Yll Xhaferi has been selected as the 2026 Styria-Artists-in-Residence for Graz. Each year, Shtatëmbëdhjetë and the Regional Government of Styria exchange one artist between Kosovo and Graz.
Yll Xhaferi (born in Pristina, Kosovo) is a visual and multidisciplinary artist working in painting, installation, and new media. His works explore collective and personal memory, identity, urban space, and the impact of technology on human experience. Through symbols and visual metaphors, he creates artistic narratives that intertwine reality and imagination. Xhaferi has exhibited in Kosovo and internationally, including participation in projects associated with Manifesta 14 Prishtina.
During his stay in Graz, he will approach the city as an open text to be read and interpreted, constructing mental maps that emerge in the space between direct experience and the urban memory shaped by Prishtina. His interest lies in exploring how spaces carry memory, how collective narratives become embedded within architecture, and how the city is experienced beyond its purely physical function.
Through observation, walking, and everyday encounters, Yll will seek connections between urban structures, visible histories, and those that remain unseen, creating a dialogue between two distinct cultural contexts. In this process, the city is understood not merely as a place, but as a field of relationships, memories, and projections. From this shared reading of spaces and experiences, he will develop artistic works that investigate the intersections of memory, perception, and urban identity.
