Astrit Ismaili

Astrit Ismaili’s recent ongoing research revolves around the notion ‘Creativity when Limited’, referencing personal and historical figures where the subjects use creativity to overcome environmental and socio-political limitations. The research was derived while developing ‘MISS’ (2019) which started as a performance and it followed with the production of their first LP, a short film (work in progress) and a series of drawings which will be the final stage of the cycle. During the residency, Astrit Ismaili will focus on the pre-production phase a short musical, sci-fi film titled ‘The First Flower’, which draws connections between the botanical world and queer communities, identifying common resilience strategies in the face of future ecological and political threats.

Astrit Ismaili graduated from the MA in Performance at DasArts in Amsterdam. They are currently a lecturer at Institute Art, Gender and Nature, Basel. Astrit Ismaili have received grants such as the Mondriaan Established Artist 2021, and the Young Visual Artists Awards 2011 and were a resident at ISCP in New York. They have shown work and performed at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (2023), KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2022), Neues Museum, Nuremberg, (2022), Manifesta 14, Pristina (2022), Impulstanz, Vienna (2021), Athens Biennale (2021), Salzburger Kunstverein 2020, SALTS, Basel (2018). They co-organized the performance project Prishtinë - mon amour and co-curated a number of Lost & Found, a series of events where artists, writers, scientists and musicians can introduce hybrid works that do not comfortably sit into galleries or museums.