Macedonium in Kruševo rented for €500 for Don Dzhoni video, minister demands checks

The Macedonium monument in Kruševo was rented for around 500 euros to film the music video for the Kosovar rapper Don Dzhoni, the Culture Minister Sedat Sulejmani said at a press briefing, while urging institution heads to be vigilant about what activities take place inside protected sites.

Minister: renting is allowed but oversight is necessary

Sulejmani, who entered office on 13 July with the government reshuffle as a member of Vredi, said the music video — for the song titled "Sexy Mama," which has attracted some 4.3 million views on YouTube — had been filmed earlier and that he only learned of the case that morning. He said the ministry will gather more information and consult legal services and the government if any regulatory changes are needed.

"I am aware of the case. As a Ministry we are responsible for defending all artists and cultural workers. We have one case that is becoming sensitive. But, for that we will have to see with the legal services how we can proceed and if some legal change needs to be made. I still do not have detailed data and we are in the process and we will see with the Government and if necessary we will sit and decide. I do not know the details, the case is new to me, I learned about it this morning and if I say anything I will probably be wrong. I will take additional information and we will see how to proceed," Sulejmani said.

Miha Odzhaklieski, director of the Historic Museum of Kruševo, told reporters that the production requested permission and the museum granted it. "The space was made available for shooting a video. We also brought a decision in the Management Board that the space can be made available for a suitable price, it is charged. They submitted to us an explanation that the space will be used for shooting a video. We do not have a precisely fixed price, it is leased by hours, for example around 500 euros for 5–6 hours," Odzhaklieski said.

The director of the Cultural Heritage Protection Office, Vesela Chestojeva, said the office had not been asked for permission to film inside the monument. She noted that requests to film in protected sites arrive frequently and that permission is granted when the activity is in line with promoting Macedonian culture, art and heritage.

Built by artists Jordan and Iskra Grabuloski and opened on 2 August 1974 — timed with the 30th anniversary of the ASNOM session and the 71st anniversary of the Ilinden Uprising — the Macedonium contains the tomb of Nikola Karev, president of the Kruševo Republic. The monument has received international recognition: an architecture magazine listed it among ten of the world’s most unique buildings in 2018, and another included it among seven notable brutalist structures in 2016.

This past summer the monument — which has suffered leaks for years — was partly reinforced with metal scaffolding around stained-glass galleries as a temporary protective measure. The Institute and Museum in Prilep said the scaffolding was provisional and that a primary rehabilitation project had passed through the National Conservatory Centre and the Cultural Heritage Protection Office; the latter has said it did not authorize the metal fittings and that an inspection is pending. Results of that inspection are still awaited.

Photo: Printskrin od video)