In the last few years, the Museum of Contemporary Art has experienced a real refresh, the works of artists that can be seen in the world's major museums have been paraded through the museum space. Not only did the audience return to MSU, but the museum team managed to attract a new, young audience, which is extremely difficult when culture in our society is marginalized.

Bojana Janeva or "our diamond" as her colleagues call her, is a curator at MSU, who managed to contribute a lot to the revitalization of the museum by organizing museum tours as a curator-guide.

"I work with a lot of love and with a deep belief that the people of Skopje and all those who come from other cities, even from abroad, should be proud and happy that we own such a building with such a great state cultural heritage. I believe that we are all burdened with too many daily problems and difficulties, and we rarely give ourselves a moment of respite, when we will enjoy ourselves, enjoy our surroundings and learn something about our history and something more about art. It was from this personal belief of mine that the idea to do this in the Museum of Contemporary Art came, of course, my director Mira Gaqina also deserves credit, who somehow discovered me and suggested that I do the museum tours. I share my vision of what the Museum of Contemporary Art should be for the people who live here with all the other colleagues. Skopje and the people who live here have a desire for art, a desire to learn more. Cultural life used to mean visiting a concert, exhibition or theater performance every night, it is an integral part of social life, visiting cultural and artistic places, and I really believe in the audience," says Bojana to "Utrinski Pechat" about her work and that of the team. at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

One of the main goals of the museum, in addition to the artistic program, is also the education of the young audience. Almost daily, visits are organized from children from kindergartens, elementary schools, high school students, up to students from architecture, art history, fine art, design.

"The educational department at the Museum of Contemporary Art is one of the oldest in our cultural institutions, I just inherited the work of my colleagues and with great enthusiasm approached the request of schools, making contacts for children of preschool and school age. It is about educational workshops, in which the children first see the display that is currently in the museum, and then we offer them the opportunity to make their own creations. The approach to children is really different, that's why there is that profession, museum education, and the whole world already believes in the importance of educators and the way of alternative, different education that offers freedom that is not found in the school curriculum."

On April 6, the opening of the 14th biennial of young artists entitled "Awakenings" is expected. Bojana revealed to Utrinski Pechat the details of who are the curators of the exhibition, how many young artists will take part and what this year's theme of the biennale is about.

"The Biennale of Young Artists has been organized by MSU since 1967, with occasional interruptions, and is a very significant institution and one of the most visited exhibitions we have in the museum. At this year's biennial, we are three curators, Iva Dimovski, who holds the strings of the biennial, Nikola Uzunovski, an artist who collaborates with MSU and communicates with the artists, and I am more like a help. This year we will have 38 young artists registered from all over the world, and the theme is 'Awakening'. We wanted to have a general theme, where artists will have the freedom to show their thoughts and ways of working, and of course it is connected to the pandemic period and how artists experience those changes", says Bojana.

The Museum of Contemporary Art is a symbol of world solidarity and Skopje in solidarity, a theme that is dealt with by the exhibition in the Kunsthalle Vienna, with works from the valuable collection of the museum. For the first time in Vienna, a selection of works from MSU will be presented, and Bojana told us about the importance of the exhibition, which is of national interest.

"This exhibition is organized by the Kunsthalle, in the Museum Quarter of Vienna, where the most important works from our collection will be on display. This is happening for the first time, such a large traveling exhibition in collaboration with curators who not only represent the collection, but at their invitation there are also 9 artists who are inspired by the story of the museum, how it was created, solidarity and donations of works by artists from all over the world. world," Bojana explains about the concept of the MSU's big traveling exhibition in Vienna.

You can see more of the conversation with Bojana Janeva at the following link: