Upcoming Publication: Icons of Opium
Edited by Dr. Doan Dani – Research Fellow, University of Montreal -
The forthcoming publication Icons of Opium expands upon the groundbreaking exhibition held at the Kalo Gallery in Tirana in April 2025. This comprehensive volume will serve as both a visual archive and a critical academic resource, documenting and analyzing the state-produced media graphics employed by the communist regime in Albania to legitimize and enforce its aggressive campaign against religious institutions and belief systems.
The publication will catalog a rich selection of propaganda illustrations designed to demonize religion and elevate atheism as a pillar of socialist progress. These materials, drawn from state archives and private collections, reveal the potent role visual culture played in legitimizing ideological repression.
Beyond documentation, Icons of Opium will feature a series of interdisciplinary essays by historians, artists, linguists, writers, and scholars of religion and the humanities. Contributors will explore the semiotics of anti-religious imagery, the intersection of art and authoritarianism, and the broader socio-political implications of using visual media as a tool of state violence and erasure. The volume aims to interrogate how visual language was weaponized to construct collective memory, enforce state atheism, and reshape cultural identity.
Crucially, the publication will also examine the lingering effects of this legacy in Albania’s post-communist society, offering insights into how these images continue to inform debates on secularism, memory, and the politics of representation. Icons of Opium is envisioned as both a scholarly contribution and a public reckoning—inviting reflection on how historical media continues to echo through the visual and ideological landscapes of today.
We warmly welcome financial support to help bring Icons of Opium to publication. Contributions will directly fund the high-quality reproduction of archival materials, translation and editing of scholarly essays, and the design and distribution of the volume in both print and digital formats. Supporters will play a vital role in preserving and sharing this important visual and historical record with academic communities, cultural institutions, and the wider public. For those interested in contributing, partnership opportunities and donor acknowledgments will be available in the final publication.
