Skopje - Culture

Culture

Skopje is the cultural hub of the Republic of Macedonia and, therefore, is home to many of the country's most important museums. One of these is the Museum of Contemporary Arts which is devoted to the preserving of contemporary art. Тhe museum was created as part of the reconstruction following 1963 earthquake. The International Association of the Plastic arts called upon the artists of the world to assist in creating a collection of works of art by which they would support the vision of the city's reconstruction. The government of Poland held a national competition for the design of the building of the Museum of Contemporary Art and donated it to Skopje. The large park areas, which now contain many sculptures, surround the museum. The Museum of Macedonia, the Natural History Museum, and the Archives of Macedonia are other significant museums in Skopje.

The Skopje Jazz Festival has been held annually in October since 1981. It is part of the European Jazz Network and the European Forum of World Wide Festivals. The artists` profiles include fusion, acid jazz, Latin jazz, smooth jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Ray Charles, Tito Puente, Gotan Project, Al Di Meola, Youssou N'Dour, among others, have performed at the festival. Another music festival in Skopje is the Blues and Soul Festival. It is a relatively new event in the Macedonian cultural scene that occurs every summer in early July. Past guests include Larry Coryell, Mick Taylor & the All-Stars Blues Band, Candy Dulfer & Funky Stuff, João Bosco, The Temptations, Tolo Marton Trio, Blues Wire, and Phil Guy.

The Skopje Cultural Summer Festival is a renowned cultural event that takes place in Skopje each year during the summer. The festival is a member of the International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA) and it includes musical concerts, operas, ballets, plays, art and photograph exhibitions, movies, and multimedia projects that gather 2,000 participants from around the world each year including St Petersburg Theatre, the Chamber Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre, Irina Arkhipova, Viktor Tretiakov, The Theatre of Shadows, Michel Dalberto, David Burgess.

May Opera Evenings is a festival that has occurred annually in Skopje since 1972 and is dedicated to promoting opera among the general public. Over the years, it has evolved into a stage on which artists from some 50 countries have performed. Another opera festival, the Open Youth Theatre Festival, was established in May 1976 by a group of young opera enthusiasts. More than 250 theatrical performances have been presented at this festival so far, most of them being alternative, experimental theatre groups engaging young writers and actors. Recently, the festival became a member of the Brussels Informal European Theatre Meeting (IETM). Within the framework of the Open Youth Theatre, a Macedonian National Centre of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) was established, and at the 25th ITI World Congress in Munich in 1993, it became a regular member of the theatre association. The festival is now an international one representing groups from the former Yugoslavia, the United States, France, the former Soviet Union, Spain, Japan, Poland, Italy, the United Kingdom, India and other countries.