45 years FFA

The Faculty of Fine Arts – Skopje celebrates 45 years since its foundation this year, confirming its leading role in higher art education. Since 1980, the faculty has been a center for creative development, where generations of artists are formed who leave a significant mark on the domestic and international scene. Over the decades, with constant innovations in the curricula, FLU remains dedicated to advancing contemporary artistic practices and creating space for new ideas, while maintaining the connection between tradition and modern trends in art.

The beginnings of higher art education in Macedonia are connected with the need for systematic and academic guidance of talented young artists. The Faculty of Fine Arts – Skopje was founded on March 31, 1980 by a decision of the then competent authorities, as part of the efforts to create a higher education institution dedicated to art. As an integral part of the University “Sts. Cyril and Methodius”, the faculty was established three decades after the founding of the university itself in 1949. Its creation was initiated by Dr. Toma Proshev, then director of the University Center for Arts in the Republic of Macedonia, who recognized the need for an academic institution that would educate future generations of fine artists.

A Founding Committee was formed for the organization and structuring of the new faculty, led by Vasko Popovski, Vice President of the Assembly of the City of Skopje, and supported by prominent professors and artists such as Prof. Dr. Boris Petkovski, Acad. Kosta Angeli-Radovani, Acad. Petar Mazev, Acad. Bogdan Boricin, Acad. Mile Jovanovic and Prof. Ilija Dzuvalekovski. Following their selection, on April 23, 1980, the first teachers were appointed, including academic painters Petar Mazev, Dimitar Kondovski, Rodoljub Anastasov and Dusan Perchinkov (first vice-dean), Acad. sculptor Petar Hadzi-Boskov (first dean), Acad. painter and graphic artist Dragutin Avramovski-Gute. With the adoption of the curricula, the faculty officially began its work on July 16, 1980.

On the occasion of this significant anniversary, the Faculty of Fine Arts is organizing a retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje, which displays a selection of works from the MSU collection and works owned by the artists-teaching staff of the Faculty of Fine Arts, highlighting the evolutionary course of artistic expressions and practices in the last four and a half decades. The exhibition is also accompanied by documentary contributions from the history and activities of the Faculty of Fine Arts.

In addition to the exhibition, lectures by prominent alumni have been organized that will explore the role of the Faculty of Fine Arts in the contemporary artistic and cultural discourse. The event aims not only to pay tribute to the rich heritage of the faculty, but also to open new perspectives for its future.