Extreme Makeover – Tirana, Albania
Grey - I couldn’t imagine any colour but grey. We have come to Albania because the only image I could conjure was rows of bleak featureless communist-era cement buildings. Populated by grey, emotionally-flattened post-Communist-era people. My Western cold-war propaganda indoctrination sunk in deep.
Antiquated propaganda-based assumptions are inevitably wrong, as they thankfully are here. The Albanians we have met so far are easily the friendliest, most open people of any large capital city we’ve visited. Interactions on the street and in shops are warm, respectful, calm. People walk everywhere (it’s faster, since the city was designed for a low volume of traffic when only communist party leaders owned vehicles), and cars actually stop for pedestrians crossing the street. Women walk without fear, even at night. I’ve seen people casually leave their wallet on a sidewalk café table while they go inside.
Painting for Social Change
And the buildings - I just can’t stop taking pictures! Edi Rama, Tirana’s renowned painter and mayor from 2000-2011, set out paintbrush in hand to not just beautify the city, but to reimagine and heal it. He removed illegal buildings, built new parks and most importantly began a painting campaign to add colour and design to Tirana's old apartment buildings and communist-style high rises.
This campaign was a tool for social change after the end of the communist era: "Tirana was a closed city in a closed front with a closed imagination, and they had no possibility to communicate; they were completely isolated. This was a way to not erase these legacies, but try to superimpose these legacies and other processes that are more oriented to a cosmopolitan identity for Tirana.”
Architecture as Storytelling
After painting over the old buildings, Rama (now Prime Minister since 2013) and the city’s new mayor have turned their energy to new construction. Architecture and urban design are a key part of the strategy to boost Tirana's international reputation as a “World City” to attract more tourists and sustain economic growth.
Overseas architects are drawn in by the creative freedom on offer, facilitated by relatively relaxed planning laws and building codes compared to elsewhere in Europe. "It's a maximum of artistic expression that goes first, and then you find ways of building it," said one architect. "I think the brief is much more to produce a piece of art or a sculpture, or anything that is starting more from storytelling, than from a structural approach or an aesthetics approach."
"The country doesn't shy away from its past – it wants to confront it and make it part of its future. That's where architecture can be a powerful tool. As the city continues to grow and evolve, it's crucial that all new developments strike a balance between innovation and respect for the past."
Murals Tell a New Story
If rainbow buildings and pokey-out-everywhere-1980’s-WordArt architecture aren’t enough, Tirana is also bubbling with huge murals. Starting with Mural Art Festivals in 2018 and 2019, young artists from different countries have transformed grey buildings all around Tirana into political and artistic expression that was not allowed during the Communist era.
Artefacts magazine observes, “In a country with a complex political history, street artists have embraced their roles as voices of the people, using their work to comment on social and political issues. Murals depicting political figures, protests, and symbolic imagery can be found throughout the city, offering a visual commentary on Albania’s past and present.”
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Currently in...
Mayne Island, BC, then to a family wedding in Surrey
Heading to...
Paris, Albania, Milan, then Cambodia-Thailand-Vietnam for Oct-May. Please share any sites, people or ideas by email.
Wow!! What amazing art!! Good on their leaders for bringing life back into their environment!! Wonderful murals and architecture!! Thanks for your sharing!! 🙂
Ya, leaders with vision and creativity, so refreshing
wow I had no idea, so refeshing. Thanks for helping me up date my stereotypes. Beautiful photography
Ditto on the beautiful art and architecture! Really love the clothespin mural.