Bio
Alketa Misja is an architect and photographer based in Tirana, Albania. She was born and raised in Albania and graduated from the Polytechnic University of Tirana in 1995 as an Architect / Urban Planner. She worked as a full-time lecturer in the Architecture and Urban Planning Department of Tirana's Faculty of Civil Engineering after graduation. Her primary teaching subjects included urban economics, urban sociology, and urban law. Throughout her career, she has served as a guest lecturer at the University of Tirana's Faculty of Economics and Faculty of Geography. Alketa holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Tirana's Faculty of Economics (2002). Her master's thesis and specialization are in Urban Redevelopment Projects and Management. Her primary area of study is the transformation of land values as a result of economic, social, cultural, and political forces. Her focus shifted to visual arts in 2008 as a means of representing the transformation of territory in contemporary society. She attended the New York Institute of Photography (USA) courses in Professional Photography (2012) and Professional Blogging. For Alketa, photography constitutes a tool for investigating the various forms and outcomes of urban transformation. Her work has been recognized in international competitions, and she has participated in numerous exhibitions. Alketa has her private studio in Tirana, where she works for commission and personal photographic projects.
EDUCATION
1990-1995_ Architecture/Urban Planning Studies, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Polytechnic University of Tirana, Albania.
2000-2002_ MBA Master in Business Administration, Faculty of Economics University of Tirana in collaboration with Lincoln University of Nebraska USA.
2010-2012_ Complete Course in Professional Photography, New York Institute of Photography
2012- Complete Course in Professional Blogging in NYICD New York Institute of Career Development, New York, USA.
PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS AND EXHIBITIONS
ARCHITECTURE MASTERPRIZE PHOTO AWARDS 2021, Honorable Mention in Exterior Architecture Photography / Historic Exterior Category, with the series “Exploring Modern Architecture”
International Color Awards 13th edition 2020, Nominee Architecture Category Professional, with photography “Between Parabolas”
International Color Awards 12th edition 2019, Nominee Architecture Category Professional, with photography “Palazzo Reale, Genoa Museums”
International Color Awards 10th edition 2017, Nominee Architecture Category Professional, with photography "Palazzo Rosso, Museums of Strada Nuova"
IPA International Photography Awards, Lucie Foundation 2016, Honorable Mention in Architecture/Cityscapes Category Professional, with photography "Summer Lights- Himara by Night"
International Color Awards 9th edition 2016, Nominee Architecture Category Professional, with photography "Foundry/Formation Unit ex-Automobile Plant of Tirana", from the series ARTIFACT Project
International Color Awards 9th edition 2016, Nominee Still Life Category Professional with photography "Old Telephones used in ex-Automobile Plant of Tirana", from the series ARTIFACT Project
IPA International Photography Awards, Lucie Foundation 2015, Honorable Mention in Architecture/Industrial Category Professional, for ARTiFact Project ex-Automobile Plant of Tirana
International Color Awards, 8th edition 2015, Nominee Architecture Category, with the photography "a la Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie Paris"
International Color Awards 7th edition 2014, Nominee Architecture Category, with photography "In the Port"
Grand Prix Juror Awards of Merit in Cityscape/Architecture Category, with photography "Mostar Bridge, notes from a journey", International Fine Art Photography Competition, Grand Prix de la DeCouverte, 2013
International Color Awards 6th edition 2013, Nominee Architecture Category, with photography "No Photography and Dogs Allowed in the shopping mall"
International Color Awards 5th edition 2012, Nominee Still Life Category
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibition “ALBANIAN SCAPES - a photography journey into albanian landscape” 43 Prints and PhotoBook Presentation from the Project ALBANIAN SCAPES, 18 March-22 April 2023, TATÌ SPACE Photography Center, Tirana, Albania
Posters Exhibition “ IFAU19 – 3rd International Forum for Architecture and Urbanism. Modernization and Globalization: Challenges and Opportunities in Architecture, Urbanism, Cultural Heritage”, Tiranë 21-23 November 2019, with the Photography Series “EXPLORING MODERN ARCHITECTURE IN TIRANA”
Group Exhibition “VITA VIA EST”, 25 december 2020- February 2021, ODA GALLERY Shkoder, Albania
“ARTIFACT PROJECT Volume 1, Ex-Automobile Plant of Tirana” Exhibition, 20 may - 30 september 2016, MINILAB, COD Centre for Openness and Dialog,Prime Minister's Building of Tirana, Albania
Solo Duo Exhibition "ARTiFact Project Volume1, ex-Automobile Plant of Tirana", 29 April-12 May 2014, Photography and Installation. Documenting the Industrial Heritage through photography and story telling.
Group Exibition, Salon de la Photo Paris, 7-11 November 2013, International Fine-Art Photography Competition, Grand Prix de la DeCouverte, November 2013
BOOKS
"Overview of the housing situation in Albania: comparative analysis" Author: Vladimir Misja, Alketa Misja
ISBN : 99943-653-6-3
Publisher: Akademia e Shkencave e Shqipërisë, Instituti i Ekonomisë, 2004
Length: 189 pages
Language: Albanian
PhotoBook “Albanian Scapes”
Author: Alketa Misja
Publisher: Tati Space Photography Center, First publication January 2023
Amazon Store: ISBN Hardcover, ImageWrap: 9798881301958
Blurb Bookstore: ISBN Hardcover, ImageWrap: 9798881287856
Blurb Bookstore: ISBN Hardcover, Dust Jacket: 9798210988904
Standard Landscape, 10×8 in, 25×20 cm
Length: 100 Pages, 87 photos
Language: English, Albanian