Kosova National Art Gallery


The Kosova National Art Gallery, is an art gallery situated at The University of Pristina Campus, right behind the National Library of Kosova in Prishtina, Kosovo, founded in February 1979.
It is the highest institution of visual arts in the Republic of Kosova. It is the display space of various exhibitions of local and international artists. The most successful yearly exhibitions are the International Exhibition of Photography "Gjon Mili", the "Young Artist Award", "Artists of Tomorrow Prize" and "Muslim Mulliqi" International Contemporary Art Exhibition.
The Kosova National Gallery has published books, catalogues, brochures and two monographs: "Kosova Contemporary Art" and "Kosova Feniks".

History

Early usage

The Kosova National Art Gallery was established in 1979 as a cultural institution to present visual arts, and to preserve and collect valuable works of art. It is named after one of the most prominent Kosovan artists, Muslim Mulliqi. It was established as a necessity for the visual presentation of Kosovan culture, as the only art institutions before it were the Art High School in Pejë in 1949, the Higher Pedagogical School in Pristina, and the Academy of Arts, founded in 1973, from which more than 1000 artists have graduated. Nearly 500 of them are active these days in the fields of painting, sculpture, graphic and applicative arts.
Kosovan art was unknown to the international public for a very long time. Because of the regime then, many artists were unable to display their art in art galleries, and so were always on the lookout for alternatives, and even resorted to taking matters into their own hands. Unfortunately, during the Kosovo War, many studios were burned down and many artworks were destroyed or lost.
Until 1990, Kosovan artists presented their art in many prestigious worldwide renowned centers. They were affirmed and evaluated highly because of their unique approach to the arts considering the circumstances in which they were created, making them distinguished and original.
During the ten after-war years, the Kosovo Art Gallery organized more than 200 collective and individual exhibitions from national as well as international artists. Thousands of artists have exhibited their works, which were visited by hundreds of thousands of art lovers.

Architecture

The Kosova National Art Gallery's facade was made from stone from the area of Pejë, which made it stand out. The building where the gallery is currently situated was once the seat of the museum of the 1941–1945 war.

Muslim Mulliqi

Muslim Mulliqi was one of the first and most important impressionist and expressionist painters of Kosovo and Albania. He was born into a family of artists in Gjakova in 1934. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, studying under the well-known Serbian artist Zora Petrović. He finished his postgraduate studies by the same professor in 1961.
Mulliqi was a professor at the Faculty of Arts in the University of Pristina. He acted as founder and vice-president of the Academy of Sciences of Kosovo. He died in Pristina in 1998.
Mulliqi exhibited his artwork in Kosovo, Poland, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Norway, Finland, India, Canada, and Egypt.
His artwork has been used on stamps by the Kosova Postal Service.

Cooperation

As a result of cooperation between the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports of Pristina, which is charge of the Gallery, and international institutions, the Gallery has hosted numerous guests from Albania and other neighboring states.
Many Serbian, Montenegrin, and Turkish artists also contributed to the development of Kosovan visual art. Vlada Radović, Milorad-Musa Miketić, Veljko Radović, and Svetozar Kamenović are notable for enabling other creative generations through their pedagogical work. Also noteworthy are the sculptor Svertomir Arsić-Basara, graphic artist Zoran Jovanović, painters Hilmija Qatoviq, Fevzi Tufekci, and Zoran Karalaić, who also worked in the Arts University in Pristina.
The Kosova National Art Gallery has created cooperation between:

Artist of Tomorrow Award XI

This program was initiated by Wendy W. Luers, founder and director of Foundation for a Civil Society in the United States. This competition is organised in many places of South East Europe, where the ceremonies of the Award traditionally continue. The award in Kosova was first organized in 2002 from the Kosova National Art Gallery in cooperation with the American Embassy.
The winner of the exhibition is rewarded by a six-week residency at the highly acclaimed International Curatorial Studios Program in New York. The residency gives the winner the opportunity to build a professional network that will mark a significant change in his career.
Originally held in 1991 in Czechoslovakia, this competition started attracting attention from many other countries in Europe. It started in Kosovo in 2002, and is now held in more than ten countries.
This is the only competition of its kind, and gives the winners the chance to create contacts and relations with people who might be of great help to their careers.
Anyone under the age of 35 can apply. The winners are chosen by a panel of experts, and all finalists may exhibit their artwork at the KNAG. The prize is a six-week stay in an international studio in New York City as well as a curatorial program, and has been so for eleven years.
Past winners include:
Artan Hajrullahu was born in 1979 in Kosovo. He completed his bachelor's and master's degrees at the Faculty of Arts in Pristina, at the Department of Painting. His drawings are delicate and they create a poetic story where human relationships and house objects take an important role. Hajrullahu teaches painting at the Secondary School of Visual Arts in Gjilan.

