State of Culture in Albania 2025 · Municipal profiles · Artivista Center (Qendra Artivista)
This profile is based on information provided by the Municipality of Klos in reply to Artivista's request for information on culture (2026) and INSTAT's 2023 Population and Housing Census. Amounts are in Albanian lek.
At a glance
| Region (qark) | Dibër |
| Administrative units | 4: Klos, Gurrë, Suç, Xibër |
| Area | 357.72 km² |
| Population, 2023 Census | 12,172 (about 34 residents per km²); 26.7% fewer than in 2011 |
| Residents aged 65 and over | 16.8% (national average 19.7%) |
| Culture budget | Between 0.4 and 15.7 million lek a year; 3,825,660 lek in 2025 |
| Activities and beneficiaries | From 2 events and 1,000 beneficiaries in 2020 to 5 events and 8,000 in 2025 |
| Heritage | Furnishing of the Petralba Historical Museum, 16,538,800 lek (2022 and 2024) |
Summary
Klos, in the Mat valley, reports a culture budget that changes sharply from year to year: 433,200 lek in 2020, 12.3 million in 2021, 1.1 million in 2022, 15.7 million in 2023, 10.4 million in 2024 and 3.8 million in 2025. The reply also gives a much smaller amount for funds distributed to cultural activities, between 0.4 and 1.8 million lek a year, without explaining how the two series relate.
The cultural programme is small but growing, from 2 events in 2020 to 5 in 2025, while the number of beneficiaries rose from 1,000 to 8,000. A local fair and a folk festival take place every year; a children's festival, a Literature Month, “Verë dhe Portokalle” and an Emigrants' Festival in Xibër and Gurrë e Bardhë were added over the period.
The main investment was the furnishing of the Petralba Historical Museum, worth 16.5 million lek. Culture is run by a small team of 3 to 6 people, including a librarian and a museum keeper. The municipality notes that, without a detailed database, its data are presented in general terms.
1. Governance and institutions
Klos has a public library in the centre of the town and, since 2022, a museum with its own staff member. A head of sector and a specialist work on culture throughout the period. The reply reports 3 people in culture in 2020 and 2021, 4 in 2022, 5 in 2023 and 6 in 2024 and 2025.
2. Funding
The reply gives one budget figure per year, without saying whether it is the approved or the executed amount: 433,200 lek in 2020, 12,276,841 lek in 2021, 1,084,880 lek in 2022, 15,658,330 lek in 2023, 10,416,625 lek in 2024 and 3,825,660 lek in 2025. A second series, the total value of funds distributed to cultural activities, matches the first only in 2020 and is much smaller in later years: 390,000 lek in 2021, 1,043,880 lek in 2022, 1,751,000 lek in 2023, 1,660,000 lek in 2024 and 1,372,000 lek in 2025. The municipality has no specific data on income from its cultural institutions.
3. Cultural programme
The number of events supported rose from 2 in 2020 and 2021 to 3 in 2022 and 2023, 4 in 2024 and 5 in 2025, and beneficiaries from 1,000 to 8,000. A local fair and a folk and traditional festival were held every year. The first children's festival took place in 2022; a Literature Month and the cultural event “Verë dhe Portokalle” were added in 2024; and in 2025 an Emigrants' Festival was held in Xibër and Gurrë e Bardhë. Events use public squares, schools and sports grounds, natural and tourist sites and the premises of the administrative units.
4. Heritage
The Petralba Historical Museum was furnished in two phases, in 2022 and 2024, for a total of 16,538,800 lek. The reply does not give the source of the funds. The municipality also mentions an initiative to inventory and promote heritage, including the traditional stone tower houses (kulla) of the area.
5. Planning and public participation
Klos has no single culture strategy. The reply lists local folk and promotional activities, cooperation with cultural institutions and associations, and the inventory of traditional towers as its main initiatives, and says it is committed to cultural and nature tourism. It describes meetings with residents, interest groups, local artists and partners, but does not record how many formal consultations took place.
6. Culture across the municipality
According to the reply, activities take place in all administrative units, according to the character of each area. The only unit-specific event named is the Emigrants' Festival in Xibër and Gurrë e Bardhë.
Conclusions
- The culture budget varied from 0.4 to 15.7 million lek a year, with no clear trend.
- A second series of funds distributed to activities is much smaller and is not explained.
- Events rose from 2 to 5 a year and beneficiaries from 1,000 to 8,000.
- The furnishing of the Petralba Historical Museum cost 16.5 million lek, with no funding source given.
- There is no culture strategy and no record of formal consultations.
Recommendations
Explain the two budget series
The municipality could state clearly what each series covers, for example the full culture budget, including the museum works, and the part spent on events, and report planned and actual figures for each.
Open the museum to visitors
After the investment in the Petralba museum, publishing opening hours, visitor numbers and a small education programme for schools would show its value to the community.
Build on the emigrants' festival
The festival in Xibër and Gurrë e Bardhë is a good way to reach the diaspora. Extending similar events to Suç and the other villages would spread culture across the municipality.
Create a simple culture database
As the municipality itself notes, a basic database of events, participants, staff and spending would make future reporting more precise.
About the data
Population figures come from the INSTAT 2023 Census. Budget, activities, beneficiaries, staff and heritage are as reported by the municipality in its reply. No medium term budget plan (PBA) was available for Klos.
Every effort has been made to base this analysis on the data provided by the municipality, complemented with data from its Medium Term Budget Programmes (PBA) published online. For comments or questions, please contact artivista@arti-vista.org.
This article was prepared within the CulturAL project, with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the National Centre for Community Services and Artivista Center and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
