Greetings to everyone!

Greetings to everyone!

Thursday the 19th of June at “Lindart & Anima” gallery it was organized the opening of the exhibition with the photo works of the evening class students: Ana Kalivopulli, Emi Toska, Dritan Kureta dhe Sonja Ilia. This exhibition was the finalization of a four month training course during which students learned the basics of photography, including the use of analog and digital camera, use of the dark room, studio portraits and photo editing. I was extremely satisfied with their progress in a short period of time, that’s why this exhibition was the next step and a great moment for them to stop and examine their work.
The opening of the exhibition was at 7 p.m. and it was wonderful to see the gallery full with photography fans and friends. This whole activity was organized as a photo bar, and a documentary about the well known photo reporters was projected at the second floor of Lindart centre.
Once again I would like to congratulate all of my students, wishing them the best in their future and to keep on exploring and progressing in the field of photography.

Lori Polena
Trainer

Pjesëmarrja e "Projekt 5.6" në Panairin e Turizmit Shqiptar!

Më datën 29 Maj u zhvillua ceremonia e hapjes së Panairit të Turizmit Shqiptar.
Shkolla jonë "Projekt 5.6" u ftua të dokumentonte këtë ngjarje dhe gjithashtu, të merrte pjesë në një konkurs fotografie, me anë të një projeksioni peisazhesh, përgatitur nga pjesëmarrësit. Ndër fotot më të bukura në lidhje me peizazhet më tërheqëse turistike, u zgjodh fitues studenti ynë, Erzen Pashaj.
E falenderojmë Erzenin për punën e tij dhe i urojmë një udhëtim të suksesshëm në fushën e fotografisë.

The involvement of "Projekt 5.6" at the Albanian Tourism Fair!

On May, the 29-th, the Albanian tourism fair had its opening ceremony.
Our school "Projekt 5.6" was invited to document this new event and participate in a photo competition, consisting of a landscape projection, prepared from the partakers. A winner was chosen according to the most attractive and tourist landscapes, our student, Erzen Pashaj.
We thank him for his work and wish him a successful journey into the photography field.

Bevis Fusha at "East" !

Bevis Fusha, our trainer at “Projekt 5.6”. A member of “Anzenberger”, an international photographic agency, in Vienna,Austria. His works were published at “East" , a book ideated from Regina Maria Anzenberger, the head of this agency.

A lek is a hundred qindarks; a fox flees through the snow; a path is a thousand steps. A horse can finally run free, perhaps anywhere it wants. There is something mysterious about the pictures of the young Albanian photographer Bevis Fusha. Something is distantly reminiscent of the flickering and poetic shaking that are part of the silent-film era, and the puzzle and its solution always seem to hang in an undecided balance. Fusha maintains this balance when he views his country from the inside, like the suggestion of a trace disappearing in the contre-jour as it heads into the distance. This lack of definition, which perhaps leads to nameless mountains but never to familiar places, may be there for a variety of reasons. This characteristic is certainly no longer decreed by the State, as part of keeping in step in Stalinist isolation imposed from above for decades. Probably also because the traces that Fusha follows with his camera are frequently older and more archaic than much that is found elsewhere in the Balkans. Blurred images also simply fit this corner of Europe. For Albania is a strange land. Countless karstified mountains. A people whose origin is lost in legend. A language that is only a distant cousin of Europe’s established linguistic families. And a country name, Shqipëria, that means nothing more or less than “eagle”. Gazing through Fusha’s peepholes into Albania’s present, one would hardly suspect that eight European capitals are hardly an hour away from Tirana by air.

Ingo Petz

Bevis Fusha's participation in World Press Photo "New Stories" catalog!

Bevis Fusha a well-known photojournalist in Albania and around Europe took part at the publishing of the latest World Press Photo "New Stories" catalog 2008.
His photos have a great expressing potential and show sensibly, the hard Albanian reality.
Proud of him, as being also a trainer at our school “Projekt 5.6”, we just wish him an honest way towards the truth, through his powerful photos.
We thank him for sending us these pictures. Enjoy them, and maybe one day you’ll have the chance to see the originals.

