zeni ballazhi

Artist Statement

Zeni Ballazhi was born in 1975 in Kërçovë, North Macedonia. He completed his primary and secondary education in his hometown and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Tirana, Albania, in 1998.

In 2000, he earned a Master of Arts degree from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Prishtina, Kosovo. That same year, he completed a specialization course at the National College of Arts in Oslo, Norway (ONCA). He later pursued doctoral studies in the field of Albanian Art History at the Academy of Albanological Studies in Tirana, Albania, receiving the title of "Doctor of Sciences" in 2019.

From 2001 to 2020, he worked as a curator and designer at the National Gallery of Kosovo. From February to July 2009, and from September 2015 to August 2016, he was appointed Acting Director of the National Gallery of Kosovo by the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports of Kosovo. He has opened several solo exhibitions and participated in numerous collective exhibitions in Macedonia and abroad (Albania, Kosovo, Norway, France, Japan, Georgia, Greece, Slovenia, USA, Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Switzerland, Turkey, etc.).

Since 2000, he has curated many exhibitions organized in Kosovo and the region. He has worked as an artistic director (scenographer) on dozens of films and professional shows with various co-productions, as well as at international festivals in Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Norway, Croatia, the USA, etc. He has been a long-time artistic manager of the International Monodrama Festival "MonoAKT" and has participated in many international film and theater festivals (Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Norway, Germany, Mongolia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Romania, Dagestan, Moldova, Egypt, Russia, Armenia, Spain, etc.).

From 2013 to 2016, he lectured on "Conceptual Art and New Media" at the University of Prishtina, Faculty of Arts, and at the State University of Tetova, Macedonia. In February 2016, he became a member of the European Film Academy in Berlin, Germany. His works are included in the collection of the Mother Teresa Museum in Skopje, North Macedonia, and the Imago Mundi Luciano Benetton Collection. He has received numerous national and international awards. His name is also associated with the logo for "100 Years of Independence" of the Republic of Albania, and on December 26, 2012, he was honored by the President of the Republic of Albania with the "Medal of Appreciation" in celebration of "100 Years of Independence." He is the author of the logo and presidential medal "Kosovo 10 Years of Independence" and, in 2021, he won the logo for "Flag Week" from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Albania.

He has published writings on specific artists and artistic works in various media and publications from national and international art galleries, as well as participated in several scientific conferences both domestically and abroad. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Prishtina and a visual arts critic for specific artists.