Skopje's Radio 103 Marks 20 Years on the Air

The station, which strives to promote progressive art and free thought, offered the audience a programme including performances by Macedonian music groups and deejays, as well as art exhibitions and film screenings.

"Mizar", "TB Traceri", "Millko", "Legijata", "String forces", "Bei the fish", "The John", Karter, "Fonija", "Sound pollution", "A Venus fly trap", "Canon", Devojka, Nino Naumov, Robotek were among the names that contributed to the celebration. These bands, along with a few others, are at the centre of the Macedonian music that has been promoted at the station over the years.

Saturday's celebration began with a special music session dubbed "E'n 2, tri...103", in which 15 well-known musicians played various instruments together, improvising as they went along.

The atmosphere was festive throughout the venue- in the dancing hall, cinema Frosina, gallery, the main hall and in front of the Cultural Centre.

A retrospective exhibition and audio installation was held in the YCC gallery, where selected artwork curated by Igor Tosevski, a member of the art group "Zero", was presented to the station's supporters who attended the celebration. The recently published Manifesto of Kanal 103 was available for the public to view and all were welcome to sign the document.

Twenty experimental films and videos made by Macedonian authors were screened in the small cinema during the event. The Palme d'Or short film winner by Mitko Panov, "With hands raised" was among them, as well as pieces by Zaneta Vangeli, Dragan Abjanic and other artists.

Kanal 103 began broadcasting on May 1, 1991, one of the first independent stations in Macedonia. Twenty years later, the radio station presents cultural movements inside of a public medium, and aims to promote progressive art and free thought.

In the run-up to the 20th anniversary celebration, Kanal 103 aired a number of shows featuring a variety of guests and declared a so-called free zone in the cafés in the Old Bazaar in Skopje.