Author: Risto Karajkov
Place: The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Date: 13 July 2011

In recent months, in some of Skopje’s more bohemian bars, one can spot young women wearing rather unique earrings. A particularly daring one is made of part of the plastic strip of a well known brand of anti-depressants. The pill, still in its slot in the strip, is part of the earring. "Just in a case of an emergency," the joke goes. The earrings are made by the creative hands of a young artist, Dafina Dzeparoska. Her jewellery, all handmade and unique, has lately become increasingly visible. For example, a national fashion weekly recently picked up on her work. She spoke to Southeast Europe: People and Culture about her passion for jewellery making.

Author: Aleksandar Sazdovski
Place: The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia**
Date: 11 April 2011

As a four year old, Dita Starova, an artist from Skopje, Macedonia, was growing up in Paris and, as she now recalls, was already learning the language of colours. Today, she teaches art in Skopje and "The Language of Colours" is the name of her latest exhibition of paintings.

Author: Dejan Trajkoski
Place: The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia**
Date: 21 December 2010

Vuk Mitevski belongs to the youngest generation of artists from Macedonia and he is one of the few in the region who fuses work in film, animation, painting, sculpture etc. As a graduate of the American College Bentington he stayed in New York in 2005 and 2006 where he put up a solo exhibition called the Saints.

Author: Risto Karajkov
Place: The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia**
Date: 20 December 2010

Professor Mitko Hadži-Pulja is the most renowned architect in Macedonia today. Together with his colleague Minas Bakalcev, he recently won the project for the new building of the National Theatre. A regular participant at the prestigious Venice Architecture Biennale, he attended this year together with all of his students (over a hundred) from the 1st year at the faculty. He spoke to Southeast Europe: People and Culture in a Skopje café across the street from the Faculty of Architecture.

Author: Risto Karajkov
Place: The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia**
Date: 01 November 2010

Only 33, he is one of the most promising fashion designers in his country. Since returning from his studies in Florence, Italy, in 2006, where he specialised in Fashion as Art, he has quickly become a household name in his industry. Jovan Petrovski talked to Southeast Europe: People and Culture from Bangkok where he has recently started lecturing, about his projects and his views on fashion and the challenges for fashion design in the region.

Author: Risto Karajkov
Place: The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia**
Date: 16 October 2010

A returnee from Italy and a man with a vision, Tefik Tefikoski, nicknamed “Tutto” has been working for several years on an exciting project in his native village of Jance, in the National Park Mavrovo. An expert in construction - he ran his own construction company in Italy for over 15 years – Tefik has launched a project of restoring old houses in Jance and elsewhere in the country.

Author: Risto Karajkov
Place: The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia**
Date: 12 September 2010 

The 50th edition of one of Macedonia’s most renowned cultural events, the Ohrid Summer Festival, closed on 20 August. The young ensemble of the local Vojdan Černodrinski Theatre from Prilep had the honour of closing the event with their much acclaimed interpretation of Bertolt Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle.

Author: Risto Karajkov
Place: the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia**
Date: 02 September 2010
  
If the ancient Kurshumli An in the Old Bazaar in Skopje could by some chance reassume its original function, that of being a hotel, it would no doubt be on par with the most lavish of those existing today. Then, one should only try to imagine it in the 16th century, because this is when it was built by Musein Odza, to give shelter to merchants coming to do business in Skopje’s Bazaar.  The Old Bazaar’s roles have changed over the centuries.  In the 19th it served as a prison, on account of its safe, impenetrable walls. Between the two world wars it was a warehouse. It is now a protected monument of culture, and probably the most magical concert venue in the city.