Albania at the Mediterranean Biennale thanks to Knots

From 18 February until 10 March 2017, Albania leads the list of participating countries in an important exhibition where 163 Albanian artists will be present with their work through the Imago Mundi project, by now finalised into a collection and summary catalogue titled "Knots – 163 Contemporary Artists from Albania."
The Albanian collection is exhibited for the first time in an exhibition that includes a full 19 countries from the Mediterranean Sea and is titled "Mediterranean Routes."

The Mediterranean Sea, a millennia-old crossroads of peoples, cultures, histories: to this shared space of peoples is dedicated "Mediterranean Routes," the exhibition of the Imago Mundi collections of the 19 countries washed by the Mediterranean Sea, shown in Palermo from 18 February to 10 March, as part of the "Biennale Arcipelago Mediterraneo." The exhibition will be held at Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa – Spazio Zac – Zona Arti Contemporanee.
The waters of the Mediterranean, crossed since time immemorial by sailors, often by fishermen, warriors, explorers, pirates, are a meeting place and a crossing of routes, of contact and mingling, a synonym for wellbeing and openness for the civilisations that were born on its shores, but also for those who, from within the land, turn their gaze toward it — toward the sea.

Imago Mundi has thus chosen to dedicate to "Mare Nostrum" (Our Sea, as the Mediterranean was called by the Romans) a stage of its exhibition journey around the world. "Our," then, a word that aspires to express the shared bond of all the peoples who share this sea, which is the cradle of civilisation: from the Middle East, with Palestine and Israel, Syria and Lebanon, to the shores of Africa, taking in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, then crossing Europe from its western extreme, Portugal, all the way to Greece and Turkey, passing through Spain, France and Italy — here with a focus on the populations of Sicily and Campania (Naples) — following the route most recently as it "climbs" through Albania, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia.
The exhibition unfolds an unprecedented and original panorama of the sea among us: nearly 3,500 canvases by as many artists, presented through the 21 respective collections, which collectively explore new territory in this sea that in recent decades has turned, more than anything, into a barrier, a synonym for human tragedy, despair and death.
The exhibition also includes "Shame and Soul": British photographer Giles Duley and Syrian artist Semaan Khawam, a war refugee in Lebanon, both present in the Imago Mundi collections of their respective countries, engage in dialogue with one another, each through their own art. A video documentary traces the most moving moments of their meeting this January in Beirut. Their story becomes a symbol of the fact that no borders exist between humanity, especially when people's hearts beat in unison. "Rotte Mediterranee" thus proposes a different, complete view of the Mediterranean Sea, which, despite the moment's dramatic developments, wishes to remain a symbol of hope, possibility, the future and beauty.

Imago Mundi is the non-profit contemporary art project, promoted by Luciano Benetton: artists from all over the world, young and established, who face the same format and the same support — a 10×12 cm canvas. So far around 20,000 artists from 120 countries, peoples and regions have taken part. In this way a mosaic has been born, of history, passions, dreams, actions and contradictions, where each work brings out itself, while at the same time becoming part of the global imagination.

Imago Mundi in Albania is a project already implemented in Albania by EJAlbum, a project that has created a prestigious publication and that has by now begun its journey toward the world with the 163 Albanian artists on board. Follow the other posts on the blog about this project, which is so important for EJAlbum and for Albanian art.