The international conference opened up the issues of intercultural exchange in the Slovenian territory as the intersection of Slavic, Germanic and Romanic cultures. Twenty-two researchers from Slovenia and abroad participated. They collected and inventoried the collaborations between Slovenian and foreign theatre creators that took place in the area of today’s Slovenia in the 20th and 21st centuries and researched the creativity of Slovenian artists abroad. They discussed the politics, aesthetics and ethics of intercultural exchanges and investigated how such exchanges contributed to the development of performing arts practices; how they generated strategies of production, promotion and perception; and how they co-shaped the social space as well as their significance in the context of European theatre. The conference (headed by Barbara Orel) was organised at the 50th edition of the most notable national performing arts festival Borštnikovo srečanje.
B.01 Organiser of a scientific meeting
COBISS.SI-ID: 4010587In 2008 the members of the project group launched a scientific journal of performing arts theory Amfiteater. As the first academic journal in this field, it provides an addition to academic publishing in the humanities in Slovenia. The journal publishes original articles in the field of the performing arts, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary studies of performance in the context of different media, cultures, social sciences and arts. Amfiteater has created an integrative context of theatre and performance research in Slovenia, and has fostered exchange of research findings with the international scholarly community. In the first year of publication, a thematic issue entitled Mechanisms of Control and Power (edited by Dr. Barbara Sušec Michieli) was prepared in collaboration with the Historiography Working Group operating within the framework of the International Federation for Theatre Research. The journal’s significance for the international community was further established in 2015 with a thematic issue entitled City study by the international STEP group (edited by Dr. Maja Šorli). Both thematic issues were published in Slovenian and English. The editorial board pays special attention to issues pertaining to terminology, the development of the Slovenian scientific language and the dissemination of appropriate terms in the professional and general public. Amfiteater is published twice a year. The electronic version is freely available online. Founded in 2008 by the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television, University of Ljubljana, it has been co-published by the Slovenian Theatre Institute since 2015. Initially it was edited by Dr. Barbara Orel. Since 2015 its editor-in-chief has been Dr. Maja Šorli.
F.15 Development of a new information system/databases
COBISS.SI-ID: 239689728The Association of Theatre Critics and Researchers of Slovenia (DGKTS) is a professional association of theatre critics, theatre researchers, theoreticians, historians, journalists and dramaturges. Following a relatively long period of inactivity, the DGTKS resumed its activities in 2008. In 2008-2012 it was presided over by Dr. Blaž Lukan, a programme group member. In this period, the DGKTS organized several professional and scientific meetings that were met with wide response. These included international symposiums Art, Culture, Society (2009), Intercriticism (2010), How much politics, how much fascism (2011) held at the national Slovenian theatre festival, the Maribor Theatre Festival, a panel discussion on the position of Slovenian performing arts in the international arena held at the annual festival Week of Slovenian Drama in Kranj (2009), a debate on small scenes at the Slovenian National Theatre in Nova Gorica (2011). The DGTKS has voiced its views on several occasions to contribute to public debates (e.g. on a crisis at the Slovene Permanent Theatre in Trieste, on the issue concerning the artistic management of the Slovenian National Theatre Drama Ljubljana, etc.). In the same period the DGTKS was actively involved in the transformation of the National Theatre Museum of Slovenia into the Slovenian Theatre Institute and organized a professional convention dealing with content-driven points for such transformation. In 2011 the DGTKS submitted its Proposals concerning a revitalization of a system and subsystems in the field of performing arts in Slovenia to the National Council for Culture (NSK). The proposals were taken into consideration in forming the NSK’s provisions concerning a package of cultural policy measures. In 2009 the DGTKS created an award for best production of a theatre season at the discretion of the DGTKS’ members to be presented annually at the Maribor Theatre Festival. DGKTS is a member of the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC). It is involved in education and training of young critics during workshops organized by the DGTKS. Representing the interests of theatre critics, theatre researchers and dramaturges, DGKTS is a key player contributing to the development of professional, scientific, research and artistic activities in the field of performing arts. Due to its committed activity it continues to draw attention to the social significance of theatre, and plays an active role in the setup of cultural-political space in Slovenia.
