Visiting Artist - Sead Kazanxhiu

Sead Kazanxhiu is a Roma Albanian artist. He is the board member of European Roma Institute for Art and Culture, and Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for National Minorities in Albania where he also founded and runs Parking Art Gallery. With numerous personal and group exhibitions internationally, he is one of the most engaged protagonists in the contemporary Albanian cultural scene. Kazanxhiu's work foregrounds issues of politics, activism, environment, prejudice, and exclusion, and raises awareness on how political hierarchies within the nation-state reinforce unequal privileges and prevent participation.

His image making represents the efforts of a single artist devoted to restoring the dignity of a cultural group that has been forcefully and unjustly marginalized within the structures of European democracy. Kazanxhiu's work was featured at Documenta 15 in Kassel, Manifesta 14 Biennial, 2nd Roma Biennale, Autostrada Biennale in Kosovo, Tirana Institute of Contemporary Art and Zeta Gallery in Albania, European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture in Berlin, The Central Slovak Gallery, and Mediterranea 18 Young Artists Biennale in Albania among others.

This fall, he is the artist-in-residence at Residency Unlimited, NY as the winner of 2022 Ardhje Award for contemporary Albanian artists.