Alban Muja

Kosovan visual artist

Alban Muja (born 10 September 1980) is a Kosovan contemporary artist and film-maker.^[1] In 2019 he represented Kosovo at the 58th Venice Biennale.^[2] In his work he is mostly influenced by the social, political and economical transformation processes in wider surrounding region, he investigates history and socio-political themes and links them to his position in Kosovo today. His works cover a wide range of media including video installation, films, drawings, paintings, photographs and performance which have been exhibited extensively in various exhibitions and festivals.

Exhibitions (selection)

2023 - 'Above Everyone’ Charim Gallery, Vienna, Austria^[3]
2023 - 'Bodies of Identities’ Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain, Luxembourg, Luxembourg^[4]
2023 - '4th Autostrada Biennale', Prizren, Prishtina Mitrovica, Kosovo^[5]
2022 - ‘Urban Text : This Space Called Balkans’ , Institut Cultures Islam, Paris, France^[6]
2022 - ' Manifesta 14', Pishtina, Prishtina, Kosovo^[7]
2022 - 'Hot Mess', Kühlhaus, Berlin, Germany^[8]
2021 - 'Beyond Borders', Center for Contemporary Arts, Celje, Slovenia^[9]
2021 - 'Whatever Happens, We Will Be Prepared', The National Gallery of Kosovo, Prishtina, Kosovo^[10]
2021 -'In spite of everything, there is a wall' Charim Gallery, Vienna, Austria,^[11]
2021 - 'Family Album' ISCP, New York,^[12]
2021 - 3rd Autostrada Biennale - What If a Journey..., Prizren, Kosovo^[13]
2021 - 'Bigger Than Myself: Heroic Voices from Ex-Yugoslavia' Maxxi Museum Rome, Italy^[14]
2020 – 3rd Industrial Art Biennial 'Ride Into the Sun' Rijeka, Croatia^[15]
2020 – Curated by 20 'HYBRID Unknown Identities' Galerie Raum mit Light, Vienna, Austria
2020 – Family Album, Ludwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary^[16]
2019 – 58th. Venice Biennale - May You Live In Interesting Times, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]^[25]^[26]^[27]^[28]^[29]^[30]
2019 – NSK State in Time, viennacontemporary Vienna, Austria^[31]
2019 – F.M The Process, Petrit Gallery, Cite des Arts, Paris, France^[32]
2019 – 'All That We Have In Common' MOMus Experimental Center for the Arts Thessaloniki, Greece
2018 – 'Stranger Than Paradise' MeetFactory Prague, Czech Republic
2018 – 'All That We Have In Common' Museum Of Contemporary Art Skopje, North Macedonia
2017 – Autostrada Biennale 2017 - The Future of Borders, Autostrada Biennale, Prizren, Kosovo^[33]
2017 – 'Symptoms of Society' Zhejiang Art Museum Hangzhou, China
2017 – 'Migration of fear' Koroska Gallery of Fine Arts Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia
2017 – Westkunst – Ostkunst. A Selection from the Collection, Ludwig Museum Budapest, Hungary
2017 – 'Utopia / Dystopia: Architecture, City, Territory' Mestna Galerija Ljubljana, Slovenia
2017 – 'The Travellers' Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia
2017 – 'Symptoms of Society' Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
2017 – 'Migration of fear' Forum Stadpark, Graz, Austria
2016 – 'Omul Negru' Galeria Nicodim, Los Angeles
2016 – 'Brotherhood Phallicism' Museum of Fine Art, Split, Croatia^[34]
2016 – The whale that was a submarine' Ludwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary
2016 – 'The Travellers' Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland^[35]
2016 – 'Normalities' Austrian Cultural Forum, New York
2015 – 3rd Mardin Biennial - Mythologies, Mardin Biennial Mardin, Turkey^[36]
2015 – 'Theories on Forgetting' Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills
2015 – 'From Brotherhood to Brotherly Love' Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
2015 – 'From Brotherhood to Brotherly Love' 'Trieste Contemporanea, Trieste, Italy
2014 – 'I never knew how to explain' Skuc Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia^[37]
2014 – 'Balcony to the Balkans' Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Baden-Baden, Germany
2013 – 2nd Project Biennial Of Contemporary Art, D-0 Ark Underground Project Biennial of Contemporary Art, Konjic Bosnia and Herzegovina
2012 – 'Hebron Road/Ridge Route', Art Cube Gallery, Jerusalem
2012 – 'Mediterranean – Arrivals and Departure', Ancona, Italy
2012 – 'Cross-Time Stories' Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, New York
2011 – 'Spaceship Yugoslavia' NGBK, Berlin^[38]
2011 – 'Its all about names' KC Tobacna 001-Mesnta Museum, Ljubljana, Slovenia^[39]
2011 – 'Politics of naming' Myymala2 Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
2011 – '255 804 km²' – Brot Kunsthalle, Vienna, Austria^[40]
2010 – 'The Another Side of The Coin' Škuc Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2010 – 'Qui Vive?' Moscow International Biennale, Moscow
2010 – 'Spasticus Artisticus' Ceri Hand Gallery, Liverpool
2009 – 28th Biennial of Graphic Arts Ljubljana, Slovenia^[41]