D.02 Establishment of a research centre, laboratory, study course, association
COBISS.SI-ID: 4264027The Performance Archives exhibition (conceived by Dr. Blaž Lukan) presents a synthetized overview of Slovenian performative practices that have been emergent since 1960’s at the intersection of experimental theatre, visual arts and music. The continuity of their development is exhibited by way of presenting a variety of interdisciplinary approaches, while clearly defining a difference between performativity and theatricality of Slovenian performing arts in this period. The Performance Archives was presented to the general public in the context of a comprehensive exhibition The Present and Presence ? Repetition 1 in the Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova (2012), showing artworks from the national collection of the Museum of Modern Art and from the Art East 2000+ collection (the first museum collection conceived with a focus on the east European post-war avant-gardes). The performances, staged in Slovenia in the 2005-2010 period were included in the exhibition Crises and New Beginnings: Art in Slovenia 2005-2015, also in the Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova (2015). The inclusion of performance in the overview of Slovenian art established it as its integral part. The setting of performance in the context of Eastern European art has enabled international comparability of Slovenian performing arts and their development in relation to the visual arts. Both exhibitions positioned performance in the exhibition and theoretical context of contemporary art.
F.28 Organising an exhibition
COBISS.SI-ID: 3442011A thematic lexicon Glossary of Slovenian Art after 1945 is the first anthological overview of key movements, groups, concepts and trends that exercised a decisive influence on the course of Slovenian visual art history during the last six decades. Comprising 63 entries, it concisely presents major art movements (photorealism, Informel, land art, minimalism, pop art), groups (Grupa 69, Grupa Junij, OHO, NSK), and those fields that have developed owing to interdisciplinary links between the arts and their contact with new information technologies (net art, performance art, visual poetry, kinetic art). Every glossary entry includes a historical and theoretical case presentation and a list of reference literature for further reading and study. In 2009 Glossary was published in print, while in 2011 it was made freely available to Slovenian and international online users.. In the online open access edition the entries are appended by reference links to key representatives and theorists dealing with the discussed topics and related phenomena. It also includes online links to numerous Slovenian archives (the Archives Department of the Museum of Modern Art, the DIVA digital video archives, etc.), professional associations (Designers Society of Slovenia, Slovene Writers' Association), and to the central portal of Slovenian theatre SiGledal, etc. It allows its users to participate by contributing their comments in which they can enter their additions and observations. The online tool for electronic data processing is also used to measure Glossary citations occurrences in electronically accessible academic and professional literature. The online version of the Glossary provides access to reference fields in other fields of art and promotes and raises the awareness of interdisciplinary connections between them. It has made a pertinent contribution to research and promotion of Slovenian art.
F.15 Development of a new information system/databases
COBISS.SI-ID: 248143872The Dictionary of Theatre Terminology is the first explanatory and normative dictionary of Slovenian theatre terminology and was compiled entirely by studying Slovenian language material. The print version (2007) included Slovenian explanatory entries as well as their English and French equivalents. In 2011 the dictionary was revised, expanded by the inclusion of Italian and German equivalents and made available online. These additions and online availability rendered the dictionary much more useful and widely accessible to international users. It is frequently consulted by researchers, students of humanities and social sciences, translators and many other users. The Dictionary of Theatre Terminology is of vital importance for the development of Slovenian professional language. The online edition represents an important contribution to the dissemination of relevant terminology in scientific and professional communities, as well as in general public. The Dictionary was compiled in collaboration with the Section for Terminological Dictionaries of the Fran Ramovš Institute for the Slovenian Language at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. It was co-edited by the programme group member Dr. Katarina Podbevšek.
