Skopje, September 3 (MIA) - The 14th edition of the Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean titled "The Seven Gates" opens on Thursday evening in Skopje.

From the 3rd to the 12th September, Skopje will change into the most important window on young creativity. It will be the scene for the 14th edition of the Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean, an event which promotes new creative expressions since 1985, and aims to encourage dialogue and intercultural exchange among young protagonists of the Mediterranean culture.

In the next ten days, the fascinating and multiethnic capital of the Republic of Macedonia will be enlivened by hundreds of 18 to 30 year-old artists coming from 46 different countries, and it will be the scenery for expositions, performances, concerts, lectures, gastronomic events and much more. Museums, city galleries, theatres, cultural centres, restaurants are the sites which will receive the artists and the huge variety of their works.

The Biennial, promoted and organized by the International Association BJCEM (established in 2001 in Sarajevo) intends to be a multi-discipline event, including seven areas: Visual Arts (Plastic Arts, Photography, Installations, Art Performances, Video Art, Comics, Cyber Art); Music (Rock, Pop, Jazz, Folk/Ethno, Contemporary, Digital, DJs); Show (Theatre, Dance, Urban Performances); Literature (Writing, Poetry, Sound Poetry); Applied Arts (Architecture, Visual/Industrial/Web Design, Fashion, Digital Creation); Gastronomy; Images on the Move (Cinema, Video, Animated Cinema).

The number seven reminds also to the theme of this year, "The Seven Gates", which refers explicitly to an ancient legend linked to the origins of Skopje: according to this legend the city had been build on a huge spherical monolith, head of a giant, whose eyes, nose, ears and mouth correspond with the doors of the city. The doors are the vehicle through which you can know and go deep into the Macedonian capital, and they become also the symbol of the exchange and of the transmission between the different cultures and artistic disciplines.

The official opening ceremony will be held on "Macedonia" square at 19,00h, followed by a concert (21,00h) of several bands, such as Jacinto Canek from Italy with their modern rock and the Spanish Maldebares. Guest of the evening is the Conspiracy Band from USA.

The Biennial is organized by the Association for International Youth Cooperation from Skopje under Government's auspices, Ministry of Culture and the City of Skopje. Kok & Deiman, Stichting Nieuwe and 5-Apes Container movement for primitive approach are the Dutch representatives that will participate in the biennial. Download the programme of the biennial in English  here, or visit the official  website for more information.