Stacion - Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina
Statement of the Jury for the Artists of Tomorrow Award 2021
Prishtina, 11/12/2021
The jury gathered in Prishtina and online on Friday, 10 December, to select the winner of the Artists of Tomorrow Award 2021. We were delighted to meet each of the finalists Uresa Ahmeti, Endrit Jashanica and Enxhi Mehmeti and to discuss their work presented in the exhibition.
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 presented their unique vision and approach that we believe will continue to make a vital contribution to contemporary art practice in Kosovo and beyond.
Uresa Ahmeti's installation presents video projections on both sides of a screen that express, in different ways, her ongoing reflections and research into notions of the self. Through flowing, fractured or erased words, her experimental poem Penetrating Air acutely expresses the complexity of the hidden self, while the video of a performance realized in the Palace of Culture, Youth and Sports "Boro and Ramizi" in Prishtina is visceral, disruptive and full of agency.
Set within a white environment in the gallery, Endrit Jashanica's In a Box complicates ideas around exterior and interior, physical and virtual space, creating a never-ending 'journey' into a three-dimensional world that is exceptionally well executed. In pushing the potential of emerging media, Jashanica's work intersects with larger ideas around the future of new technologies and how these continue to affect and shape our experience of the world.
Enxhi Mehmeti's drawings possess a certain intimacy and fragility that nonetheless have a powerful presence in their expressions of human and non-human forms that, in certain instances, also merge into new, fantastical identities. For her exhibition, Mehmeti created a cohesive installation of drawings, objects and sound work that was a bold step beyond the series of drawings presented in her application. This attentiveness to material qualities and the playful dialogue with the environment at the Boxing Club demonstrate an exceptional artistic sensitivity.
Given the strength of the work by each of the finalists, this year's prize was debated at length by the jury. Considering all the criteria for the prize, the jury concluded that this year's award should be given to Enxhi Mehmeti. The jury believes that at this stage of the artist's development, Mehmeti will greatly benefit from the context that a two-month residency in New York will provide.
We wish Enxhi Mehmeti much success in New York and for the future. We would like to congratulate all the finalists this year, and highly encourage Uresa Ahmeti and Endrit Jashanica, and all artists under 35 working in Kosovo, to continue their commitment to their practice and to seriously consider applying for the 2022 award.
Members of the jury for the Artists of Tomorrow Award 2021
Anne Barlow, Qëndresë Deda, Minna Henriksson, Adam Kleinman, Nebojša Milikić.
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Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina
Artists of Tomorrow Award 2021
10/11/2021 – 11/12/2021
Artists: Uresa Ahmeti, Endrit Jashanica, Enxhi Mehmeti
Winner of the Artists of Tomorrow Award 2021: Enxhi Mehmeti
Curatorial work: Lek M. Gjeloshi
The architecture of the exhibition: Vala Osmani
Curatorial advisor: Albert Heta
Text: Lek M. Gjeloshi, Albert Heta
Production: Laureta Hajrullahu, Lek M. Gjeloshi, Albert Heta, Qëndresa Zeka
Production and Administration Assitance: Luiza Thaqi
Exhibition installation: Skender Xhukolli, Lek M. Gjeloshi
Photo documentation: Alban Nuhiu, Luiza Thaqi
Poster: DZG
Main supporters of The Artists of Tomorrow Award 2021 are Trust for Mutual Understanding (TMU), Independent Curators International (ICI), Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Municipality of Prishtina.