Resources from the Cultural Mobility Forum 2026

From 29 to 30 April 2026, On the Move held its fifth Cultural Mobility Forum in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia, in partnership with its member Kooperativa – Regional Platform for Culture, a network of organisations and national platforms dedicated to independent culture and contemporary art in Southeast Europe.

Each year, thanks to the support of the European Union (New Solidarities’ project funding 2025–2028) On the Move proposes a Cultural Mobility Forum to collectively investigate international artistic and cultural mobility trends. As a unique knowledge platform, the network works together with its members and partners to design thematic panel discussions and contextualise global mobility issues.

Focus 2026: Cultural Mobility Justice

Cultural mobility justice examines and challenges the systemic inequities that determine who can move, create, and participate within the global cultural landscape. It exposes how visa restrictions, economic disparities, and enduring colonial, ableist, and patriarchal power structures disproportionately limit the mobility of artists and culture professionals – particularly those from marginalised communities, burdened by precarious working conditions, family responsibilities, or personal constraints, or from non-Western contexts.

This framework advocates for equitable access to resources, including visas, funding, information, and professional (digital) opportunities, while amplifying the voices of those most affected by mobility injustices. It demands alternative approaches to curation, cultural exchange, and the dismantling of institutional gatekeeping that perpetuates inequality. Ultimately, cultural mobility justice seeks to reimagine and redistribute the power dynamics of global circulation, ensuring that mobility becomes a fundamental right rather than a privilege reserved for a select few.

You can now find a range of discussions from the Forum on our YouTube channel:

You can also read the article ‘Notes on Mobility and Justice’ from Ukrainian-based writer and curator Катерина Яковленко (Kateryna Iakovlenko), who brought together some insights from the Forum from her experience and creative practice investigating the impact of war.

Acknowledgments for the local support

On the Move would like to very much thank Kooperativa – Regional Platform for Culture for their support and their connections to the Skopke’s art scene.

On the Move would also like to thank the following organisations in Skopje for the morning of curated cultural visits: the Faculty of Things that Can’t Be Learned, AKTO festival for contemporary arts, Centar Jadro, Lokomotiva – Centre for New Initiative in Arts and Culture, Creative Europe Desk – North Macedonia, Password Production and Laboratorium.

Other resources

This Forum is part of On the Move’s EU co-funded programme New Solidarities.