Suzana Milevska on Representation, Solidarity, and Testimony in Art

Suzana Milevska, a Skopje-based art theorist and curator, received the 2013 Igor Zabel Award for Culture and Theory. In an interview with Laura Kokkonen, Clàudia Pages Rabal, and Ilina Puskás, she discussed the urgent need to link representation and solidarity in art, particularly regarding Roma issues. Milevska holds a Ph.D. from Goldsmiths College in London and has taught at institutions like the Faculty of Fine Arts in Skopje. She critiqued visual representation in art, arguing it often simplifies marginalized groups, and emphasized that solidarity requires performative action from both the represented and the representer. Milevska warned against harmful practices, citing Zoran Todorovic's project 'Tzigani-psi,' which involved Roma children without parental consent. She explored the shift from representation to bearing witness, referencing Primo Levi and Giorgio Agamben on testimony's ethical dimensions. Testimonial art, she noted, can increase artistic self-awareness but may lack empathy. The interview highlighted her research on postcolonial critique, gender theory, and participatory projects.