Exploring the life and legacy of Agim Zajmi
The above artwork was created by the painter Agim Zajmi in 1988 and is preserved at the National Gallery of Arts in Tirana. He portrayed a girl, dressed in a simple rural outfit, with a calm expression and vibrant colors. Agim Zajmi was an Albanian painter who, for his contribution to painting, was awarded the title of People’s Artist of Albania.
He completed his studies in painting, scenography, and costume design at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg and graduated in 1961. That same year, he began working as a scenographer at the Opera and Ballet Theater in Tirana, and later primarily at the National Theater of Tirana.
From 1978 until his death, Zajmi was a professor at the Academy of Music and Arts of Albania in Tirana. He served as a professor and dean of the Academy of Fine Arts in Tirana.
In 1978, at the request of the Academy of Arts of Albania, he founded the scenography study program and took on the leadership of the Academy of Fine Arts in Tirana, where hundreds of future scenographers would study and graduate. He taught there for the next 40 years.
His artistic works have been exhibited in many countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Austria, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, and others. Forty of his paintings and stage designs are part of the collection of the National Gallery of Arts in Tirana, as well as collections in other countries. Some of his artworks are currently on display at the Prime Minister’s Office building in Albania.
