Museums in Macedonia will enrich their collections of artworks by Macedonian artists through purchases by the Ministry of Culture, which plans to announce annual calls as of 2014 and to allocate 4 million denars.

The measure aimed at supplementing the museum collections, first and foremost those of the National Gallery of Macedonia and the Museum of Contemporary Art, is included in the 2013-2017 National Culture Strategy.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Minister of Culture Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska said the objective was to advance Macedonia's art and to encourage artists to create more and better pieces of art.

"Artworks will be purchased to enrich the museum collections of cultural institutions in Macedonia and works of an immense national interest for the culture and history of Macedonia will be purchased as well... With this project we are reaffirming our commitment to and care for our cultural heritage and paving the way towards art development," said the Minister.

The works will be selected by a commission of experts in line with previously defined criteria - established authors who have contributed to the development of art in Macedonia, participants in world-renowned exhibits (Venice, Sao Paulo, Istanbul, Alexandria...), artists whose works are included in local and international publications as well as works by up-and-coming artists.