Mira Gakjina

As a curator and director of Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje the possibility to participate at the CIMAM 2018 Annual Conference contributed toward gaining knowledge toward new, innovative and alternative models of rethinking of the role of the museum in relation with current socio-political challenges and technological innovations that museums face, that enables me with a new expertise for the future development of the institution.

The three of the conference sessions were considering the museum as a concept in constant development of its critical premise, inspiring and challenging in its socio-political and, above all, cultural appearance.

The conference program corresponded to the need for implementing new cultural i.e. abandoning the ethno-nationalist and conservative concepts of acting in the cultural space and its continuous depoliticization and democratization. This approach contributes to the development of critical culture, the creation of relations between culture and other spheres of social life connected to the new media, internet, and technological innovations.

The third session dedicated to the Ethics of Museums in an Age of Mixed Economy confirms the reconsidering of the need for responsibility, ethically and morally implementation of the management policies of the Museum that corresponds with the extremely important period of depoliticization and democratization of the institutions in Macedonia.

Also, conference program opened the questions if is it too ambitious to plan the development of an international program in a periphery facing economically restrictions in the wider socio-political context of the disturbing political global area? Peripheries and small cities don’t have much choice, especially if they want to avoid quick satisfaction or lowering of the standards. The only choice is developing strong international cooperation. Therefore, I believe that this meeting was of the highest importance, for the collaboration that can induce the initial dynamics for new beginnings. Regarding this, the possibility of constituting new connections with colleagues and artist at international level, which leads to the future collaborations are from an exceptional value for the development of my future work and the institution also.