A not-for-profit, self-financed group of artists calling themselves Kooperacija (“Cooperation”, Macedonian slang for a general store in small villages) hosted an exhibition titled “Melting Point: Art as Anti-Hegemonic Propaganda” [en [1], mk [2], with photos] in Skopje recently.
[1]‘Fear makes the world go round’ by Ines Efremova. Photo by Kooperacija, used with permission.
As reported [3] [mk] by several news outlets that cover culture [4] [mk], including Belgrade-based SEE Cult [5] [sr], the event presented works by several individuals and groups of world renowned artists. Among them were pieces by Vitaly Komar [6], IRWIN [7], Santiago Sierra [8], DETEXT [9], as well as by some of the most vibrant artists from the region, like Nemanja Cvijanović [10], Ibro Hasanović [11], Igor Toševski [12], Kristina Gorovska [13] & Jure Lavrin [14], Ines Efremova [15], Filip Jovanovski [16], O-P-A [17], and others.
The group of artists who put together the exhibition described [18] it on their pages as:
Kooperacija is an initiative whose purpose is artistic activity outside the inert institutional frameworks, thus suggesting an exceptional approach to the creation and experience of contemporary art […]
[Its] basic strategy is the occupation of temporarily free space dispersed throughout the urban landscape and exhibiting through a chain of blitzkrieg events. The desired effect is a constructive dialogue regarding the re-questioning of the critical positions in art and producing a favorable environment for a free exchange of ideas, experience and freedom of expression.