Gjon Milli">Gjon Mili">Gjon Milli Prize Photography Exhibition

This biannual exhibition was first held in 2001, as an initiative of the Kosova National Art Gallery and the US Office of the time. Its primary idea was to organize a traditional exhibition as a photography competition which would gather new photographers. Anyone is eligible to enter, with the prize being 1000 Euros. This initiative resulted with the yearly exhibition which has been held since, and has gained a reputation as the most important photography competition not only in Kosovo, but throughout the whole Albanian nation.
The winners so far has been:
The Muslim Mulliqi Prize is the most significant exhibition for contemporary visual arts in Kosovo, held in honor of the pioneer of modern painting Muslim Mulliqi. This aims to be one of the most interesting contemporary art projects in Southern Europe. It has been held since 2002, biannually, and experienced some pauses because of a lack of financial means.
The aim KNAG has given to itself in the latest editions of the Muslim Mulliqi Prize is the provision of the current Albanian visual art. The competition has expanded, including other exhibition spaces such as at the Gallery of the Ministry of Culture and the Amphitheater of the Architecture University.
Each year there are three members of different expertise in the jury, who decide the best work. The prize is 3000 Euros for the best artwork based on criteria assigned each year.
Many great artists have merits in the development and affirmation of the visual art in Kosovo. With their exhibitions in many galleries around the world, such as Daut Berisha in Paris, the US, Mexico, Mikel Gjokaj in Rome, Brussels, Tirana, and Bahri Drançolli in Munchen, Germany, they have helped spread the knowledge of Kosovan art.
Artists whose work has been exhibited at the museum include Masar Caka, Tahir Emra, Gjelosh Gjokaj, Ibrahim Kodra, Nimon Lokaj, Muslim Mulliqi, Visar Mulliqi, Ramadan Ramadani, Esat Valla, Sislej Xhafa, Haki Xhakli, Hysni Krasniqi, Musë Prelvukaj, Agim Çavdarbasha and Burim Myftiu.

Transport connections

ServiceStation/stopLines/routes servedDistance
from National Gallery
Pristina Buses The University of Pristina Campus / Economy Faculty 3A6 minutes
Pristina Buses The University of Pristina Campus / Economy Faculty 56 minutes
Pristina Buses The University of Pristina Campus / Economy Faculty 76 minutes
Pristina Buses The University of Pristina Campus / Economy Faculty 7A6 minutes
Pristina Buses The University of Pristina Campus / Economy Faculty 106 minutes

Exhibitions

Pre-Kosovo War period exhibitions

Source:
1979–1999Name of exhibitionVisitors
1979The Kosova National Art Gallery Collection19,286
1980Jubilee Exhibition of Shyqri Nimani12,197
1981Personal Exhibition of Engjëll Berisha
1981Personal Exhibition of Simon Shiroka
1981Tito, the Word, the Thought and the Work38,000
1981Retrospective of Odhise Paskali14,045
1982The First Salon of Caricature6,830
1983The Young Kosovar Artists9,450
1984Personal Exhibition of Nebih Muriqi12,510
1985The Exhibition of the three CartoonistsN/A
1985Serbian paintings in the Era of Realism7,810
1986The XIII Spring Salon of KosovaN/A
1987Gjelosh GjokajN/A
198810 years of Architecture StudyN/A
1989The Book SalonN/A
1990Bashkim PopojaN/A
1991Esat VallaN/A
1992The Kosova Contemporary ArtN/A
1999Kosovo GalgotaN/A

