Spotlight On…The Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Skopje, Macedonia houses the biggest, and most complete collection of contemporary art in Southeastern Europe. Which for a city that many people have never heard of, is astonishing but the reasoning is not without a tinge of saddness.
 
On July 26th, 1963, in the early morning hours an earthquake shook Skopje, killing over 1,000 people and destroying 75% of the city’s buildings including many historical monuments. In the wake of this tragedy, Jean-Paul Sartre said “Skopje is not a film, not a thriller where we guess the chief event. It is a concentration of man’s struggle for freedom, with a result which inspires further struggles and no acceptance of defeat.” His words and the plight of the city’s inhabitants inspired many artists from around the world to donate pieces of their art to include in a new contemporary art museum. Artists like Picasso and Calder. In total, over 1,760 works from 61 countries were given to the museum and the building itself was a gift from Poland.
 
The Museum of Contemporary Art
Skopje 1000, Macedonia – (02) 311 77 34

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