European Municipalist NetworkToday's #MunicipalistMonday 🧵 looks to Belgrade and the Magacin Cultural Centre – a self-organised space dedicated to art, culture and social activity.
The Magacin is used for diverse activities by many organisations, collectives & individuals, from art and culture to activism. The available spaces can be used for practice and productions plus meetings, exhibitions, panel discussion or different events and urgent actions.
A crucial part of Magacin is cultural exchange, social cohesion & community organising – prioritising building an ecosystem that upholds democratic principles, fair use of commons resources, solidarity, social & cultural diversity. Hundreds of people use the Magacin centre every day, which has an open calendar, where spaces are booked free of charge.
“The decision-making process is highly participatory & horizontal and it takes place at monthly assemblies and through both off and online comms.”
In short it is ran as an #UrbanCommons
However, unlike urban commons – say in Naples – the legal status of the Magacin is unresolved. This self-organised space has not been recognised by the city authorities, so it has a precarious future. The Magacin cultural centre was founded in 2007, as a coalition of different actors alongside the institutions of the City of Belgrade. Yet despite promises from city authorities its legal status has never been resolved.
"Magacin survives and develops thanks to the resistance and the self-managed work of many individuals from the independent cultural scene, artists and activists and their friends and collaborators".