Erzen Shkololli

Profile

Erzen Shkololli (b.1976, Peje, Kosovo). Shkololli has been one of the eminent members of Kosovo’s new art scene. Internationally acclaimed, he has also been an active mediator and organizer of the inter-cultural and intra-cultural dialogue between Kosovo and the world, as well as within the Kosovo art scene. (2003 – 2007) he has held positions as artistic director in Contemporary Art Institute EXIT, Pejë, Kosovo; The project is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest exchange initiatives in Kosovo, transforming the local cultural landscape. His art practice utilizes local rituals and folklore to draw attention to socio-political situations. Through his work, Shkololli acts as a sort of instinctive and biased anthropologist, re-enacting traditional ceremonies, while insinuating contemporary symbols and disillusion. He has exhibited internationally, with solo exhibitions in the Czech Republic (2005) and Lucca, Italy (2001), as well as numerous group shows and biennials, including Interrupted Histories at the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana, 2006; In the Gorges of the Balkans at Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel 2003; and most recently New Video, New Europe, The Kitchen in New York, 2006. His work has also appeared in significant European museums like the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Tate Modern of London. He has curated numerous international exhibitions of contemporary art with some of the most important international and Albanian artists of our times, including: “Reappearance” at Museum of Kosova, Prishtinë (2004); He recently worked on a exhibition project titled “History started playing with my life” presented at DAL, Holon, Israel (2007), while the last curated event was “The World Won’t Listen”, in Art Workshop Lazareti, Dubrovnik, (2007). Shkololli is resident in Berlin at DAAD throughout 2008.