Speaking at the exhibition opening were CHF director Knezović, Dragoljub Siljanovski and Goran Korov, who penned the exhibition catalogue. Also there to welcome everyone was the president of the association Blagoj Šterjov with Ivana Lazarevska serving as event moderator. The musical programme featured the Momi Biserni vocal ensemble, accompanied by the Ohridski Biser orchestra.
Macedonia – So Far, Yet So Near is a philatelist/numismatic exhibition by Dragoljub Siljanoski staged on the 22nd of May at the CHF headquarters in Zagreb in the frame of the Days of Macedonian Culture. Siljanoski, the owner of the Foto Centar studio in Našice is the recipient of the 2013 Johan Kohlhoffer Prize for philanthropist of the year in Osijek-Baranja County. He has been active for many years in supporting the Dora Pejačević Tamburitza Association, the Franjo Strapač Markovac Slovakian Culture & Arts Association of Markovac Našički and of the Braća Miladinovci Macedonian Culture Association of Osijek, whose activities he has preserved on video and in photographs. The exhibition also includes drawings of Macedonian folk costumes created by Skopje-born architect Darko Marković and the work of the Razboj ethno-workshop of the Ohridski Biser Macedonian Culture Association.
Hosted by the CHF, the exhibition was organised by the Ohridski Biser Macedonian Culture Association of Zagreb, with the Croatian National Minorities Advisory Board and the Croatian Heritage Foundation serving as sponsors of the Days of Macedonian Culture event. The Ohridski Biser Macedonian Culture Association was founded in October of 2005 by Macedonians living and working in Zagreb.
Speaking at the exhibition opening were Croatian Heritage Foundation director Marin Knezović MSc, Dragoljub Siljanovski and historian Goran Korov, who penned the exhibition catalogue. Actress Kostadinka Velkovska was on hand to welcome the gathered on behalf of the Mayor of Zagreb. Also there to welcome everyone was the president of the association Blagoj Šterjov with Ivana Lazarevska serving as event moderator. The musical programme featured the Momi Biserni vocal ensemble, accompanied by the Ohridski Biser orchestra. The exhibition will be open to the public to the 28th of May. VIDEO
The Croatians of Macedonia and Macedonians in Croatia regulated their statuses and rights in their respective domicile countries with an inter-governmental agreement signed in Split in 2007. The Macedonian Community in the Republic of Croatia was founded in 1991 and has been active for 24 years as an ethnic and national community and as a non-political and non-profit association. There are a number of minority and mixed associations currently active in Zagreb, including the Ohridski Biser Macedonian Culture Association, the Macedonian Youth Forum, the Krste Misirkov Macedonian Culture Association, the Croatian-Macedonian Society, the Macedonian Community in the Republic of Croatia, the Spectum Macedonian-Croatian Association for the Promotion of Cultural Values and Exchange, the Macedonian Women’s Association, the Matrix Macedonia in Croatia and others. Also active in the frame of the Macedonian Community outside of Zagreb is the Braća Miladinovci Macedonian Culture Association in Osijek, the Ilinden Macedonian Culture Association in Rijeka, the Makedonija Macedonian Culture Association in Split, the Biljana Macedonian Culture Association in Zadar and the Sts Cyril and Methodius Macedonian Culture Association in Pula.
Text by: Diana Šimurina-Šoufek
