Tenth ‘Pride Weekend’ Opens in North Macedonia’s Capital

Photo by Natasa Geleva Tenth ‘Pride Weekend’ Opens in North Macedonia’s CapitalSinisa Jakov MarusicSkopjeBIRNJune 3, 202211:16 With an exhibition, live performances and a DJ set, the Pride Weekend opened in Skopje, a festival of Queer culture, art and theory, which this year marks its tenth anniversary.

The opening event, an exhibition dubbed “Ecstatic Bodies: Archive of Queer Performative Bodies in Macedonia” happened at Skopje’s Contemporary Art Museum on Thursday.

The exhibition presented archive materials, including photographs, art pieces, as well as written documents depicting the early days and development of gender studies and theory in North Macedonia and beyond, as well as political performances.

These materials portraying Queer and feminist culture and studies came from the collection of authors and artists including Wolfgang Tillmans, Milosh Kodzoman, Nora Stojanovic, Dragoljub Brezan, Hristina Ivanovska, Velimir Zhernovski, Jane Calovski, Koco Andonovski, Natasa Geleva, Aleksandar Georgiev, Viktorija Ilioska, as well as from the Contemporary Arts Museum’s archive.

The archive encompasses the period of the last four decades. It also includes photographs from the Queer and feminist club scene, different forms of performative and visual art as well as choreographies over the decades.

Photo by Natasa Geleva

During the event, the audience also saw a performance by the artist Hristina Ivanovska, as well as the latest choreography work of Aleksandar Georgiev. The visitors also enjoyed a live DJ set.

This year, the tenth edition of Skopje’s Pride Weekend actually comprises two parts. One runs from June 2 to 11 at various venues throughout Skopje. The other runs from September 15-17.

Photo by Natasa Geleva

One of the highlights at this year’s edition are the performances of the US performance artist, dancer and choreographer Julie Tolentino and actor Stosh Fila on June 3 in the Contemporary Arts Museum.

On June 4, at the same venue, Skopje will get to see the renowned English avant-garde performance artist David Hoyle.

Photo by Natasa Geleva

Skopje Pride Weekend is organised by the MARGINI Coalition and the LGBTI Support Centre from Skopje.

Among its supporters are various NGOs, foundations and embassies, including the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Open Society-Macedonia Foundation, the US and French Embassies, as well as North Macedonia’s Culture Ministry.