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Luan Buleshkaj

/CABARET/

Luan is a whimsical wordsmith. Buleshkaj - who has Albanian roots - started his spoken word career as a battle rapper. His affinity for witty wordplay and quick off the mark thinking has led him to be at the forefront of the spoken word scene of The Netherlands. From TV ads to festival performances. In his solo theatre play ‘Leeuwenkind’, Buleshkaj reminisces about his life and the city of Amsterdam. The play consists of personal stories, funny anecdotes and interesting observations. Themes such as growing up as an only child with a single mother, the war in Kosovo, male vulnerability, multiculturalism and friendship play an important role in Buleshkaj’s work.

PRESENTING

MIJN WERELD & WE GAAN
Luan is an authentic performer. During COVID-19 it was hard to keep the live performances alive. With the support of the 3PackageDeal, he decided to take a new route. He took singing lessons, made podcasts and recorded spoken word pieces with different musicians. At the end of 2020, Luan flew to the island of Curaçao to start collaborations with local artists. He met the top violinist of the island and they composed a song together. Shortly after he made a new song with a music producer. He then approached a video production company to make two music videos. One was shot in the Northern part of the island and the other in the Eastern part. Luckily COVID-19 was not very active on Curaçao at the time so he was able to perform at the Wintertuin Curaçao Festival 2020.




Stimulating and facilitating top talent with affordable living and working space, a budget, and a network – that is the goal of the 3Package Deal. This successful program of the Amsterdam Fund of the Arts (AFK) and Bureau Broedplaatsen in collaboration with renowned Amsterdam institutions is now regarded as the best practice in the field of talent development.



The Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK) invests in the arts which enrich the experience of life in the city of Amsterdam. The AFK encourages the quality, dynamism and diversity of the arts in Amsterdam, and contributes to the city's strong and richly varied cultural climate. The fund is available to all disciplines within the cultural sector, for cultural organizations and artists. The AFK supports both experimentation and proven quality, established organizations and those that are relatively new, the professional arts and amateur arts - from every district of the city. As a metropolitan cultural fund, the AFK offers support to high-quality cultural activities, it functions as a booster for the arts within the city and is an investor in a sustainable future for the cultural sector.



Bureau Broedplaatsen is part of the municipality of Amsterdam. Its task is to realize more affordable studios and (residential) workspaces for artists and incubator groups. Bureau Broedplaatsen does this in collaboration with target group organisations, city districts, central services, corporations, real estate agents, developers, and banks.

We thank our partners, the renowned Amsterdam cultural institutions listed below who take part in the 15 coalitions that select the participating artists and provide them with guidance and a supportive network. They are of vital importance to the program.

Film and Interactive Media: Filmacademie / IDFA / EYE / Fashion: HTNK / OSCAM / AMFI Visual Art: FOAM / Rietveld Academie / De Appel Arts Centre / Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam / Kunstverein / Rijksakademie / Engaged Art: Veem House of Performance / De Balie / De Ateliers / Urban Realm: NDSM-Werf / Over het IJ Festival / Das Arts (AHK) / Theatre: Academie voor Theater en Dans/ Amerpodia / Theater Bellevue / Dance: ICK Artist Space / Frascati Theater / AHK / SNDO (AHK Dans) / Music: Conservatorium Amsterdam / Muziekgebouw aan het IJ / Melkweg / Cabaret: Academie voor Theater en Dans / De Kleine Komedie / Amsterdams Kleinkunst Festival / Interhistoricity: Oude Kerk / Museum van Loon / H401 / Reinwardt Academie / Publishing Performance: Werkplaats Typografie (ArtEz) / If I Can’t Dance / Sandberg Instituut – Critical Studies / Social Design: Waag / Hackers&Designers / Framer Framed / Self-taught: Likeminds / Theater Bellevue / Theater De Meervaart / Bio Art and Design: Waag / Mediamatic/ VU Amsterdam

Event credits:

Curated by Bogomir Doringer.
Event production by Rafael Kozdron.
Felix Meritis production by Rivka van der Berg.
Press contact: Charlie Thole (AFK.
Project leaders: Johanna Brils (AFK) and Naïma Bouchtaoui (Bureau Broedplaatsen).