Ekspozita “People are closer than they appear” në Shkodër
Exhibition: People are closer than they appear
Curated by Maurin Dietrich
@maurindietrich
“People are closer than they appear” brings together works by Ketuta Alexi-Meskhishvili, Matt Hilvers, Anna Jermolaewa, Jonida Laçi, Leslie Thornton and Lea Vajda at the Civic Gallery in Shkodër, in the 9th edition of Ekrani i Artit.
People are closer than they appear begins from the understanding that being-with is not something we achieve, but something we are already inside of. Drawing from Lauren Berlant’s writing on public intimacy, the exhibition considers intimacy not as disclosure, but as the fragile and ongoing negotiation of coexistence: the rhythms of attention, distance and repetition through which worlds are continually made together.
Looking is never solitary. It is shaped by awareness of others who are also looking, waiting, breathing, coughing, passing by. Moving image takes time. And so do the encounters this exhibition is interested in. As a time-based medium, it can both stage and hold them. People are closer than they appear asks whether looking together can be a civic practice – one that insists on attention, and on the inconvenient work of coexistence with each other.
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More about the curator:
Maurin Dietrich is a curator based in Germany. From 2019-2025, she was Director of Kunstverein München, where she developed an internationally oriented program focused on contemporary art and institutional and archival research. Her work is grounded in long-term collaborations with artists and reflects a sustained interest in the social conditions of cultural production.
Alongside her curatorial practice, she writes and lectures on contemporary art and institutional politics. Before that she held curatorial positions at KW Institute for Contemporary Art (Berlin) and Berlin Biennale 9th. She is the co-founder of FRAGILE, an exhibition and residency space.
Note: This edition of Ekrani i Artit kicks off at the start of this exhibition. Save the date: May 27th, from 18:00.
Here is where the party starts ✨
