Pogradec hosts the Watercolour Festival

For the first time, Pogradec welcomed the International Watercolour Festival, a cultural event that brought together artists from more than 30 countries around the world, making the town, for a while, an epicentre of culture.

According to the organisers, Pogradec is the right town to stage a festival of this kind on a large scale. The event showcased 200 works by artists from over 30 countries, including India, Turkey, Italy, Greece, Kosovo, Albania, Brazil, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Mexico, Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal, Korea, Lithuania, Vietnam, Singapore and many others.

“Pogradec has every opportunity to host a festival like this on an even larger scale”, says organiser Armand Xhika.

Most of the foreign artists were visiting the town for the first time. They said they were amazed by the beauty and inspiration that Pogradec offers with its legendary lake.

“I like this town; it is more developed than I expected. Today I painted a fantastic view, one of the most beautiful I have ever drawn. This event lifts the area and promotes tourism”, says the Indian artist Hamit Kappor.

“This is a city of art, and it is an honour for me to be part of this festival. Pogradec could become a centre of art in Albania”, says the Turkish artist Atanur Dogan.

“It is an honour to be here. Watercolour came to this town and you have welcomed us warmly. We would always like to work together with Albanians”, the Italian artist Giovanni Balzarani told the media.

Some of the festival works will be donated to the collection of the Pogradec Art Gallery, while the artists also created works at other destinations in the area, such as Tushemisht, Lin and the Selca Tombs (Varret e Selcës). A.K./TemA