Damjan Kokalevski is an architect and curator based in Zurich and educated in Skopje, Vienna, and Tokyo. He is currently a PhD Candidate at the Chair of Professor Philip Urspung, gta/ETH Zurich. His thesis »Performing the Archive: Skopje. From the Ruins of the City of the Future«, investigates the neglect of the architectural knowledge produced during the rebuilding of Skopje following the 1963 earthquake in relation to the recent wake of nationalism and populism. The focus is on the use of method as a political activism that places the work within the middle of the historical context and conditions of work.

Damjan was a guest researcher at the Curatorial/Knowledge doctoral group at the Goldsmiths University London, led by Professor Irit Rogoff and took part at the seminar series »How to Work«. He contributed to the exhibition »Metabolism: The City of the Future at Mori Art Museum«, Tokyo (2012) and curated the exhibition »Performative Archive: Skopje, Discussing Urban Reconstruction« with gta Exhibitions, Zurich (2014). In 2014, he co-founded City Creative Network, a citizen’ initiative and a research centre based in Skopje. Damjan’s work focuses on developing tools for reading archives and activating abandoned knowledge through collective practices. His projects are situated at the cusp between an academic research and political action.