A colorful guide to Tirana

I have always been a believer that colors affect people’s moods. There’s a reason after all why we do not see the world in black and white.

For many of you who don’t know it, Albania suffered one of the harshest and most isolated communism systems in Easter Europe. The remining’s of past tales can be seen in the old buildings, the grey colors of the blocks, that show of a country that was repressed by the very basic things that make life worthwhile, colors.

Today, 30 years after Tirana has turned into a colorful open-air gallery for all the lovers of street art, where the facades of the brick buildings are turning into canvas. From famous characters to thought-provoking messages, these works of art are painting a new map of the city, that of discovering it through murals. With some of them done even over the night, there’s always a story behind which melts into an expression of colors.

And yet, there will always be strong criticism on the legality of street art, on the controversial messages it gives, or even on the semi-hidden way it is done, and the lack of choice a citizen has on the art they get to see every morning outside the window. But art was never meant to be liked by everyone. Instead, street art was always meant to be a source of debate, rebellion, a visual critique. It was always meant to be a mass of colors opening your eyes to the various depths of reality.

(Painting done by Nemo- Italian)

Photo done by Vito Valentinetti

And I believe it makes Tirana more European in its core, the mastery of such creations breaking the everyday monotony. I saw a kid the other day while walking around to take some inspiration, pointing at a mural visualizing a sea and asking his mom if that was the way to Narnia. I was for a moment, very tempted to answer:

“If you want it to be”.

Photo by ATSH

Palace with books

One of the first street artists in Tirana was Franko Dine, who studied at the Academy of Arts, and started his career roaming the streets of the city at night and covering the walls with images of people he met in the shadiest corners, who funny enough, were also the ones appreciating his work the most.

Today he is officially recognized and hired as an artist by Tirana’s city hall and every year, since May 2018 the same institution organizes “Mural Fest”, inviting artists from all over the world, who are always seeking unusual expressions of art. As such, the city walls are offered as a canvas to complete a whole metamorphosis of this beloved city. More than 30 young artist some of them well-known in the scene of street-art and murals, supported by “167 Bstreet (the Italian urban art lab)” have visited the city the last two years, portraying fragments of life in its walls. Some of these murals have even received prestigious prizes under the global platform “Street Art Cities” aiming at promoting urban art everywhere in the world.

Photo by Vito Valentinetti

There are many of them I find inspiring, like:

“The girls just wanna have fun” of Italian artist Bifido, showing the painting of a little girl half playful, half afraid and hesitant on her first steps in the world.

Bifido Steet Art

Others show recent issues we are facing, like masked characters, pollution and a world that has been paused for almost two years. It almost always feels like the painter is feeling what you feel and expressing them through the walls.

Photo by Vito Valentinetti and Franko Dine

“Lucille in Albanie” by Mabel Vicentef, shows how a place or a landscape can connect to a memory and permanently become a part of us. The painting is done in such a way that you almost feel like the little girl is a new resident of the neighborhood.

Mabel Vicentef street art

A lot of times you can find murals that have important women in the artist’s life in center, like a mother that keeps it all together at any time, girls with flowers in their hands and hairs, or in contemporary adjustments, modern and surrounded with technology.

Photo by Vito Valentinetti

Whichever your favorite is, they all stand for freedom and creativity, giving the city a sense of community and personality, whether by bringing joy and positivity or by being a silent social protest.

Beyond the large murals, that can very easily captivate your eye, street art pops up in Tirana in the most unexpected places, like an electric utility box or a forgotten piece of construction, which leads in a little treasure hunt around the city.

Tirana street art

There’s a multi-colored roaring lion in my neighborhood, painted in the outside of a box full of electric cables. I always pass by it when I need a little courage, even if I can never explain exactly why. But that’s art in its core, isn’t it? Meant to make you feel things, ask questions, challenge your thoughts, and develop you imagination.

Photo by Vito Valentinetti

After all, colors are the language of dreams, influencing the soul and creativity. So, the next time you visit Tirana, walk with your eyes open and discover these little windows into the unknow. Albania’s capital is a fun, energetic, and a gorgeous city that never ceases to impress visitors, and now it also holds the title as one of Europe’s most colorful capitals.