07 Mar 2011

aMAZElab presents OPEN (the) CITY in SKOPJE

'Open (the) city' is part of the international project ARCIPELAGO BALKANI (awarded by EU Cultural Office) curated by Claudia Zanfi (director aMAZElab), that aims to identify the city as an open space, a place of exchange and encounter, of freedom and equity, a crossroads of cultures.

The members of the independent cultural sector in Macedonia are invited to share their opinions, to investigate and speculate of what can be done in this special climate in Skopje, also in relation to other cities of the Balkan area.

In such context, 'Open (the) city' will present the work of First Archi Brigade, an independent group of young architects and artists from Skopje, in a form of a publication titled 'Skopje Open'.
'Skopje Open' is a sort of tabloid which functions as a reader of the activities of First Archi Brigade, whose work is guided by the need to voice a 'proactive role in the designing of the urban reality of today'. As the future generation of architects in Macedonia, they have become one of the most precise critics of 'Skopje 2014' – the new urban plan of the government to redesign the main city square of Skopje with neo-classical architectural elements, in opposition to the illuminated Kenzo Tange's plan from the '60s. The work presented in this publication points to the historical and present day context that enables First Archi Brigade's public actions to be seen as critical activities without becoming destructed by either emotions or nostalgia.
The publication is edited by Yane Calovski, Hristina Ivanoska and Ivana Vaseva of press to exit project space - platform for curatorial and artistic research practices, and produced in the frame of ARCIPELAGO BALKANI, conceived by Claudia Zanfi for Cultura 2007-2013 EU .

aMAZElab Art&Cultures also conceived the project 'Open City', a symposium in Italy; a series of workshop; and works on paper by different artists and theoreticians from the Balkan area. A touring display that will travel in different cities and will be presented in Skopje (press to exit), Sarajevo (SCCA), Tirana (TICA) and finally in Praha and Berlin (TINA B + Exchange Radical Moments - International Art Festival).

PROGRAMME IN SKOPJE:

1) Launch of the publication 'Skopje Open' by First Archi Brigade edited by press to exit project space (Skopie) and aMAZElab (Milano).

2) Exhibition of works on paper from the project 'Open City', curated by Claudia Zanfi.
Participating artists: Marina Abramovic, Albanian Pavillion, Alterazioni Video, Balkan Depot / Tomislav Tarek, Pavel Braila, Yane Calovski, Danica Dakic, Calin Dan, Biljana Djurdjevic, Group Elementi (Biljana Isijanin and Ljupco Isijanin), Thomas Hirschhorn, Hristina Ivanovska, Armin Linke, Rasa Todosijevic – Marinela Kozelj, Borjana Mrdja, Oliver Musovik, Vladimir Nikolic, Damir Niksic, Adrian Paci, Anton Petrov, Tadej Pogacar, Stefano Romano, Massimo Sciacca, Shoba, Igor Sovilj, Biljana Stefanovska, TooA / Cogni – De Mattia, Zaneta Vangeli, Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss.

3) Public conversation with the members of the independent cultural scene in Macedonia (press to exit project space, Kontrapunkt, Lokomotiva, CDA T-House, Public ROOM, First Archi Brigade, Raspeani Skopjani and others) and Claudia Zanfi (aMAZElab Art&Cultures, Italy).

INFO: www.amaze.it