Ardian and Stefano, as an Albanian and an Italian, you represent different sides of the Adriatic Sea. Mindful of this, our discussion will take all the countries in the region into account. We will try to offer insights and even solutions to any problems that are raised.
You are both very well rooted in the realities of these two countries. Ardian, you are Albanian but you studied and lived in Italy in the 1980s and 1990s. You bring your view of the two cultures from a cultural and media analyst’s viewpoint.
Stefano, you are Italian but have lived and worked in Albania for the past couple of years. You have specifically been involved in the contemporary art scene, which I am also involved in.
During this dialogue, I would like to discuss the roots of the Adriatic Euroregion, which includes some of the countries that were previously known as “the Balkans”, plus Italy. Is this a conscious decision to introduce new means of collaboration and dialogue across the Adriatic Sea? What are the opportunities and threats that such a grouping offers?
Eriola Pira (Albania) holds a BA in Communication and Mass Media and Art History from Pace University, New York. Her main areas of research are post-socialist culture, contemporary art practices and critical theory. Eriola is currently an MA candidate in Visual Culture Theory at New York University. Her thesis examines the Albanian capital city, Tirana, not simply as a space constructed through built structures, but also as an idea constructed through the pervasive repetition of specific visual imagery in contemporary visual culture and artistic production.
Ardian Vehbiu (Albania) studied Albanian Language and Literature at Tirana University. After graduating in 1983, he carried out linguistic research at the Institute of Linguistics and Literature of the Albanian Academy of Sciences. After post-graduate studies at La Sapienza University in Rome, he taught Albanian at the Oriental Institute in Naples, until the end of 1995. Since 1996, Ardian has been living in New York, and has become a distinctive voice in the Albanian media, mostly by writing a regular column in the Albanian daily paper “Shekulli”, as well as through a number of books on cultural and social issues.
Stefano Romano (Italy) is an artist and independent curator. He’s currently a tutor in the Carrara Academy of Fine Arts in Bergamo, Italy. Between January 2005 and September 2006 he ran the curatorial project, 1.60insurgent space in Tirana (Albania). In 2007, he started the project CUNS, a reflection on the art system. He uses performances, installations and videos, with a sense of irony, as recording tools of our society.
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