Sulejman Lokaj, an actor and painter, passed away. He was born in Lëbushë, Deçan, in 1933. He attended primary school in Isniq and graduated from Art High School in Peja. In 1976, he completed his visual art studies at the Higher Pedagogical School in Prishtina. For a time, he worked as a visual art teacher in Isniq, Deçan, and Istog. Sulejman Lokaj began his theater career as an amateur actor and director, staging several plays in which he often handled both the dramatization and scenography. In 1964, he was employed as an actor at the National Theater (Albanian Drama) in Skopje, where he performed numerous roles in various plays until 1976. Some of his notable performances include “Nita,” “Karnavalet e Korçës” (“Carnivals of Korça”), “Buçitje malesh” (“Kiss of the Mountains”), “Dielli i mbrëmjes dhe i mëngjesit” (“Evening and Morning Sun”), “Armiku i popullit” (“Enemy of the People”), and “Forest.” From 1976 onward, he worked as an actor in the People’s Theater of Gjakova, where he played various roles in productions such as “Fisheku në pajë” (“Cartridge in the Dowry”), “I paepuri” (“The Relentless”), “Intrigë dhe dashuri” (“Intrigue and Love”), “Njeriu me top” (“The Man with Cannonball”), “Ezopi” (“Aesop”), and “Epoka para gjyqit” (“The Era Before the Trial”), among others. Lokaj also featured in several feature films, including “Kur pranvera vonohet” (“When Spring is Late”), “Njeriu prej dheu” (“The Man Made from Soil”), and “Rojet e mjegullës” (“Guardians of the Mist”). He appeared in various television films such as “Era dhe lisi” (“The Wind and the Oak”), “Kulla” (“The Tower”), and “Migjeni,” as well as in several short films. As a painter, he held multiple solo exhibitions and was recognized with the National Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 by the Ministry of Culture of Kosovo. (In the photo: Sulejman Lokaj)
Text: Encyclopedic Dictionary of Kosovo – Vol. II , Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo, Prishtina, 2018, page 992.
Photo: © https://www.kultplus.com/tag/sylejman-lokaj/
Graphic processing: AHCF
