COD starts the season 2016

Tirana, january 15, 2016 – The Center for Openness and Dialogue starts the season 2016, titled “The Space We Live, the Space We Share, and the Space We Leave Behind” with the exhibition of the artist Edi Hila, “Mirages of a Boulevard”.

 ”The current painting collection by Edi Hila is dedicated to the main boulevard in Tirana with its representative buildings – “Mother Teresa” square; it follows the two cycles of paintings created before. In these elegant and masterful works, Hila conveys his vision of Albania in times of transition. He engages minimalistic expression means with a variety of pale colors: grey, blue, and earthy tones. These panoramic views of the wild urbanization feel like deserted objects immersed in a dark and mysterious atmosphere of uselessness, emptiness, and sadness”, highlights Shkëlzen Maliqi.

 “The architectural complex around the University, the square and the boulevard that comprises the main urban spinal cord of the city serve these days as a theater set for the dramatic events of our contemporary history.

The intent to preserve a coherent relationship among the six paintings and between them and the main buildings that comprise the architectural complex stems from the need to introduce a kind of artistic order among the paintings, by making use of a certain chromatic continuum in turn, organically connects to the content and the administrative functions that these buildings hold today.

This inspired the attempt to present a set of paintings that focus on the story of the fountain, – that severely violated the complex concept, – as an interesting moment that transcends time,” states the artist.

“Each work of Edi Hila is a point of view on a transitional landscape, a context not only political, but deeply social. Like all Balkan countries, the transitional state is consubstantial to each detail of the country and of the cities; the artist reveals their paradoxes with a veil of mystery,” said Ami Barak, in appreciation of the work of Hila in Paris.

This is the second major exhibition opened at COD, which is curated by three seasons per year.

Since it opened, on July 8th, 2015 till nowadays, COD has been visited by more than 15. 200 visitors.

In COD are organized at least 3 activities per week and in its premises have worked and taken part in many activities foreign and Albanian students, pupils, experts, artists, civil servants, representatives of the administration, of NGO’s and international institutions.
The calendar of the first season 2016 (January 15-April 15) is displayed at the web page www.cod.al and  visits at COD can be booked via the website. Fridays are the days of film screening and books in COD.

At the beginning of this season, COD distributes 160 cards for high school excellence pupils, today students in the Albanian universities. A young Albanian curator has been provided Chevening scholarship for curative practices, due to the collaboration of COD with the British Embassy. 

COD remains open for proposals and cooperation, aiming at strengthening the dialogue and supporting the creativity.