Lokomotiva

Lokomotiva was founded in 2003 in Skopje as a platform for education, reflection, production, curatorial actions, and research in contemporary arts and culture. It continuously works on developing capacities and improving working conditions for artists and cultural workers, with a particular focus on contemporary performing arts (dance and performance). It perceives culture as an extended field interrelated with society and considers art a (post)disciplinary field that broadens forms of expression, production, and dissemination. Lokomotiva is developing its structure through rhizomatic governance approaches, allowing collaborative reshaping of its work and fostering partnerships with collaborators who support the intersection of art with human rights, social and environmental justice, feminism, and other issues that contribute to equitable future visions of the world.

The organization actively participates in diverse collaborative formats and is involved in various international and regional initiatives, associations, formal and informal networks. It has co-founded several initiatives, including the Nomad Dance Academy project network/platform (2006-), JADRO – Association of the Independent Cultural Scene in Macedonia (2012), and Kooperativa – Regional Platform for Culture (2012). Additionally, it founded the Locomotion Festival for Contemporary Dance and Performance (2008–2015). Lokomotiva has been a partner and co-organizer in several EU projects, such as Jardin d’Europe (2008–2013), Life Long Burning (2013–2018), Art Climate Transition (2019–2023), Non-Aligned Movements (2020–2024), and Re-Imagine project focused on green transformation in performing arts. It also participated in the Erasmus+ project “Curating in Context” (2019–2022), which it later expanded into the International Summer School and Open Course “Curatorial Practices in Context,” in collaboration with Stockholm University of the Arts. In 2024, Lokomotiva established the Performance Platform festival and in 2025, co-initiated the first Macedonian choreographic platform. In 2025 has became part of the larger research project Dance Map dedicated on developing, researching and advocating for better conditions of the dance heritage in Europe.
Since 2019, Lokomotiva has been a member of the EDN European Dance Development Network and has been part of the GPS/Global Practice Sharing Network since 2016. Locally, it has actively contributed to cultural policy development and the improvement of working conditions and rights for cultural workers.

Since its inception, Lokomotiva has aimed to create a dedicated space for contemporary performing arts. One such initiative, in partnership with Theatre Navigator Cvetko, resulted in the founding of KINO KULTURA – a project space for contemporary performing arts and culture in 2015. This space not only hosted performing arts programs but also collaborated with civil society and local communities. However, in December 2020, Lokomotiva and Theatre Navigator Cvetko had to vacate the space of cinema Kino Kultura, where the project space had been implemented for five years. Since then, Lokomotiva has been based at the Mladinski Kulturen Centar (MKC) in Skopje, with whom it collaborates on diverse programs; however, it is still part of various efforts for establishing a permanent space and institution for contemporary dance and performance in Skopje.
As part of its broader working practices, Lokomotiva is also engaged in publishing within the fields of contemporary theory, culture, and performing arts. To date, it has published over ten publications and has initiated the CoLab program, focusing on research and writing of artistic, curatorial, and discursive practices online.

Lokomotiva has in 2013, the Swiss Cultural Programme honored Lokomotiva for its outstanding work in contemporary dance in the Balkans, particularly through the NOMAD Dance Academy project. Through its continuous efforts in artistic production, cultural policy, education, and advocacy, Lokomotiva remains one of the crucial actors in shaping contemporary performing arts and the independent cultural scene in North Macedonia and the region.