Pleurad Xhafa (born in 1984 in Lushnjë) is an artist, documentary filmmaker, and activist currently based in Tirana.[1] Xhafa develops projects that examine the effects produced by neoliberal political experiments.[2] His research and critical work result from a post-conceptual practice that operates on a documentary basis to subsequently report—visually and politically—on the culture of our time. Xhafa is one of the founders of DebatikCenter of Contemporary Art and is a member of art collective Manifesto.
In 1997, Xhafa, like many others of his generation, witnessed the collapse of the pyramid schemes, which led to violent civil unrest, which started in Lushnjë. In 1998, during the country's early stage of shock therapy, he moved to Tirana to study at Jordan Misja Artistic Lyceum. Subsequently, in 2002, he left to study in Italy at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna, where he graduated with an MFA.
In 2009, while returning from Italy to Albania, Xhafa, together with his colleague Sokol Peçi, created the work Dejavu & Paranoia, a clay the head of the Nobel Prize economist Milton Friedman during a train journey from Bologna to Bari and then on a ship from Bari to Durrës.[3] [4]
Xhafa was part of the art collective Çeta (2016– 2017).[5] During its existence, Çeta produced several politically motivated works addressing public-private partnerships in Albania,[6] social injustice, and the still unsolved death of child labour victim Ardit Gjoklaj.[7]
Xhafa was one of the artists who openly protested against the Albanian government's decision to demolish the National Theatre of Albania, occupying the theater for two consecutive years. On May 17, 2020, the last night of the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine, Xhafa was arrested inside the theater. During the confrontation with the police, Xhafa received a severe injury to his right leg.[8] [9] Xhafa was accused of resisting the police, illegal gathering, and breaking the quarantine. After the forensic examination, the police dropped two charges, enforcing only one fine for breaking quarantine.[10]