Alban Muja Explained

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 BerlinHe 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.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2019-06-24. Alban Muja. Artfacts.
2. Web site: 2019-06-24. Kosove Republic. La Biennale di Venezia. 7 May 2019.
3. Web site: Above Everyone . 8 September 2023.
4. Web site: Bodies of Identities’ . 8 September 2023.
5. Web site: 4th Autostrada Biennale . 4 July 2023.
6. Web site: Urban Text : This Space Called Balkans . 20 September 2023 .
7. Web site: Manifesta 14 Prishtina – Public Survey Results . manifesta.org . June 2023.
8. Web site: Hotmess . kuehlhaus-berlin.com . May 2022.
9. Web site: Beyond Borders . 20 September 2021 .
10. Web site: Alban Muja / Whatever Happens, We Will be Prepared .
11. Web site: Alban Muja | In spite of everything, there is a wall. Charim Wien.
12. Web site: Alban Muja: Family Album. iscp-nyc.org.
13. Web site: Moving Monument, 2021 – Autostrada Biennale.
14. Web site: Più grande di me. Voci eroiche dalla ex Jugoslavia | MAXXI . 16 February 2021 .
15. Web site: Alban Muja | Industrial Art Biennial. 16 October 2020.
16. Web site: Alban Muja: Family Album. 10 February 2020.
17. News: An artist revisits famous images from the Kosovo war – Memory and the media . The Economist . 2019-05-16 . 2019-06-24.
18. Web site: The Venice Questionnaire: Alban Muja.
19. Web site: Kosovo's Venice Biennale Pavilion Will Recall the Last European War of the 20th Century. 3 April 2019.
20. Web site: Alban Muja: Family Album - Announcements - e-flux.
21. Web site: Alban Muja to Represent Kosovo at 2019 Venice Biennale. 29 March 2019 .
22. Web site: Alban Muja Will Represent Kosovo at the 2019 Venice Biennale. 29 March 2019.
23. Web site: Kosovar artist Alban Muja reflects on war, survival and how a refugee camp changes you.
24. Web site: The Venice Biennale's 10 Best Pavilions. 10 May 2019.
25. Web site: Il Padiglione Kosovo alla Biennale d'arte di Venezia 2019 | Artribune. 23 April 2019.
26. Web site: Il Kosovo alla Biennale ricorda il passato ma guarda al futuro. Domenico. Letizia. May 10, 2019. L'Opinione delle Libertà.
27. Web site: What not to miss in Venice during the Biennale.
28. Web site: Intervistë me Alban Mujën, artisti që përfaqëson Kosovën në Bienalen e Venedikut. 9 May 2019.
29. Web site: Alban Muja: I want to share what we experienced as a society, because we've forgotten. 6 May 2019.
30. Web site: Alban Muja: Family Album. The Kosovo Pavilion—58th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia - Mousse Publishing . www.moussepublishing.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190525141621/https://www.moussepublishing.com/?product=alban-muja-family-album-the-kosovo-pavilion-58th-international-art-exhibition-la-biennale-di-venezia . 2019-05-25.
31. Web site: Viennacontemporary 2019 | Focus: NSK State in Time. 17 September 2019.
32. Web site: Exhibition & Conversation – F.M - the process - Alban Muja. Cité internationale des. arts. Cité internationale des arts.
33. Web site: Moving Monument, 2021 – Autostrada Biennale.
34. Web site: ALBAN MUJA // Brotherhood Phallicism 8 December 2016 – 3 January 2017 Curator: Branko Franceschi .
35. Web site: The Travellers - Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki.
36. Web site: Saha . saha.org . 2015-06-15 . 2019-06-24.
37. Web site: Alban Muja: I Never Knew How to Explain....
38. Web site: Raumschiff Jugoslawien. Die Aufhebung der Zeit (2011) – nGbK Archive. archiv.ngbk.de.
39. Web site: Alban Muja.
40. Web site: 255.804 km² – Young Art from the Former Yugoslavia (Brot Kunsthalle, Vienna) | Wartist. 25 May 2011.
41. Web site: | MGLC - International centre of graphic arts.