On August 21, 2022, starting at 8 p.m., the State Archives of the Republic of North Macedonia solemnly opened the exhibition entitled "Milton" on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of birth of Milton Manaki, who with his brother are known as the first videographers in the Balkans, photographers who left a lasting mark with their work not only in the Balkan but also beyond. The "Manaki Brothers" fund has been owned by the Bitola Department since 1965.
The exhibition was part of the large international cinematography festival (The International Film Festival of Kerala) IFFK "Brothers Manaki", which is traditionally held in Bitola, and is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of North Macedonia.
Minister Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojčevska opened the exhibition, and among other things mentioned that the work of the Manaki brothers not only exceeded the local importance, but also exceeded the aesthetic and artistic value, and that their cultural heritage is a historical testimony that we must value and let's continue to protect it from both the ravages of time and oblivion.
The director of NI Institute and Museum - Bitola, Meri Stojanova, also addressed the event, who stressed that this inter-institutional cooperation has deep roots and should be nurtured in the future.
The head of the Bitola Department, Goce Stojanovski, presented the exhibition setting and, among other things, talked about the need to realize the "Memorial Room of the Manaki Brothers" project, after which the conceptual solution for this room was shown, which was donated to the State Archives.
Honorary consuls in the city of Bitola, representatives of cultural, educational, and scientific institutions from Bitola as well as other prominent guests were present among the guests.
Honour guest at this event was the Ambassador of the United Kingdom and North Ireland, H.E. Matthew Lawson, who had his welcome speech and expressed his satisfaction with the cooperation of our institution with the British Library for the project funded by the Arcadia Foundation for the full digitization of the "Manaki Brothers" fund. He also stressed that such collaborations in the field of culture should be deepened and more frequent.
The exhibition is presented on 18 panels that show the most significant segments of Milton's opus and life, showcases where his photographic equipment, Camera 300 and original documents are presented, as well as a digital exhibition that thematically and chronologically deals with his photographic creativity. The authors of this exhibition are Goce Stojanovski, Marija Durlova, Dr. Jasmina Damjanovska, Dimitar Gorgievski and M.A. Ivana Hadzievska, and the complete design was by M.A. Jovan Stojanovski. This setting will be open to the public until August 26, 2022.