Personal life

Born in Mitrovica, SFR Yugoslavia, now Kosovo. Muja lives and works in Pristina and Berlin He graduated with a Bachelor and Master's degree from the Faculty of Arts, University of Pristina. He is married to photographer and former model Albe Hamiti.

References

^ "Alban Muja". Artfacts. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
^ "Kosove Republic". La Biennale di Venezia. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
^ "Above Everyone". 8 September 2023.
^ "Bodies of Identities'". 8 September 2023.
^ "4th Autostrada Biennale". 4 July 2023.
^ "Urban Text : This Space Called Balkans". 20 September 2023.
^ "Manifesta 14 Prishtina – Public Survey Results". manifesta.org. June 2023.
^ "Hotmess". kuehlhaus-berlin.com. May 2022.
^ "Beyond Borders". 20 September 2021.
^ "Alban Muja / Whatever Happens, We Will be Prepared".
^ "Alban Muja | In spite of everything, there is a wall". Charim Wien.
^ "Alban Muja: Family Album". iscp-nyc.org.
^ "Moving Monument, 2021 – Autostrada Biennale".
^ "Più grande di me. Voci eroiche dalla ex Jugoslavia | MAXXI". 16 February 2021.
^ "Alban Muja | Industrial Art Biennial". 16 October 2020.
^ "Alban Muja: Family Album". 10 February 2020.
^ "An artist revisits famous images from the Kosovo war – Memory and the media". The Economist. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
^ "The Venice Questionnaire: Alban Muja".
^ "Kosovo's Venice Biennale Pavilion Will Recall the Last European War of the 20th Century". 3 April 2019.
^ "Alban Muja: Family Album - Announcements - e-flux".
^ "Alban Muja to Represent Kosovo at 2019 Venice Biennale". 29 March 2019.
^ "Alban Muja Will Represent Kosovo at the 2019 Venice Biennale". 29 March 2019.
^ "Kosovar artist Alban Muja reflects on war, survival and how a refugee camp changes you".
^ "The Venice Biennale's 10 Best Pavilions". 10 May 2019.
^ "Il Padiglione Kosovo alla Biennale d'arte di Venezia 2019 | Artribune". 23 April 2019.
^ Letizia, Domenico (May 10, 2019). "Il Kosovo alla Biennale ricorda il passato ma guarda al futuro". L'Opinione delle Libertà.
^ "What not to miss in Venice during the Biennale".
^ "Intervistë me Alban Mujën, artisti që përfaqëson Kosovën në Bienalen e Venedikut". 9 May 2019.
^ "Alban Muja: I want to share what we experienced as a society, because we've forgotten". 6 May 2019.
^ "Alban Muja: Family Album. The Kosovo Pavilion—58th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia - Mousse Publishing". www.moussepublishing.com. Archived from the original on 2019-05-25.
^ "Viennacontemporary 2019 | Focus: NSK State in Time". 17 September 2019.
^ arts, Cité internationale des. "Exhibition & Conversation – F.M - the process - Alban Muja". Cité internationale des arts.
^ "Moving Monument, 2021 – Autostrada Biennale".
^ "ALBAN MUJA // Brotherhood Phallicism 8 December 2016 – 3 January 2017 Curator: Branko Franceschi".
^ "The Travellers - Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki".
^ "Saha". saha.org. 2015-06-15. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
^ "Alban Muja: I Never Knew How to Explain..."
^ "Raumschiff Jugoslawien. Die Aufhebung der Zeit (2011) – nGbK Archive". archiv.ngbk.de.
^ "Alban Muja".
^ "255.804 km² – Young Art from the Former Yugoslavia (Brot Kunsthalle, Vienna) | Wartist". 25 May 2011.
^ "| MGLC - International centre of graphic arts".