ART AND SOLIDARITY: EXAMPLES FROM SKOPJE AND ATHENS

Abstract

The multifaceted concept of solidarity assumes distinct forms across different historical and socio-political contexts. One emblematic manifestation emerged in the aftermath of the 1963 earthquake in Skopje, when the city became a powerful symbol of Yugoslav and international solidarity amid Cold War geopolitics. I first encountered this commemorative narrative of solidarity during municipal events marking the anniversary of the earthquake in the summer of 2018. Coming from Athens, however, I was familiar with a markedly different articulation of solidarity: in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis—and particularly during the severe austerity period that followed—grassroots and often antagonistic practices of solidarity expanded across broader segments of Greek society. Initiatives such as anti-middleman food networks, exchange markets, migrants’ and artists’ squats, and other forms of mutual aid proved vital in confronting widespread precarity. These practices not only mitigated material hardship but also generated new forms of sociality and collective belonging.

Conversations with contemporary art practitioners in Skopje, many of whom articulated aspirations toward a vision of Europe distinct from that promoted by the Skopje 2014 urban regeneration project, revealed parallel yet contextually specific understandings of solidarity. Self-organized and self-sustained artistic initiatives emerged alongside projects supported by private funding, all operating largely outside formal state institutions.

This paper offers a comparative examination of these divergent articulations of solidarity within contemporary art practices and their intersections with activism in response to heterogeneous “crises” in Skopje and Athens. By situating solidarity within shifting political, economic, and cultural landscapes, the study highlights its capacity to generate alternative imaginaries of community and civic engagement.