Episode 062: Alban Muja

Kevin Kirkwood sits down with Alban in his Berlin studio to explore the key milestones that have shaped his remarkable career. They delve into his thought-provoking contribution to the 2019 Venice Biennale and unpack the deeper themes behind his latest documentary, I Believe the Portrait Saved Me. The film has already captured significant attention at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), cementing Alban's place at the forefront of contemporary art and filmmaking. Alban Muja (b. 1980, Mitrovica) is a Kosovan contemporary artist and filmmaker based in Berlin and Prishtina. Influenced primarily by the social, political, and economic transformation processes in the wider surrounding region, he investigates history and socio-political themes, linking them to his position in Kosovo today. In 2019, Muja represented the Pavilion of the Republic of Kosovo at the 58th Venice Biennale with his three-channel moving image project Family Album. Selected other exhibitions include: Manifesta Biennale 14, Prishtina; Ludwig Museum, Budapest; MAXXI Museum, Rome; 3rd Industrial Art Biennial, Istria, Croatia; MOMus Experimental Center for the Arts, Thessaloniki; Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn; Guangdong Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje; MeetFactory, Prague; Forum Stadtpark, Graz; James Gallery, New York; City Art Gallery, Ljubljana; Zhejiang Art Museum, Hangzhou; Museum of Fine Art, Split; Trieste Contemporanea; Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Rijeka; Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw; 2nd Biennial of Contemporary Art in the Atomic Shelter, Konjic, BiH; Škuc Gallery, Ljubljana; National Gallery of Kosovo; Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills; Slovak National Gallery; Staatliche Kunsthalle, Baden-Baden; 28th Ljubljana Graphic Biennale; nGbK, Berlin; National Gallery of Arts, Tirana; and Cetinje Biennale, among others.   All episodes of The Strand are available at www.kevinwillpaint.com/strand and on all major podcast platforms. Including Spotify, Apple, iHeart, and Amazon.   Produced by Kevin Kirkwood @kevinwillpaint   AlbanMuja.com @AlbanMuja reitergalleries.com @reiter_galleries   Images courtesy of the artist.