What also makes the city so exciting is its strong and constantly growing art scene. There are many independent initiatives and cultural spaces that are increasingly connecting to neighboring countries and internationally. One of the formats is the LJUBLJANA ART WEEKEND, whose program has been curated by ETC. Magazine since 2024.
During our visit, we explored several exhibitions and projects that provided insight into the city’s contemporary cultural landscape. Group exhibition “around every circle another can be drawn” with works by international and local artists Maja Bojanić, Rayna Teneva, Center for Peripheries, Damir Avdagić, Luka Cvetković, Indra Gleizde, and Nevena Aleksovski, emerging from the framework of ETC. Magazine’s fifth issue, Full Circle, curated together with Vasil Vladimirov. The exhibition brings together artistic positions that engage with migration, displacement, and collective memory across the regions stretching from the Balkans to the Baltics. The exhibition, consisting of four video works and space installations, opened shortly before the Art Weekend at Ravnikar Gallery and will also be on view during the summer.
Usually a place for different programs, including performance evenings, readings, and concerts. This time, Space for Art NÓT was transformed into a white cube-like exhibition setup, in the form of a Pop Up show, taking place only during the weekend, the duo exhibition “Shelved” by two Vienna-based artists, Trin Alt and Tobias Izsó.
In the alternative social and cultural center Metelkova Mesto, in Alkatraz Gallery, young Ljubljana-based artist Klara Kracina, in her solo exhibition ”Your Package Is On Its Way,” features a floor installation of literal packages coming from big corporations such as Amazon and Temu with labels made by the artist and addressed to the gallery. Ana Grobler and Sebastian Krawczyk curated the exhibition.
In the Y Gallery, duo exhibition SKRB: aimless (Shared Knowledge, Radical Belonging) was curated by Jernej Čuček Gerbec. The participating artist, Parsa Kamehkhosh, based in Finland, performed the piece Aimless at the opening, while the Slovenian artist Iva Suhadolnik Gregorin presented Time Stretching as part of LJUBLJANA ART WEEKEND, both conceived as a commentary on and resistance against the constant focus on productivity and usefulness.
The solo show by Yein Lee, “Accomplice,“ was accompanied by the performance “Pursuers,” choreographed by Luca Büchler and performed by Luca Büchler, April Veselko, and Anamaria Bagarić, accompanying the opening of Lee’s exhibition in Parterre Gallery in CUKRARNA. Presenting a new series of sculptural works developed especially for the occasion of the exhibition.
What was new to us was the Center Rog, the creative hub that is located in a renovated old factory that produced bicycles back in the day. Now home to the Galerija Fotografija, Library, Cafe, and multiple shops, many studios, coworking spaces, and labs, which are meant for various creative practices.
In a Tabor Sokol sports hall, a fencing event was framed by a debate. Crit Club: Should Art Always Look Forward, Never Back? format by artist Cem A, moderated by writer and editor Kate Brown. Slovenian and foreign experts faced off as opposing sides in a roleplay scenario full of provocative, absurd questions about art, expertise, and the conventions of art discourse. The participants were: writer Stephanie Bailey, author Manca G. Renko, artist and editor Andrej Škufca, and Alenka Pirman, artist and administrator.
On Sunday, shortly before taking the train back to Vienna, we were invited by the Slovenian Tourist Board to join a city tour through Ljubljana. The tour gave us a completely new perspective on the city. A special thank you once again to our guide Nataša; we could have spent many more hours in the city with you.
Have you heard of the architect Jože Plečnik? Between 1894 and 1898, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where he was a student of Otto Wagner. You can clearly see that influence in the structure and atmosphere of Ljubljana, and when you read more about his visions and ideas, you can also see how he implemented them in Ljubljana. Many parts of the city center carry his signature, from the bridges and public spaces to the overall urban rhythm. Our guide shared so many fascinating stories and details about the architecture, the history, and the hidden layers of the city, to which we will be returning very soon.
LJUBLJANA ART WEEKEND – www.ljubljanaartweekend.com
Ljubljana – www.visitljubljana.com
Slovenian Tourist Board – www.slovenia.info
