Having good practice in crisis management is prerequisite towards leading a cultural organization, due to the constant uncertainty. In this way, organizations build competencies since they become reflective on their practices.

The uncertainty that the pandemic of COVID -19 has brought to our civilisation, was immense. The first and foremost industry that was hit by the restriction and cutting off, was the cultural sector – we were the first that were “closed for business”, since our sector is a business that gathers vast number of people on the same place just for the fun. And we were the last that were opened. Somewhere, this relives are still not yet introduced to the society.

So, having a prompt response in a form of crisis management is the prerequisite of every cultural organizations ‘modus operandi’ strategy, especially in the last 3 years of the world’s happenings.

North Macedonia as a country that was also severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, introduced more or less the same measures of prevention and protection against the spreading of the newly virus. And this meant- cutting all public events, gatherings, indoor working conditions, indoor events, cinemas, concerts, promotions, conferences, workshops, and the whole industry just stopped.

But – with living in a country that is a fragile democracy, having only 30 years of independence, landlocked in the Balkans with only 2 million people, this unanticipated world event came as a heavy burden for our also – fragile economy. This meant, by closing off the cultural sector – the personnel that were employed by the country in the public/administrative cultural organization were “safe”, but the 0.05% of the individuals coming from the independent cultural sector were not. They were cut off by every means of earnings. And our – fragile economics, couldn’t find a means for crisis funding and helping this otherwise also very delicate cultural sector.

Having this in mind, MKC as a public organization that in its programing, has always been a home for the independent cultural sector offering them space for executing their projects, wanted to address this problem. So, in 2020 as the COVID pandemic was in the highest, MKC created a program where only independent cultural organizations/individuals would be booked for a show/program in the city’s neighborhoods, around buildings and parks where people during the curfew hours, could sit outside their balconies and enjoy these events.