After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Direction at the University of Arts in Tirana, Albania, Iris pursued further studies, earning a Master of Arts in Theater and Show Direction in 2016. Now, she is a PhD student, for the thesis: “Creative Productions in Public Space and their relation with Tourism and Economy”, in which she aims to make a research about cultural and creative outdoor productions, tourism and economy, while protecting the environment, artists and the audience…
Art is both her passion and her profession! Since 2017, she has been the Executive Director and a co-founder of DoART—a non-governmental organization whose name means “to Love Art” in Albanian and “to Do Art” in English. “DoART” may help different fields of life, through multidisciplinary arts. Iris believes that art has the soft power to improve our world and help us understand ourselves on a deeper level, making us better individuals. This belief drives her work and her dedication to teaching. She now shares her inspiring insights, experience, and knowledge as a lecturer at the University of Arts and Polis University.
In addition to her work in the arts, Iris has over seven years of experience in the public sector, holding roles within departments of the Municipality of Tirana, like; artistic curator at “Reja – The Cloud”, head of assets at Creative Industries Agency, with Micro Folie Tirana, a French project, Center of Art “Agimi”, etc. Now, she is leading the Creative Industries Agency. She has also studied Business Management. Marketing and Finance in a professional program to enhance her skills in production, as an infusion with creativity. Her involvement in the Cultural Producers program by the British Council enriched her experience, allowing her to collaborate internationally and study diverse methodologies.
Iris has extensive experience in festival production—primarily in outdoor cultural events—as well as in directing and writing theater plays, audio dramas, and short documentaries. “The Festival of Street Performers,” proudly carries her creative signature. She has been invited multiple times as a trainer/ workshop leader, part of jury and discussions panel and artistic director of cultural projects across the Western Balkans and beyond, working with youth, NGOs and freelancers. She has made workshops in different schools in Tirana, Elbasan and Shkodra teaching how to make videos to raise the voice to protect the environment. After making workshops for artists about Marketing in Art and Media, Iris is invited to make some other workshops about Digital Marketing in tourism and she likes working with Media Literacy field too. A true artivist, she integrates art into various aspects of life; gender equality topics, against violence, no hate speeches, environment protection, inclusiveness, etc, – for her is important being an activist through arts.