F.15 Development of a new information system/databases
COBISS.SI-ID: 256425728The international conference (chaired by Dr. Barbara Orel) investigated the issue of intercultural performing at the crossroads of Slavic, Germanic and Romance cultures. Keynote lectures were delivered by Dr. Janelle Jeinelt (Professor Emeritus, University of Warwick, and former president of the International Federation for Theatre Research), who expounded on the methodology of studying intercultural exchange in theatre studies, and by Dr. Aleš Gabrič (the Institute for Contemporary History in Ljubljana), who presented the policies of researching the past in view of national boundaries. The conference was attended by 22 researchers from nine countries who discussed politics, aesthetics and ethics of intercultural exchanges in Slovenian theatre creativity of the 20th and 21st centuries, examined their impact on the development of performing practices and formation of social space, and evaluated their significance in the context of the European theatre. In the course of the conference, data were obtained for the establishment of new databases ? repertoire lists of productions (co)created by Slovenian theatre artists in the Central and Southeastern Europe in the 20th and 21st centuries. A substantial body of material, including its original interpretations, has filled a gap in Slovenian theatre history and delivered a solid basis for further research. The conference re-connected theatre studies researchers from the formerly common area of Yugoslavia and those countries that were historically and politically connected to Slovenian culture space. The organization of the scientific meeting held at the leading Slovenian theatre festival in the year of its 50th jubilee, disseminated research findings in professional and academic community and made them available to a wider Slovenian public.
B.01 Organiser of a scientific meeting
COBISS.SI-ID: 3981147The founding of the Dramatic Society in Ljubljana in 1867 is considered the beginning of organised theatre activities in Slovenia and their professionalization. The scientific monograph which was published to mark the 150th anniversary of this momentous event in the history of Slovenian theatre is a comprehensive presentation of the Dramatic Society’s activities since its foundation in 1867 until the cessation of its operation in 1948. The study which is based on archival sources that are kept by the Slovenian Theatre Institute and the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia elaborates on the significance of the Dramatic Society for the development of Slovenian drama, theatre, opera and ballet art. Researchers of performing arts, literature, stage speech, fine arts, music, cultural and art history examine thoroughly the role of the Society in the rise of professionalization and Europeanization of Slovenian theatre. They also shed new light on well-established historical interpretations and highlight the importance of theatre, contributing significantly to the formation of Slovenian national consciousness. The study adds a key component to the history of Slovenian theatre in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, and elaborates on the importance of the Dramatic Society for the cultural history of the Slovenian nation.
C.02 Editorial board of a national monograph
COBISS.SI-ID: 288859904From 2010 to 2012 Darja Koter was involved in the international project of the European Capital of Culture Maribor 2012. As the head consultant of the Classical Music Programme Section she co-designed the entire programme of classical music which included more than one hundred events in Maribor and partner towns (e.g. symphonic concerts, chamber and choral music concerts, music theatre pieces, performances, music competitions, exhibitions) featuring Slovenian and international artists. Also, she was a consultant for classical music for the international European Capital of Culture Maribor programme of Cultural Embassies which took place at 12 visiting embassies during 12 months. She published widely on the project in Slovenian professional and general publications, such as Lifetouch, a magazine of the European Capital of Culture Maribor 2012, available in print and online. Designing the contents was conducted in cooperation with distinguished Slovenian and international artists as well as with various culture groups and societies. The aim of producing art contents was to implement a high-quality cultural offer in 2012, while ensuring a sustainable development of cultural offer in the local area. The project received high media exposure nationally and internationally. In Slovenia, it has left a permanent mark that encourages the development of various cultural and art fields.
D.01 Chairing over/coordinating (international and national) projects
COBISS.SI-ID: 2338695Nadja Zgonik curated the exhibition entitled Heaters for Hot Feelings by sculptor Mirko Bratuša which was presented in the Slovenian pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale. The spatial installation, linking sculpture and painting with cybernetic art, allowed exhibit-goers a comprehensive sensory experience. Eight anthropo- and biomorphic statues, made of baked clay, which is the oldest and the original material of sculpture in the history of art, were exhibited in a room. They were linked by a special heating system that made them warm by thermal energy. Colour, which is a painting category in itself, added an optic effect to haptic effects, while the warmth of the sculptures stimulated sensory perception uncommon in sculpture. The exhibit-goers were encouraged to try tactile sensation of the statues, which undermined the convention on the prohibition of touching artwork in a gallery. The idea of the installation was to present metaphorically the structure of modern society as a global network of social, economic and cultural policy relationships in which the state of being subjected to the systems run by information technology has become a menacing fact that raises questions about the future of mankind. A multi-layered sensory experience confronted the viewer with the issue on the need and potentials to make modern society human again. The innovative articulation of a burning social issue and the way it addressed the visitors at the world's most important art exhibition has contributed greatly to a better recognition of Slovenian art in the international arena.
F.28 Organising an exhibition
COBISS.SI-ID: 2973806