Below, there is a brief introduction from Adrian Evans and the some description from writer Rodney Bolt.

Introduction from Adrian Evans.

Last year, the BBC broadcast a documentary series, The Genius ofPhotography. Anyone watching could have been forgiven for thinking thatphotography was the exclusive preserve of Europeans and North Americans.Sadly, the same can be said of photojournalism. Too often we view Africa,Asia and Latin America through the lens of the outsider. Our globalizingworld is not quite global as we are given to believe.Our understanding of events around the world is largely shaped by themedia. Yet how often do we ask who takes photographs? Or who owns thenewspaper and the TV stations that influence our mental world view? If westep back we see a media landscape dominated by Western organizations,providing us with their own perspectives on current affairs. There isnothing new in this. History has always been written by those who havebest access to the means of telling their stories.Photojournalism is no different. Through whose eyes did we see the VietnamWar? Whose photographs do we see from the developing world, from Darfurand Congo or from Afghanistan and Iraq? Or perhaps more importantly, whoare the photographers working for? The newswire bylines suggest andabundance of local photographers, but their photographs tell the storythat the magazines and newspapers wish to tell, not their own.And yet there is a rich tradition of photojournalism in the developingworld. Its a tradition that has largely been ignored by the mainstream, orhas failed to gain access to the necessary distribution channels. This isbeginning to change. The internet is opening up a world where borders arebroken down and location has little importance. As the director of a photoagency, I am now able to work with ease with photographers wherever theyare based. More importantly, this change is opening the way to ademocratization of the media, causing a shift in the balance of power fromthe publishers to producers and consumers of information. However in spiteof these changes, perceptions of the world have barely altered. Thepotential of the new forms of communication that digitalization promises, has yet to be fully realized.Outsider views on the developing world traditionally tend to veer betweenthe pessimistic and the romantic, while never really engaging with therealities of how people live. In the World Press Photo ; New Stories, thephotographers were working in the countries in which they lived; theirchallenge was to present new perspectives on familiar themes.Kemal Jufri from Indonesia, provided and original take on the issue ofeducation, building a story not around children but focusing on theincredible achievements of twin sisters Rian and Rossy, unassuming Jakartawomen who used their own money to single-handedly set up schools forunderprivileged children in the city slums. He shows us what twoindividuals can achieve without any government or institutional support, despite obstacles placed in their way by local authorities.In "Lucas and the Jam factory", Peruvian photographer Mariana Bazoconfronts the perception that people living in poverty are helplessvictims with little control over their own lives. She narrates a storyabout a group of friends from the barrios of Lima, determined to find away out of the cycle of poverty. These young people do not see being pooras an insurmountable barrier." On contrary, it makes us resourceful" Lucastold Mariana.

World Press Photo " New Stories" book
Environmental Hotspots from writer Rodney Bolt

The environmental awareness in Albania.
When life is hard and you are struggling to make ends meet, caring for the environment can sometimes appear a luxury.
In Albania the environmental issues are serious. Soil and water contamination from industrial pollutants rank with the worst on the continent.
Disposal of domestic and other waste in Albania is also a cause for concern, as hazardous materials are not separated out.
A former chemical and pesticide plant at Durres, on the central Albania coast, is one such disaster point.
Near Vlore in the south of the country, attempts to prevent people living on the mercury-contaminated site of another former chemical factory have failed.
In the western district of Fier, emissions from oil fields where pumps and treatment facilities are not working properly are poisoning the soil and groundwater, and harmful gases are evaporating from open tanks.
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has highlighted a number of industrial sites as environmental hotspots, posing immediate risks to human health and requiring urgent action.
Albania’s aspiration to membership of the European Union is waking the government to environmental issues.