schedule20:42 – 25 Mars, 2023
A Muslim in love with Byzantine art. The young researcher Vlora Demiraj, originally from North Macedonia, got her first inkling of the intersection of Byzantine and Ottoman cultures from visiting the hybrid holy place, church-mosque “Saint Sophia” in Istanbul. The interest of the art researcher is aesthetics, not religious practice.
“From the great desire that I wanted to touch little by little, I decided to continue in a direction such as the history of art. I completed my higher studies in Istanbul. The truth is that Istanbul is revered above religions. In fact, the study there showed me to see the other side of the coin, which is the capital of Byzantium. One of the reasons I chose to touch Byzantine art is that I studied in Turkey and in that part Albanians are known as if history started from there”, she said.
The first contact with the outstanding iconographers, painters Onufri and David Selenica was a special discovery of the mysteries of Byzantine art. The research in the Medieval Museum in Korça and the Churches of this region led to encountering more unknowns. Voskopoja, the peripheral center of Byzantium, has a special role in the formation of Vlora.
“Regardless of the canons, these artists managed to give something. They should not be static paintings. Albanian art flourished when the Byzantine Empire fell. I want that more than foreigners, I want us as Albanians to know. It is a lack of information,” she said.
Vlora’s dream for Byzantine culture continues, it is not enough only with writings or lectures in the auditorium. Her wish remains to curate an exhibition with concrete objects of this culture, especially icons.