Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina
Artists of Tomorrow Award 2020
Laureta Hajrullahu, Shkamb Jaka, Brilant Milazimi.
Announcement of the Winner of the Artists of Tomorrow Award 2020 11 December 2020, at 17:00.
Address: Boxing Club, Mark Isaku 8, 10000 Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo.
Statement of the jury of the “Artist of Tomorrow Award” 2020
The jury gathered in Prishtina and online on Thursday 10 December to select the winner of the Artists of Tomorrow Award 2020. We were delighted to view the exhibition and meet each of the finalists Laureta Hajrullahu, Shkamb Jaka and Brilant Milazimi to discuss their work.
The jury was impressed by the way in which the finalists developed their ideas for the exhibition and responded to the Boxing Club. Each artist has a unique vision and approach that we believe will continue to make a vital contribution to contemporary art practice in Kosovo and beyond.
Shkamb Jaka’s presentation reflects his continuing exploration of in-between states through various ‘portals’ or ‘wavelengths’ that are brought together in both his painting and a new video piece. Jaka deftly investigates forms of human behaviour, such as how conscious and semiconscious perception, condition ways of thinking, inviting the viewer to engage with real and imagined experiences through coded gateways embedded in his work.
Laureta Hajrullahu’s work speaks to critical issues of our time, in particular how notions of longing and belonging affect digital mediation in times of crisis. Her new installation reflects the complex interplay between various 'divides', such as those between the screen and the body, the individual and the collective, private and public space, and the ‘real’ and the virtual, in fresh and multifaceted ways.
For this exhibition, Brilant Milazimi presents a group of paintings and a new sculptural work that imaginatively responds to the context of the Boxing Club. These works grapple with the function of memory, both personal and collective, and its expression in paintings that seem both familiar and uncanny. Ideas around trauma, hope, coping, and freedom are implicitly and poetically conveyed in this body of work, manifesting his interest in the psychological underworld of Kosovo.
Given the strength of the work by each of the finalists, this year’s prize was extensively debated by the jury. Considering all the criteria for the prize, the jury concluded that this year’s award should be given to Brilant Milazimi. Likewise, the jury believes that at this stage of the artist’s development, Milazimi will highly benefit from the context that a two-month residency in New York will provide.
We wish Brilant Milazimi great success in New York and for the future. We would like to congratulate all the finalists this year, and highly encourage Laureta Hajrullahu and Shkamb Jaka and all artists under 35 working in Kosovo to continue to be innovative, not to mention, and apply for the 2021 award.
The Artists of Tomorrow Award is part of the Young Visual Artists Awards program - a network of ten similar awards organized throughout Central and Eastern Europe with the intention of supporting the emergence and development of contemporary art and civil society. The Artists of Tomorrow Award 2020 is organized by Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina and is supported by Trust for Mutual Understanding (TMU), Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports of the Republic of Kosovo, Municipality of Prishtina, x-print and DZG.