Festival Mladi levi
Slomškova 11, SI-1000 Ljubljana
Phone386 (0) 5 231 4492, 386 (0) 51 269 906
Organised byBunker Institute
Frequencyannual
Festival dates22.8.2026 - 29.8.2026
Mladi levi Festival
From Culture.si
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Principles
To facilitate encounters between artists and audiences, the festival invites artists to stay in Ljubljana for the entire duration of the event. Conceived as “an ecosystem of temporariness from which a sense of freedom arises,” the festival enables participants to experience each other’s work, meet fellow artists and audiences, and explore opportunities for future collaboration. In this way, it fosters continuity, exchange, and informal collaboration beyond individual performances.
Programme
The festival programme brings together a carefully curated selection of international and local artists working across theatre, dance, and hybrid performative formats, often blurring the boundaries between performance, installation, and social practice. Over the years, the festival has hosted a variety of authors, such as Martine Pisani, Jérôme Bel, Ivo Dimchev, Eduard Gabia, Vera Mantero, Vitor Rua & Nuno Rebelo, Camille Boitel, Les SlovaKs, 1927, Stefan Kaegi, Rimini Protokoll, Ivica Buljan, Francesca Grilli, Walid Raad, Tim Etchells, Ant Hampton, Chiara Bersani, Lucy McCormick, Jaha Coo, Beton Ltd., and numerous others.
Recent editions have turned increasingly towards public space and natural environments, as well as expanded formats such as installations, exhibitions, and discussions, shaping a space of encounter that extends beyond presentation into dialogue and forms of shared community. The festival often opens up key themes through performances and discursive formats, including the Discussion Café, held in a public space under the trees, as well as through events such as conferences, forums, and artistic interventions.
Critical writing
Over the years, the festival has consistently sought out formats for publishing critical writing on its performances and related topics. Building on earlier discursive programmes and initiatives, this led in 2017 to the launch of the online criticism platform Kriterij, which was further developed into Aplavz.art in 2022.
Venues
In the past, the Mladi Levi Festival activated a range of venues across Ljubljana, including the Railway Museum of Slovenske železnice and Tovarna Rog, placing contemporary performing arts in dialogue with sites of historical and industrial heritage.
Since 2004, the festival's primary home has been the Stara Elektrarna - Old Power Station. Performances are staged there as well as in other venues across Ljubljana, including the Sports Society Tabor, Dance Theatre Ljubljana and Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, while selected events and discussions also unfold in public space.
The festival is part of the Late Summer Festivals initiative, a joint platform that creates an alternative cultural map beyond the capital and invites audiences to embark on a summer festival “tour” across Slovenia. It brings together six festivals focused on dance, theatre and film taking place in late summer, including the Na knap Festival of Short Dance Form, Contemporary dance Platform, Front@ Contemporary Dance Festival, Ukrep - Festival of Dance Perspectives, and the FeKK Ljubljana Short Film Festival.
See also
External links
- Mladi levi Festival web page
- Bunker Institute website
- Lion Tales - Anthology to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Mladi levi Festival
Gallery
