No Feeling Is Final. The Skopje Solidarity Collection

The international group exhibition No Feeling Is Final. The Skopje Solidarity Collection revolves around the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) Skopje’s unusual collection of modern works, as well as the historical and political context of this extraordinary project. After the massive earthquake that hit Skopje in 1963, there was a huge effort to help rebuild the devastated city, as a large-scale gesture of international solidarity. The decision was made to establish a museum of contemporary art as a key cultural element of the reconstruction, and thousands of works were donated to Skopje by artists from around the world. The collection of MoCA Skopje represents a time capsule of late modernism across the Iron Curtain, as it goes beyond the established Western canon and incorporates works by artists from the former Eastern Bloc (including Czechoslovakia) and artists from the then Third World or Global South. Originally held at Kunsthalle Wien in 2023, the exhibition will be presented at the National Gallery Prague (NGP) in a modified version, expanded to include donations from both Czechoslovak artists and the NGP itself, which contributed a selection of works of classical modernism. Contemporary artists were invited to work with the collection and history of its solidarity: Jesper Alvaer and Isabela Grosseová, Brook Andrew, Yane Calovski & Hristina Ivanovska, Siniša Ilić, Iman Issa, Gülsün Karamustafa, Elfie Semotan and also writer Barbi Marković. 

Four contemporary artists and two artist duos ⁠–⁠ Jesper Alvaer and Isabela Grosseová (Prague and Kvænangen), Brook Andrew (Medellín and Melbourne), Yane Calovski and Hristina lvanoska (Skopje and Berlin), Siniša Ilić (Belgrade), Iman lssa (Vienna and Berlin), and Gülsün Karamustafa (Istanbul and Berlin) ⁠–⁠ were invited to pick works from MoCA Skopje’s collection that resonate with their respective artistic practices. By selecting around ten historical works each and complementing them with their own pieces, they created subjective exhibitions showing the collection through the lens of today’s artists. These personalized displays using architectural design created by the artists extend the backbone of the exhibition, which features historical works selected by the exhibition curators and archival material, including models of iconic buildings and Kenzō Tange’s model of the master plan of the city centre. To convey a media image of the natural disaster and the subsequent rebuilding of the city, the exhibition makes use of the then-emerging television broadcasting. Furthermore, renowned photographer Elfie Semotan (Vienna and Jennersdorf) was invited to present a new series of photographs documenting the cityscape of Skopje as well as MoCA Skopje’s exhibition spaces and depository.

The exhinition offers a new perspective of the history of post-war modern art through this unique collection. It provides an alternative to established collection displays, including the newly opened 1939⁠–⁠2021: The End of the Black-and-White Era (on view since May 2023). To complement it, No Feeling Is Final. The Skopje Solidarity Collection places Czechoslovak art of the 1960s in an international context. It is also an invitation to reflect on historical and contemporary forms of solidarity and the role of art in a time marked by conflict, destruction, and uncertainty, but also by cohesion, renewal, and a vision of a hopeful future.

Curators: What, How & for Whom / WHW (Ivet Ćurlin, Nataša Ilić, and Sabina Sabolović) and Rado Ištok

Venue: Trade Fair Palace, 1st floor, east wing

Dates: 22 March 2024 ⁠–⁠ 29 September 2024

In cooperation with Kunsthalle Wien and MoCA Skopje