ŽELEZARA, SKOPJE | 1 JUNE 2024
KomshiLOOK:
Koce Metalec 1
Where it All Began
What if an ordinary residential neighbourhood could become a place for extraordinary cultural experiences? What if balconies became stages, staircases became galleries, and the people living behind apartment doors became part of the artistic programme? These were some of the questions that led us to create KomshiLOOK.
We wanted to bring art and culture closer to people's everyday lives, especially in neighbourhoods outside the city centre, where cultural events and institutions are less present. Instead of asking people to come to a theatre, concert hall or gallery, we wanted to bring these experiences directly to where they live. But more importantly, we wanted to explore whether art could help neighbours reconnect, discover one another and develop a stronger sense of belonging.
We found our starting point in Železara, a residential neighbourhood in Skopje, and more precisely at Koce Metalec 1. Here, six distinctive red residential buildings, built in the 1980s, follow the natural slope of the terrain. Their unusual architecture creates a landscape of interconnected balconies, staircases, entrances, garages, courtyards and shared spaces.
What might appear to be an ordinary housing complex offered us something remarkable: an entire neighbourhood that could become a stage, without constructing a single new cultural venue.
But the buildings were only part of the story. The real starting point was the people living inside them. We began knocking on doors, introducing ourselves and asking neighbours whether they would be willing to become part of an unusual experiment. At first, we asked for small things: permission to use a balcony, access to electricity, a shared space or simply a conversation.
These small requests gradually created curiosity, conversations and trust. Over several months, residents became collaborators, hosts and active participants in shaping what would happen in their own neighbourhood.
On 1 June 2024, Koce Metalec 1 became the setting for the first KomshiLOOK. For six hours, across 18 different locations, the residential complex was transformed into a living cultural programme. More than 100 artists, musicians, performers and collaborators took part, presenting theatre, dance, classical and contemporary music, opera, film, visual arts, installations and shared culinary experiences.
An orchestra performed from four balconies while the conductor stood in the parking area below. Theatre unfolded on balconies, and another performance began on Skopje's public bus number 16, turning the journey to the neighbourhood into part of the artistic experience. Apartments became intimate cinemas and dining spaces. Through Dinner with a Stranger, residents invited people they had never met into their homes to share food and conversation. Visitors moved between buildings, discovering performances behind corners, artworks in unexpected places and new ways of experiencing familiar architecture.
There was no single stage and no conventional separation between artists, residents and audiences. A balcony could belong to a musician for one moment and return to being someone's home the next. A neighbour could watch a performance from their window, help an artist prepare an installation or welcome strangers into their apartment. The neighbourhood itself became both the venue and an active part of the artistic experience.
The first edition brought together 112 participants and approximately 1,500 visitors. But beyond these numbers, what mattered most was the participation of the residents. People offered their homes, time, ideas and hospitality to create something together. The project opened spaces that were normally private and encouraged encounters between people who might have lived close to one another for years without really knowing each other.
Koce Metalec 1 became our first experiment in understanding what a cultural programme could look like when a neighbourhood is not simply its location, but also its main collaborator. It challenged the idea that art requires dedicated cultural buildings and demonstrated how existing architecture, everyday relationships and local participation could form the foundation of an entirely different cultural experience.
Most importantly, this first edition gave us the foundation for everything that followed. What began as a one-day experiment in six residential buildings gradually developed into KomshiLOOK, a cultural platform and a model for creating art with communities in different neighbourhoods, villages and cities.
It all began with a simple idea: look a little closer at the place where you live. Because sometimes the most interesting things in a city are happening just next door.
