51Âþ»­

A photographer who lectures at 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­) has been invited to exhibit her world-famous work at one of the UK's most respected art fairs.

Lala Meredith-Vula has been asked to exhibit her photography - which captures her native Kosova's troubled history - at the London Art Fair later this month.

The fair is the country's premier modern British and contemporary art show and will take place at the Business Design Centre, in London, from January 20 to 24.

The event has been running for 27 years and this year expects to see more than 28,000 visitors from the art world. There will be 126 Galleries showing artists including the Jerwood Gallery who will show artwork by John Piper  (1903-1992) and Christopher Wood  (1901-1930). 

Lala, a Bosnian born Anglo - Albanian, said: "To be asked to display my work here was a very proud moment for me. It is such an important art fair, so to be able to give my work that kind of audience is really exciting.

"My piece 'Shifting Borders' is very relevant as it's about identity, diaspora and migration. The rock in Africa shows a girl in Albanian costume in a completely foreign landscape."

The exhibition marks the latest in a string of successes for Lala, a Reader in Art and Photography at 51Âþ»­. Last year, Lala's exhibition 'Blood Money' was staged at the National Art Gallery in Kosova. It was nominated for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2016, photography's equivalent to the Turner Prize, awarded to the photographer making the biggest contribution to European Photography in 2015. The exhibition involved 40 photographs which Lala had selected from more than 1,000 she had taken during a period of 2 years spent in Kosova 25 years ago.

The collection of images traced a period in the country's history  following the blood feud reconciliation movement in Kosova from 1990 - 1991. This was the period in Kosovar history when people decided to bring an end to blood feuds and to stop the killing which lasted for over a hundred years - sometimes until all men of the two involved families were killed.

The exhibition was visited by Rosen Plevneliev, President of Bulgaria, along with Kosovan President Atifete Jahjaga as part of a state visit.

That led to Lala being nominated for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2016, photography's equivalent to the Turner Prize, awarded to the photographer making the biggest contribution to European Photography in 2015.

And last year, Lala was also invited to the ceremony at the Kosovan embassy in London where Rita Ora, who was born in the Kosovan capital city of Pristina, was presented with her ambassadorial title.

The ceremony was also attended by former Prime Minister Tony Blair and wife Cherie, along with other senior diplomats and cultural Kosovan figureheads.