Kosovo post-war period exhibitions

Source:
YearMonthName of exhibition
2000JanSolemn reopening of the Kosovo Art Gallery, 'Golgota Kosovare'
2000FebMuslim Mulliqi Retrospective and Promotion of the Monograph
2000MarXI Drawing Biennial Exhibition
2000AprCo-exhibition between KFOR artists and Kosova artists
2000MayGjelosh Gjokaj Personal Exhibition
2000JunKulla Shqiptare 1979–1999
2000JunEsat Valla Personal Exhibition
2000JulThe Gallery Collection
2000AugThe Symbol of Peace
2000OctRichard Harden Personal Exhibition
2000NovRexhep Ferri Personal Exhibition
2000Nov 'Salloni i Nëntorit' Exhibition
2000Dec 'Travelling in Memory' Photography Exhibition
2001JanAdem Kastrati Personal Exhibition
2001Feb 'Youth in-between the Past and Future' Photography Exhibition
2001FebArt Against Violence
2001MarNebih Muriqi Personal Exhibition
2001AprNostalgia
2001MayAn Exhibition Funded by the Gallery
2001MayEngjëll Berisha Personal Exhibition
2001JunNysret Salihamixhiqit Personal Exhibition
2001JulInternational Graphic Authors
2001SeptInternational Artistic Photography Exhibition
2001OctHamdi Bardhi Personal Exhibition
2001OctAgim Çavdarbasha Retrospective Exhibition
2001NovKosovar Design Retrospective
2002JanProject NOW, German Artists Exhibition
2002FebCecil Beaton Personal Photography Exhibition
2002MarProject US, Ten Young Kosovan Creators Exhibition
2002MarEshref Qahili Personal Exhibition
2002Mar"Kosova 1999" Markus Matzel and Sebastian Bolesch
2002AprPhilipe Bazini Photography Exhibition
2002AprQamil Grezda Personal Exhibition
2002May"The Portrait"
2002MayInternational Ceramics Exhibitions from Tirana
2002JunMasar Caka Personal Exhibition
2002Jul"Day of Pristina" Exhibition by SHAFK
2002JulBedri Emra Personal Exhibition
2002AugAssociation of Visual and Applicative Artists of Peja
2002SeptArtistic Photography Exhibition "Gjon Mili" II
2002OctAfrim Hajrullahu Personal Photography Exhibition
2002OctAssociation of Visual Artists from Gjilan
2002NovInternational Ceramics Exhibition from Croatia "Vase For Flowers"
2002NovMladen Popoviq Personal Exhibition
2002NovI. Kodra, M. Mulliqi, Gj. Gjokaj, A. Çavdarbasha, R. Feri, T. Emra, Academic Exhibition
2002Dec90 Years of Country, Culture, Art
2003Jan"Artists of Tomorrow" Exhibition
2003FebArtists Association from Prizren
2003FebVioleta Xhaferri Personal Exhibition
2003MarAsim Lokaj Personal Exhibition
2003Mar "YOU" Ten Young Artists Exhibition
2003MarJapanese Painter Emiko Horimoto Personal Exhibition
2003AprTahir Emra Retrospective Exhibition
2003MayAmerican Painter Richard Harden Personal Exhibition
2003JuneNagip Berisha Personal Exhibition
2003JuneGjakova Visual Art
2003JuneThe Vision of The Past and The Future
2003JulyCommon Exhibition of Young Artists from Kosova and Albania
2003JulyInternational Graphics Exhibition
2003SeptMother Teresa, Icon of Eternity
2003SeptIbrahim Kodra Personal Exhibition
2003OctShyqri Nimani Retrospective Exhibition
2003NovRudi Goga Personal Exhibition
2003Dec "Artists of Tomorrow" Competition
2003Dec Kosovan Artists in Paris
2004FebInternational Ceramics Exhibition
2004MarArian Berisha Individual Exhibition
2004MarBiennial International Drawing Exhibition
2004AprDhimitër Shuteriqi Personal Exhibition
2004JunGerman Artists Exhibition
2004MaySculpture in Albania 1924–2004
2004JulOmer Kaleshi Personal Exhibition
2004Jul 'Platforma, Reforma, Deforma' Exhibition
2004AugKosovan Modern Art, Mumbai
2004AugExhibition in Kobe, Japan
2004SeptMicheal McClellan Artistic Photography Exhibition
2004SeptFerid Hudhri "Albania Throughout Art" Monography Promotion
2004OctKosovan Design Week
2004OctSimon Shiroka Personal Exhibition
2004NovHelsinki Architect Alvar Aalto Personal Exhibition
2004DecXXXI November Salon
2004DecMuslim Mulliqi Prize
2004N/ASimon Shiroka Retrospective Exhibition
2005N/AInternational Exhibitions from Hanover, Germany
2006N/AAfrim Spahiu's Exhibition of "The Photographs"
2007N/ASymbols of Kosova
2008N/A10th Anniversary of the death of the Artist Muslim Mulliqi
2009N/ARetrospective Exhibition of Fatmir Krypa
2011AprilBurim Myftiu "Utopia in Chaos" - Photography Exhibition
2012MayMuslim Mulliqi Competition
2013N/AAgon Mulliqi The Symphony of forms
2014FebMarubi

Collection highlights

Facts about Pristina galleries

Personal Exhibitions: National Museum in Tirana, Free Journey curated by Ismet Jonuzi, the National Gallery of Kosova.

Group Exhibitions: Contemporary Art Exhibition at the National Museum in Tirana, International Biennale of Drawing, Pristina, Contemporary Art Center, Gjilan.
YearsNo. of galleriesNo. of exhibitionsExhibited picturesExhibited sculpturesExhibited applied artsExhibited artistic photographsFund works of art owned by the galleryNo. of graphicsNo. of drawingsNo. of sculpturesVisitorsWorkersFemale workers
2012230--------9,894163
20112391623789736142718,289123
201023310137887360427143,000123
2009219162137943822865343,000185
20082421621779538228712549,900185
20072421621779538228712549,900185
200624118212973034518619954,378154
20052221210--6702753425371,560154
20042221210--6702753425361,384154