Marubi National Museum of Photography

The National Museum of Photography ‘Marubi’ was founded in response to a pressing need to identify and promote the photographic archive made by the Marubi Dynasty and other Shkodra photographers, a cultural treasure unlike any other.

The heritage of the ‘Photo-Studio Marubbi,’ created in 1856 by Pietro Marubbi, an Italian painter and photographer who moved to Shkodra at the time, is at the heart of the museum project. Until the early 1950s, when Geg Marubi was obliged to give up his identity to the communist collective anonymity by joining other photographers in the photographic unit of the old Repair-Services Cooperative, the studio’s work was directed and enhanced by three generations of photographers.

The Marubi Photo-Studio opened in 1970 with roughly 500,000 negatives in different methods and formats. Historical photos from the collection were later utilized to fuel the communist propaganda machine (in numerous situations). Many of them seemed distorted and alienated in the publications of the time throughout this time.

The new museum, built by the architectural firm Casanova + Hernandez, is intended to encourage the important conversation between tradition and modernity, past and present. The restoration project of the old building created by Kole Idromeno – Albanian artist and architect, former student of Pietro Marubbi – emphasizes legacy and tradition while conserving structural aspects. The new museum’s activities are extended beyond its walls, into the city’s pedestrian area, by an exhibition structure positioned in front of its entrance, planned as a linking feature that allows the museum’s open and live form to serve as a cultural landmark for Shkodra. The museum’s intended activities are an active tool for promoting the museum’s cultural heritage assets in the city and abroad. Since its inception, the museum’s activities have constantly piqued the curiosity of visitors, academics, and curators from across the world. The Marubi Museum was one of the contenders for the prestigious European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA 2017).