Artwork in Albania: The process of transformation from propaganda tool before the 90s to JT tool after the 90s ABSTRACT In dictatorial Albania, artworks were subjugated to the ideological framework of the Labour Party, serving the communist propaganda. This framework was legitimized even in the constitution of 1976. For more than 45 years the local artworks were censored, discredited and condemned. After the 1990s, with the freedom brought by the fall of the communist regime, a part of the artistic work contained reflections and testimonies on the communist past in the country. Through the contents were conveyed testimonies in the public and social debates were instigated. Thus, this paper tries to highlight the role of memory in the form of art as a complementary and necessary mechanism in achieving the goals of transitional justice in Albania. It also aims to measure the power of memory TJ mechanism in confronting the past. The data in this paper are based on the theoretical approach for art as a TJ tool and on the quantitative and qualitative data generated from the state’s archive database, monitoring of public discussions in the media, archives of public institutions and non-governmental organizations in the country Keywords: Transitional Justice; Artwork; dealing with the past; reflecting on the past; memory; memorials; Albania; INTRODUCTION Initiatives to research and acknowledge the role of art in the process of political change in Albania comes as a need to go beyond legal measures to cultural and social approaches. Through this material it is required to consider the importance of a form often not prioritized through which stories are told; feelings and ideas are expressed; events and persons are commemorated and remembered: the importance of Art (in this case specifically: Books; memorials; exhibitions, movies). This paper aims to analyze the effect of art: firstly, as a propaganda instrument in Albania during 1970-1980 and the role of artwork as a Transitional Justice tool after the 1990s. After the fall of communism, Albania went through lack of institutional actions related to TJ process; at the same time, many artists took their own private initiatives to produce “artwork” related to dealing with the past and reflecting on it. For 27 years many institutors; national and international took initiatives to publicly present movies; books and exhibitions on this theme. Also, after 2000s state institutions engaged in creating memorials in honor of the victims of communism. Throw this paper I assume that all these private and state initiatives have influenced the TJ process in Albania. In this research paper, I follow the assumption that visual and performance art in itself is one of many expressions of TJ that was applied in Albania. Art can illustrate how people react to injustice and TJ measures: perceive the past; instrumentalize, influence and manipulate (always in the eyes of the artist) the public perception and inform and make people aware of past misconducts and injustice. The paper will try to give a general overview on the importance of artwork on the process of dealing with the past, and how it can help the process of informing and making people conscientious about past misconducts and injustice. 145