The University of Arts (Albanian: Universiteti i Arteve), formerly the Academy of Arts (Albanian: Akademia e Arteve), is a public university of arts in Tirana, Albania. It is the main public institution of higher artistic education in the country and offers programmes in music, fine arts and performing arts.
The university was founded in 1966 as the Higher Institute of Arts by merging three earlier institutions: the State Conservatory of Tirana, the School of Fine Arts and the Aleksandër Moisiu Higher School of Actors. In 1990 it was raised to university level and renamed the Academy of Arts. In 2011, by Decision of the Council of Ministers no. 234 of 23 March 2011, it was reorganized as the University of Arts while keeping its three-faculty structure.
Contents
History
Predecessor institutions
The three institutions that formed the Higher Institute of Arts had separate origins in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Aleksandër Moisiu Higher School of Actors was founded in 1959 near the National Theatre, the Institute of Figurative Arts was founded in 1960, and the State Conservatory of Tirana opened on 15 January 1962.
On 4 May 1966 the three schools were merged to create the Higher Institute of Arts, Albanian: Instituti i Lartë i Arteve. The institution became the principal centre for the professional training of Albanian musicians, visual artists, actors, directors, choreographers and other arts specialists.
Academy and university status
In 1989 the institute's three branches were reorganized into faculties. In 1990, during wider reforms of higher education in Albania, the Higher Institute of Arts was raised to university level and renamed the Academy of Arts.
On 12 October 2009, President Bamir Topi awarded the Academy of Arts the Order "Grand Master" in recognition of the generations who had contributed to the institution and to Albanian artistic education.
The institution took its current name in 2011, when the Council of Ministers created the University of Arts on the basis of the former Academy of Arts. The university celebrated its 45th anniversary on 15 December 2011 with a programme of events, including the promotion of a commemorative postage stamp dedicated to the institution.
Campus and building
The University of Arts is located on Mother Teresa Square in central Tirana. According to the Municipality of Tirana, the university building was designed by Italian architect Gherardo Bosio between 1939 and 1941 and completed in 1942. It originally served as the Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro Albanese building during the Italian occupation period and is part of the rationalist architectural ensemble around the square.
On 11 January 1946, the communist regime proclaimed the People's Republic of Albania in one of the halls of the building. The university's main concert hall is part of the same building complex. UART states that the concert-hall building was designed by Bosio and built in 1939–1941 as part of a broader architectural ensemble that includes the Polytechnic University, the Archaeological Institute, the Rectorate and the stadium area.
The campus includes the Great Concert Hall, the "Çesk Zadeja" Hall, the "Ibrahim Madhi" Hall, the Experimental Theatre "Black Box", the Gallery of the Faculty of Fine Arts, a multimedia hall, a summer amphitheatre and the university library.
Organization and academics
The University of Arts has three faculties: the Faculty of Music, the Faculty of Fine Arts and the Faculty of Performing Arts. It offers first-cycle and second-cycle study programmes, including Bachelor degrees, Master of Arts, Master of Science, professional master's degrees and integrated master's degrees.
Faculty of Music
The Faculty of Music traces its origins to the State Conservatory of Tirana, opened on 15 January 1962. It became part of the Higher Institute of Arts in 1966 and was transformed into a faculty in 1989. The faculty is organized into three departments: the Department of Interpretation; the Department of Composition, Musicology, Conducting and Music Pedagogy; and the Department of Canto.
The faculty offers programmes in performance, composition, musicology, conducting, pedagogy and singing. Its ensembles include a symphony orchestra, wind orchestra, big band, string orchestras, wind ensemble, opera class and choir. The European Association of Conservatoires describes the Faculty of Music as the professional music-training institution within the University of Arts and as a public institution of higher artistic education in Albania.
Faculty of Fine Arts
The Faculty of Fine Arts originated in the Institute of Figurative Arts, founded on 4 January 1960, and became part of the Higher Institute of Arts in 1966. It is based in the university complex on Mother Teresa Square and includes studios, workshops, laboratories, lecture rooms and the FAB Gallery.
The faculty is organized through departments and studio-based programmes in areas including easel painting, graphic art, multimedia, textiles and fashion, monumental painting, sculpture, ceramics and photography.
Faculty of Performing Arts
The Faculty of Performing Arts is the successor of the Aleksandër Moisiu Higher School of Actors, founded in 1959 near the National Theatre. It grants degrees in acting, theatre directing, scenography and costume design, choreography, and film and television directing.
The faculty is organized into the Department of Acting and Art Theory; the Department of Directing, Film and Television Directing; and the Department of Scenography, Costume Design and Choreography. A department dedicated to film and television was added to the School of Performing Arts in 2004.
Library and archives
The Library of the University of Arts was created in 1966, the same year as the Higher Institute of Arts. It inherited the collections of the State Conservatory of Tirana, the Fine Arts School and the Aleksandër Moisiu Higher School of Actors, together with later donations. UART describes it as the largest and oldest art library in Albania, with a collection of about 45,000 volumes, including books, scores, manuscripts, dissertations, diploma works, periodicals, reference materials and audiovisual items.
The university also maintains a digital archive containing educational, artistic and documentary materials related to the institution and Albanian art education.
Directors and rectors
From its creation until its reorganization as an academy, the institution was led by directors. Later it was led by rectors.
1966–1969: Vilson Kilica, painter and director of the Higher Institute of Arts
1969–1973: Tefik Çaushi, writer and critic, director of the Higher Institute of Arts
1973–1978: Lili Zhamo, director of the Higher Institute of Arts
1978–1981: Ibrahim Madhi, violinist and professor, director of the Higher Institute of Arts
1981–1988: Kristo Jorgji, film director, director of the Higher Institute of Arts
1988–1991: Jakup Mato, critic and scholar, director of the Higher Institute of Arts
1991–1992: Fatmir Hysi, musicologist, director of the Academy of Arts
1992–1995: Bujar Kapexhiu, film director, cartoonist and actor, director of the Academy of Arts
1995–1997: Gjergj Zheji, writer and scholar, director of the Academy of Arts
1997–2008: Kastriot Çaushi, actor and professor of drama, rector of the Academy of Arts
2008–2016: Petrit Malaj, actor and professor of drama, rector of the Academy of Arts and later rector of the University of Arts
2016–2024: Kastriot Çaushi, rector of the University of Arts
Postage stamp
On 15 December 2011, during the 45th anniversary celebrations of the University of Arts, a commemorative postage stamp dedicated to the institution was promoted. According to the university, it was the first postage stamp issued in Albania for a university.