Albania's capital city offers a lovely collection of colourful buildings and street art.
Edi Rama started the Tirana street art scene. Edi Rama is Albania's current prime minister, but he was formerly the mayor of Tirana for 11 years.
What makes Edi Rama unique is that he is also a well-known painter in addition to being a politician. He even had a worldwide exhibition at New York's Marian Goodman Gallery.
Edi Rama discusses in his TED talk "Take back your city with paint" how, while mayor of Tirana, he began painting the city's structures.
The city had numerous austere, grey, and concrete buildings after the prolonged communist administration. Rama employed paint to transform the city's appearance and offer its citizens hope and brightness.
Tirana city removed 123.000 tonnes of concrete from the riverbank under his direction. Over 5000 illegal structures were demolished to reclaim public space. In addition, 55.000 trees and plants were planted throughout the city.
"I used colour to revive hope lost in Tirana," Edi Rama declared. The first multicoloured building captivated people, causing a traffic bottleneck and a large crowd to gather. Then, according to a survey of Tirana residents, people wanted the painting of buildings to continue.
Through street art, Edi Rama sought to give the Albanian people hope for a brighter and more vibrant future. He used his painting skills to change Tirana during Albania's dismal communist past.
The best method to see Tirana's city centre is on foot. Start your walking tour of the capital city at Skanderbeg Square and wander. As a capital city, Tirana still has a long way to go, but it is undoubtedly colourful, and the future seems brighter.
