Endri Dani is the winner of the 2019 Ardhje Award. Trained as a painter, Dani incorporates found objects, artefacts of ordinary life, references to Albanian history and collective memories in his predominantly photographic, video and installation-based works. He focuses on the predicaments of local identity in the era of globalization and its underlying paradoxes, particularly as they manifest themselves in material and consumer culture. Dani’s recent projects are informed by anthropological research. He is inspired by subjects that have touched him personally, or stories arising from his daily encounters. He attempts to create experientially-derived insights into these subjects creating a space that slides between reality and fiction. Dani’s work was featured in a group exhibition Between Art and Folklore (2019) at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, Contemporary Art in Albania and Kosovo (2016) at the Ludwig Museum in Budapest, and the 2016 Kochi-Muziris Biennale in India among others. Dani is a co-founder of MIZA gallery, an artist-run-space in Tirana dedicated to emergent artists from Balkan/Mediterranean region.
Select Permanent Collections: The Israel Museum, Jerusalem (IL) Ludwig Museum Collection, Budapest (HU) MuCEM – Musée des civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée. Marseille (FR)
Endri Dani’s residency is made possible with support from The Trust for Mutual Understanding, and through AAI’s ongoing partnership with Residency Unlimited.