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© Images: Ana Lazarevska, Boris Jurmovski
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NAUTILUS KONSTRUKT
The stage is a reaction to the lack of public space initiatives in Skopje and gives the city a stage where freedom of expression is imperative. After we concluded together with the local theatre groups and MKC that Skopje is in dire need for such performance space, we realized that this project becomes ever more relevant for the local context. Even though MKC is the most progressive cultural institution in Skopje, it needs to extend its involvement in the independent cultural production. Our goal from the initial idea was to bring these stakeholders closer together and insist on collaboration that will open up new possibilities. Consequently, the stage is built in front of MKC where despite the rich infrastructure for cultural events still lacks an outdoor stage. Although MKC is located right at the riverbank of Vardar it doesn’t have any connection or relationship to it. MKC and Nautilus are in the centre of Skopje, but still in a very underdeveloped public area along the riverbank. This area was planned to become a cultural hub in the 1960s but the idea never materialized. In that sense Nautilus builds on that original idea and extends the possibilities of the riverbank, MKC and the young artists in Skopje. Our idea for Nautilus is not about violent ruptures in public space without ideas for posterity; rather it is about gentle or micro ruptures that open up possibilities for collaborations by enabling unexpected – rhizomatic – lines of flight to materialize. (Deleuze et al., 1984)
After the initial phase of developing the idea and fundraising, together with the Architecture Faculty of Skopje and the Department of Architecture at the ETH Zurich gathered a strong group of around 30 students that became the crucial part in the realization of the project. Our architect partners on the other hand, TEN from Zurich who are experts in building pavilions and our NGO took the role of design critiques that worked intensively on design and building of the stage with the students in July and August 2015 in Skopje. The students from Skopje and Zurich had a chance to expand their knowledge and test their skills-set on a real project and at the same time enabled them to understand the project as a medium for societal change. This turned out to become a very successful educational model and managed to create a long lasting connection between all group members until this day. Excerpts from the Academic paper (MEDIATIONS_ Art & Design Agency and Participation in Public Space_ Nautilus Konstrukt_Building an Open Stage for Skopje_Kokalevski_Filipovska_City Creative Network 2016) Authors: City Creative Network CCN Skopje and TEN Studio Zurich
Architects: Lukas Burkhart, Alexa den Hartog, Dejan Dinevski, Milan Dinevski, Damjan Kokalevski, Aurel Martin, Guillaume Othenin-Girard, Luka Piskorec, Nicolas Rothenbuehler, Karl Ruehle, Darko Krstevski, Yves Seiler, Nemanja Zimonjic Co-Authors: Sofija Bakalova, Jonatan Egli, Lucas Enzo Bucher, Iskra Filipova, Lukas Fink, Demjan Haller, Diandra Germann, Lukas Herzog, Ilcho Ilievski, Elena Jovanovska, Lazo Lazarov, Emilija Lelifanovska, Sandra Mojsova, Anne Marie Nagy, Monika Petrov, Micha Ringger, Martin Ristovski, Mirjam Schenk, Mihajlo Stojanovski, Jan Zurcher Supporters / Partners: Architectural Faculty of Skopje (AFS), Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development (PCF), City of Skopje, Ministry of Culture of Republic of Macedonia, gta ETH Zurich, Prof. Philip Ursprung, Skopje Fair, Balkans Arts and Culture Fund (BAC) as part of the project ACT4CITY. Collaborators: Ivana Angelova, Ana Boranieva, Elena Dinovska, Gligor Dubrovski, Erina Filipovska, Jasna Stefanovska, Milos Stokuca, Neven Kostic, Christian Gork Skopje, Macedonia 2015 |
