Magacin Cultural Center

A former warehouse space in public property, Magacin is a self-organised and self-managed space in Belgrade, Serbia, initiated by artistic and cultural collectives and non-profit organisations. The space has been run since 2007 under clear legal conditions, and has been in the process of negotiations with city authorities since then.

The main characteristic of this space is its function through the “Open calendar model”, which means it is openly available to everyone. The model accommodates the use of spaces for different activities to many organisations, collectives and individuals, from the fields of art, culture and social activism.

The available spaces can be used for practice and (pre)productions as well as meetings, exhibitions, panel discussion or different events and urgent actions, supporting the diversity of needs for different social groups that are in need of space.

A crucial component of Magacin is cultural exchange, social cohesion and community organising – prioritising building an ecosystem that upholds democratic principles, fair use of commons resources, solidarity, social and cultural diversity.

The decision-making process is highly participatory and horizontal and it takes place at monthly assemblies and through both offline and online communication. Each month one person volunteers to be the coordinator in order to facilitate possible disputes with schedules and also communicates with the new potential users of the space.

What makes the organisation unique?

The main characteristic of this space is how it works through the “Open calendar model”, which means it is openly available to everyone. Since the implementation of the “open calendar” model in 2014, the number of users and usages of the space has grown. In the last year, they had more than 100 organisations using it and around 1,500 non-profit activities and programmes.

What TEH activities are you a part of?

Balkan Hub, Staff Exchange

Magacin Cultural Center