The theatre hall at Tirana University of Arts opened its doors to students, artists and art admirers after undergoing successful reconstruction project designed to add new international dimension to this monument of culture.

The newly-renovated theatre hall not only meets the international standards and the artists’ demands, but project also preserved its initial design, hailed as a jewel of architecture in the in the 1930s and 40s, thanks to the beneficial cooperation and the valuable expertise provided by specialists from the University of Florence, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the University of Arts, and the National Institute of Cultural Heritage.

The existing Academy of Arts building, now the University of Arts, is a cultural heritage monument of “architecture” category.

Prime Minister Edi Rama, also once a student and former lecturer at the then Academy of Arts, attended the ceremony of inauguration of the newly-reconstructed theatre hall, saying that the project has best fulfilled and preserved the legacy of this cultural monument an outstanding reputation for training many Albanian talents that rose to the pinnacle of the international art world.

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“I won’t take much of your time, as it is up to others to say a lot more about this. Apart from that, I am sure you don’t miss me speaking, and that’s why I took a seat, because I really felt too old while listening to Kastriot saying “they were three of them, with two of them already gone, and one is still here.” I am also taking advantage of the remaining time so that I don’t stay on my feet.

I am very happy that we are completing a tribute, so to say, and, for the sake of truth, this not an easy feat that has been done here, because this is neither a new hall nor an ordinary but reconstructed old theatre hall, but a monument of culture about which thorough and careful search has been made in the archives and it took then prudent work to restore it to its whole size and dimensions.

It is literally the legacy of this halls history, but seen somehow a bit differently; not as a history that is over, but as an ongoing history, and not as a story about names, but history about a space that since the very beginning has been a space of passion, the space of dreams, the space of unspeakable desires in terms of their strength, the meeting space among those who owned the stage and those who dreamed about owning it, and the space of a place that within its modes size rendered its values through the sounds, words, dance, plays or those who took the stage to act themselves, but to convey the message of the future, the message of hope in youth, the message of strength to overcome walls and overcome many obstacles that I will not talk about today. Today I won’t talk about the past.

I would just like to say that today this very theatre hall is made available to those who are tasked with the mission of passing on their experience to others and to the future generation, the mission of creating new experience and all together continue to keep alive and strengthen the passion of this country, the creative passion, the interpretive passion, the communicative passion.

I would also like to say that this hall meets a long-time need to be as radiant and as impressive as all those talents who from this very hall rose to the top of the international art world, who started off from this hall to amaze millions of spectators around the world.

So by expressing gratitude for everything, I can say that I personally gained from this hall’s energy that is then spread to everyone coming and leaving this theatre. I am also happy to have been given this opportunity to give back though a little to this place, which is a place of hope and dreams, but nevertheless something from so much that place gave me. I would like to wholeheartedly wish you all the best and to all those who are here today and to all those who are like these in this oasis of hope and passion, so that every day and more, every year and more, every decade and more in all new times, Albania continues to be always proud whenever it comes to people who have climbed on this stage or who have had a connection with this hall or with this holy place of hope and passion.

Thank you!