Reflections from Skopje: Building the Foundations for the P2CC Online Guide
Reflections from Skopje: Building the Foundations for the P2CC Online Guide
By Yane Calovski, Press to Exit Project Space, Lead Partner, WP3 – Creative Mentoring Exchange, P2CC.
From 2 to 4 June 2025, partners and mentors of the Pathways to Creative Careers (P2CC) project gathered in Skopje for the Creative Mentoring Exchange Co-Production Lab. Hosted by Press to Exit Project Space at the Socio-Cultural Space Centar Jadro, this three-day meeting was an inspiring and focused exchange on how creative professionals and educators can co-design new mentoring models for the cultural and creative sectors.
The Lab opened with an introduction to the Pathway Model developed by MuLab, a practical and imaginative tool that invites participants to explore their creative identity through questions, reflection, and dialogue. Now available as an open resource on the project website, it encourages users to identify their starting position within their personal and professional journey, while guiding them through challenges and opportunities that connect creativity, learning, and career development.
From this shared foundation, the sessions in Skopje evolved around five interconnected themes that reflect the core values of the P2CC project. Rinova Málaga led a session on digitalisation and entrepreneurship, examining how mentors can support young creatives in navigating new technological and economic realities. Folkuniversitetet Umeå addressed inclusion and equality, emphasising the importance of accessible and diverse mentoring environments. Urbani Separe focused on the social impact of creative arts, exploring how artistic practice can generate civic engagement and community transformation. MuLab continued with a session on validation and future pathways, proposing frameworks for recognising informal learning and creative experience. Finally, Press to Exit Project Space presented critical thinking and media literacy as tools for understanding the cultural, social, and political contexts in which creative work unfolds.
Each theme was introduced through case studies, participatory exercises, and group reflection. What emerged was not a single model of mentoring, but a constellation of approaches that honour different cultural, social, and artistic contexts. Together, these sessions formed the conceptual and methodological foundation for the forthcoming P2CC Online Guide. Through shared practice and open dialogue, we collectively mapped the skills, attitudes, and values that underpin effective creative mentoring today.
As hosts, we at Press to Exit Project Space wanted to situate the Lab firmly within Skopje’s own cultural and educational landscape. We collaborated closely with Centar Jadro, whose space provided an ideal setting for exchange, and organised a public event at Europe House Skopje, which allowed us to connect our European network with the local public. We also invited several guest contributors whose work reflects the intersection of education, art, and social engagement.
Bojana Janeva-Shemova, curator and art historian, spoke about her work at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Skopje, where she develops inclusive programmes that invite audiences into meaningful encounters with art. Her examples demonstrated how museum education can become a catalyst for empathy and critical dialogue. Artist and educator Nikola Uzunovski shared his experience working across disciplines, connecting art, technology, and ecology to inspire new forms of creative learning. Artist and writer Dorotej Neshovski reflected on his teaching practice with younger children, highlighting curiosity, collaboration, and critical reflection as essential elements of cultural literacy.
Their contributions grounded our discussions in real experience. They reminded us that mentoring in the arts is not a top-down transmission of knowledge, but a shared process of exploration built on attentiveness, dialogue, and care.
Throughout the Lab, what resonated most was the openness of exchange among partners and participants. We came from different educational systems, institutional contexts, and artistic traditions, yet we shared a deep commitment to equipping young creatives with the confidence, awareness, and adaptability needed to sustain a creative career. The discussions often returned to the question of how to make mentoring both accessible and meaningful—how to guide without prescribing, and how to create spaces that encourage critical thought and autonomy.
The outcomes of the Skopje Lab now form the core editorial material for the P2CC Online Guide. Alongside the insights that will emerge from the upcoming online professional development workshops taking place between October 2025 and February 2026, these reflections will shape the structure and pedagogical direction of the Guide. Designed as an open educational resource, it will combine text, visuals, and interactive elements to illustrate what creative mentoring can look like across Europe. It will also reflect the diversity of experiences that make our network so rich, from local initiatives in small communities to international collaborations that bridge disciplines and borders.
This gathering reaffirmed the value of collaboration based on trust, curiosity, and shared purpose. It reminded us that mentoring, when understood as a reciprocal process of learning and reflection, can strengthen not only individual creative careers but the wider ecosystems that support them. As we move into the next stage of the project, the task of the editorial group will be to refine and test these materials, ensuring that the P2CC Online Guide captures both the content and the spirit of what was achieved together in Skopje.
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