The International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) announces Alban Muja: Family Album, the first solo exhibition in the United States by Kosovar artist Alban Muja.

A 2011 ISCP alumnus, Muja’s exhibition restages his 2019 exhibition Family Album, originally shown in the Pavilion of the Republic of Kosovo at the Venice Biennale. A conversation between Alban Muja, Ksenia Nouril, and Kari Conte will take place on March 16 at 1pm EST, introduced by Ambassador Frymëzim Isufaj of The Consulate General of the Republic of Kosovo in New York.

Alban Muja: Family Album features a three-channel documentary video installation which traces the stories of several children living in Kosovo during the time of the Kosovo War in 1998 and 1999. As the war progressed, nearly 800,000 citizens were forced to flee their homes for safety in neighboring countries, including a teenaged Muja. Images of these refugees—many of them children—were captured by photojournalists. The starting point of Family Album is a photograph that Muja found of himself with José María Aznar, Spain’s Prime Minister at the time, in a Spanish-run refugee camp in Albania where Muja was living with his family. This led him to think about other refugee children from the war who were represented in the media, and so he tracked down the now-adults from some of the most well-known images of children from the war. Family Album pivots around interviews with four of these former Kosovar refugee children, bringing visibility to their experiences and memories, while building upon the narratives handed down to them.

This exhibition is curated by Kari Conte, curator, writer, and ISCP Senior Advisor, with Alison Kuo, ISCP Residency Program Manager.

The 2019 Venice presentation of Family Album was curated by Vincent Honoré.

Alban Muja lives and works in Pristina and Berlin. His work takes the form of video installation, short films and documentaries, drawing, painting, and performance and is largely influenced by the ongoing processes of social, political and economic transformation in his native Kosovo and across the wider region of the Balkans. Through his practice, he investigates history and sociopolitical themes, and links them to his life in Kosovo today.

This exhibition is supported by Consulate General of the Republic of Kosovo in New York; Hartfield Foundation; Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; New York City Council District 34; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; NYC COVID-19 Response and Impact Fund in The New York Community Trust; Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation; VIA Art Fund; and William Talbott Hillman Foundation.

• Four visitors are allowed in the galleries at a time, and appointments are required. Please write to info@iscp-nyc.org to schedule an appointment.
• All visitors are required to maintain social distancing, keeping six feet from anyone not in their party.
• Masks or face coverings are mandatory.
• Hand sanitizer will be available for visitors.
• If you have fever, chills, cough, muscle pains, headache, loss of taste or smell, or think you may have been exposed to COVID-19 prior to your visit, please contact us to reschedule.
• An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 and other infectious conditions exists in any public space where people are present. Those visiting the International Studio & Curatorial Program voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19, other infectious conditions, and other hazards that may be present in a public space.