The 5th Cultural Mobility Forum hosted by On the Move took place on 29 and 30 April 2026 in Skopje. Co-organised by OTM member Kooperativa – Regional Platform for Culture, a network of independent arts and cultural organisations in South-East Europe, the forum was entitled “Cultural Mobility Justice”.
‘Justice’ in the context of ‘cultural mobility’ challenges the systemic inequalities that determine who is able to move within the global cultural landscape, engage in creative work and participate in it. Visa restrictions, economic inequalities and entrenched power structures disproportionately restrict the mobility of artists and cultural practitioners. At the same time, ‘Justice’ calls for alternative approaches to access to resources and the removal of institutional barriers, so that mobility becomes a fundamental right and no longer remains a privilege.
The panel discussions and smaller round-table sessions addressed these systemic inequalities and explored the extent to which mobility within the cultural sector further exacerbates this imbalance. In addition to the presentations, there was plenty of room for exchange and discussion with cultural practitioners in Skopje, who were visited at their places of work and provided insights into the city’s cultural scene.
In an article, the author and curator Kateryna Lakovlenko, who lives in Ukraine, summarises the key takeaways from the Cultural Mobility Forum 2026.
Cultural Mobility Forum 2026 – Best Off on Youtube.
On the Move’s 2026 General Assembly also took place in Skopje following the forum; the Mobility Information Points (MIP) working group within OTM also met for a full-day session to engage in in-depth discussions and network.