Mostovna Cultural Centre

The Mostovna Cultural Centre is a youth culture venue and a regional multimedia centre that offers facilities for the development of modern urban culture, free-time activities, non-formal education and revitalisation of city life in the area of Nova Gorica (SI) and Gorizia (IT).

The centre hosts and sets up concerts and DJ evenings, theatre and film shows, literary events, workshops, contemporary arts exhibitions and much more. It is a part of the M3C Multimedia Centres Network of Slovenia and acts as the hub for various projects such as the production of video and animations, audio engineering activities (for example, recording of local bands and concerts) and web services for local NGOs and other organisations.

Mostovna has two concert venues, an exhibition space working under the name TIR - Mostovna Gallery, a studio, a library and a small skateboarding ramp.

Background

The idea of reviving the abandoned industrial building on the outskirts of Nova Gorica as a cultural centre was initiated in 1996 by the youth of the municipality. Mostovna itself is a former industrial compound next to the railway and the national border between Slovenia and Italy and has stood abandoned for several years before it was taken into consideration.

In 1998, following a massive manifestation at the centre's future premises, the Nova Gorica City Council appointed the Masovna Institute (founded by four youth organisations: Klub goriških študentov, Klub Druga stran, Klub 13. brat and ŠKUC Association - section Nova Gorica) to manage and conceive the centre and its cultural programme. The first of its spaces opened to visitors in 2002.

In recent years, new collectives have joined in, some of them being the Wonderland Crew, Intensity, Zavod Bojler, Fresh hip hop movement and JZA Crew.

Programme

Though Mostovna otherwise has a programme of its own, it is also potentially open to outside producers, interested artists or any others who'd like to realise their ideas under its roof.

Music

The musical programme boasts a wide-ranging set of hosted artists, with some of them being rather prolific, they include Paradise Lost, Cannibal Corpse, Lagwagon, Ulan Bator, Dismember, Terror, Today Is The Day, Cruel Hand, Rambo Amadeus, Kud Idijoti, Edo Maajka, Dubioza kolektiv, Disciplin A Kitschme, Jinx, Vroom, Misery For A Living, Iamdisease, Red Five Point Star, Ana Pupedan, Ali En, Fake Orchestra and Lačni Franz. The annual GO Moonlee! Fest is also held here.

Since its beginnings, Mostovna has been active in supporting upcoming musicians and was a part of the Young Gunz project, which was similar to the Club Marathon (also taking place here), meaning that it tries to highlight yet unknown artists. Another like-minded project is the Open Stage call.

Another enterprise in this vein is the compilation called Od Soče do Korna (produced by 13brat.net and the Masovna Institute), which detects and gathers new music from the region and presents it to the wider public by way of an album release and an accompanying festival.

TIR gallery

TIR - Mostovna Gallery is an important and very active part of Mostovna. It exhibits mostly young graphic and multimedia artists of the region, yet it also manages a number of international projects, often together with artists and organisations from neighbouring Italy.

Notable exhibitions include Franco Pinna's footage from Fellini's movie sets and the later exhibition of photography works that deal with the unitary urban nature of the region, which is otherwise divided by a national border. The exhibitions are often accompanied by music performances or poetry readings.

Movies, literary evenings and other events

Movies and documentaries present another strong feature of Mostovna, which for a time organised the GO Film Fest Mostovna (currently a part of the Animateka International Animated Film Festival, as its Animateka after Animateka programme presenting the best features of the festival). There have been various film cycles, with some of the screenings happening in the context of the International Feminist and Queer Festival Red Dawns.

Mostovna Cultural Centre has regular readings, book presentations and other literary events (some done as a part of the Gorica Book Days) and even has a small library. A Young Rhymes evening was held here as well.

Urban sports have figured strong at Mostovna, especially skateboarding, and there was even a small mini-ramp built here. Some years ago, a three-day skating event with camping in front of Mostovna was set up. The Flowgrind Contest, which is organised at a more proper Nova Gorica skate-park, still partially uses the Mostovna premises. Numerous other events have taken or regularly take place at Mostovna – the Pixxelpoint International Festival of Computer Art, theatre performances, artistic workshops, debates, stand-up shows and various international exchanges.

E-house

In 2008, the "e-House, house of experiments" was established here. It was housed in several containers at the courtyard of the venue, introduced various educational programmes and presented a collection of physical and chemical experiments and phenomena. In 2013, it moved to the Youth Centre Nova Gorica, where it now – among other things – co-produces the Festival of Science Nova Gorica.

External links

Mostovna Cultural Centre website (in Slovenian)
E-house website (in Slovenian)

Mostovna Cultural Centre

Contents