Uses of Socialist Heritage: A Case Study from Kočani, North Macedonia

• In Event: The Liberatory Potentials of Memory Activism in Central-East Europe and the Balkans

Abstract

My paper traces the efforts made by artist Elena Čemerska to restore the Freedom Monument in Kočani, North Macedonia. The monument, an outdoor amphitheater completed by Radovan Rađenović and adorned with mosaics designed by Čemerska's father Gligor in 1981, has fallen into disrepair since a round of major renovations was last performed on it in 2004. In 2022, Čemerska successfully applied for funding for the restoration project from the U.S. Embassy in Skopje. This presentation will seek to evaluate whether this has impacted the way in which the Monument is presented to its publics, the scope of its programming, and long-term prognoses for its sustained preservation.

Author

• Patricia Manos, Harvard U