{"id":99676,"date":"2025-10-02T19:19:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T19:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/99676\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T19:19:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T19:19:09","slug":"kosovar-artist-wins-nasher-prize-one-of-sculptures-biggest-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/99676\/","title":{"rendered":"Kosovar artist wins Nasher Prize, one of sculpture\u2019s biggest awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kosovar artist Petrit Halilaj, whose work often contrasts the innocence of youth with the sober realities of war, has been named the winner of the 2027 Nasher Prize. <\/p>\n

At 39, Halilaj is the youngest recipient of the award, according to a Thursday announcement from the Nasher Sculpture Center<\/a>. <\/p>\n

In a phone call from his Berlin home, Halilaj said history molds his art. He came of age in Kosovo in the 1990s amid a bloody conflict between ethnic Albanians and Serbians. He was 13 when he and his family, who are Albanian, had their house burned down by Serbian forces. Later, at a refugee camp, a psychologist encouraged Halilaj to draw his fears and dreams. <\/p>\n

The drawings, among which Halilaj depicted vibrant birds and trees (suggesting a utopia of sorts), would inspire a 2021 exhibition at the Tate St. Ives in England. \u201cWhatever we live [through], it makes [us] who we are,\u201d he said. \u201cSurviving in that war was true luck.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Other works by Halilaj that recall history and childhood include a series of bronze sculptures based on scribbles found on generations of school children\u2019s desks in the Balkans. These sculptures were shown in 2024 on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. <\/p>\n

\"Petrit<\/p>\n

Petrit Halilaj’s bronze sculptures draw inspiration from doodles he observed on the desks of primary schools across the Balkans.<\/p>\n

Hyla Skoptiz<\/p>\n

\u2018We have to bring culture back\u2019<\/p>\n

Most recently, Halilaj staged Syrigana, an interdisciplinary opera based on a local legend, in the namesake Kosovar village. <\/p>\n

He learned of his Nasher win shortly after the opera\u2019s June debut. It was a hectic time. A few days before the premiere, several props \u2014 \u201cmonths and months of work and preparation\u201d he said \u2014 were set ablaze. They had been stored in locked containers. <\/p>\n

\"Petrit<\/p>\n

Petrit Halilaj’s interdisciplinary opera ‘Syrigana’ adapts a Kosovar legend about Adam and Eve.<\/p>\n

Arben Llapashtica<\/p>\n

The culprit was not found, but Halilaj suspected the fire was related to Kosovo\u2019s history of ethnic tensions. Still, he was undeterred and rallied a fleet of artists to re-create the destroyed materials. \u201cThe collective dream we have to bring culture back,\u201d he said, is \u201cway bigger than this attack.\u201d <\/p>\n

Halilaj sees the Nasher Prize as supporting this dream. He plans to use the prize money \u2014 $100,000 \u2014 to support the Hajde! Foundation, a nonprofit he founded with his sister in 2014 to promote the arts in Kosovo. The organization has provided artists with spaces to present their work and revitalized cultural institutions that fell into disrepair amid the conflict.<\/p>\n

In partnership with Kosovo\u2019s Ministry of Culture, Hajde! has mounted a restoration of an arts center in Halilaj\u2019s hometown. Called the House of Culture, it was a beacon for artists until its closure around the late \u201880s. Halilaj estimates it will reopen in 2027. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just one person that has one point of view. \u2026 What the House of Culture can bring is this plurality of voices,\u201d Halilaj said, adding that he wants to invite both ethnic Albanians and Serbians as well as minority groups into the space.<\/p>\n

Programming to come at the Nasher<\/p>\n

Halilaj\u2019s art offers hope, said Carlos Basualdo<\/a>, director of the Nasher Sculpture Center. \u201cWorks like this tell you about what art can do,\u201d Basualdo said, noting it can bring people together. <\/p>\n

In the decade since the Nasher Prize was established, it has become one of the art world\u2019s most prestigious honors. Recent laureates have hailed from countries around the world including Nigeria (Otobong Nkanga<\/a>), the U.S. (Senga Nengudi<\/a>) and Iran (Nairy Baghramian<\/a>). Winners are selected by a jury of museum directors, curators, art historians and artists. Halilaj is the ninth recipient of the award.<\/p>\n

The prize began as an annual award in 2015 before switching to a biennial basis in 2023 to allow recipients more time to collaborate with the museum. Plans for programming around Halilaj\u2019s work in 2027 will be announced. <\/p>\n

CORRECTION<\/b>, 9:30 a.m., Oct. 2, 2025: An earlier version of this story said Petrit Halilaj will have an exhibition at the Nasher in 2027. The Nasher has clarified there will be programming around Halilaj\u2019s work, but not necessarily an exhibition.<\/p>\n

Arts Access is an arts journalism collaboration powered by The Dallas Morning News and KERA.<\/p>\n

This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, The University of Texas at Dallas, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and KERA retain full editorial control of Arts Access\u2019 journalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kosovar artist Petrit Halilaj, whose work often contrasts the innocence of youth with the sober realities of war,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99677,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,12169,362,59101,363,364,366,18,117,19,17,4504,63410,12167],"class_list":{"0":"post-99676","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-access","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-arts-district","12":"tag-artsanddesign","13":"tag-artsdesign","14":"tag-design","15":"tag-eire","16":"tag-entertainment","17":"tag-ie","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-museums","20":"tag-nasher-sculpture-center","21":"tag-visual-arts"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}