitions such as: “Color Coordination”, Tirana (2023); “Tirana on Canvas”, Galeria Kalo (2022); “Outdoor”, Magnet-Libeskind (2022); “Orelia, No Noise, No Title”, Shkodër Gallery (2021); “Dubai Art Expo-Surviving The Pandemic-Art Cannot be Locked Down”, Dubai (2021); “Building Bridges”, Italian Embassy (2020); “E.A.P”, Hansford and Sons, UK (2019); “Goodbye Balkans, Mauk”, Montenegro (2019); “AffortableArtAfair”, Milan Art Fair, Italy (2019); “Art Vancouver”, Contemporary Art Fair, Canada, US (2018); “Art Thessaloniki”, International Art Fair, Greece (2018); “World Bank – An Albanian Art spot”, Washington Dc, U.S (2017); “Legend of a Castel’, Place De Louvre, France (2018); “It looks like”, Zeta Contemporary Center, Tirana (2018).He has also been part of two residential programs such as: “Silence neighbors”, Belgrade. (2013); “The representation of Albanian Art in Dusseldorf”, organized by the Ministry of Culture (2016).