Since its inception in 1985, there have been over 40 cities that have won the prestigious European Capital of Culture (ECoC) title. Forty years later, however, the border cities of Nova Gorica in Slovenia and Gorizia in Italy are the first ones to turn this annual celebration of culture into a genuinely cross-border endeavour. Based on the cities’ specific political, cultural, and geographical context, the 2025 European Cultural Capital’s programme explores the concept of borders from multiple dimensions under the slogan “Go! Borderless”.

Production and co-ordination

The ECoC is produced by the GO! 2025 – Evropska prestolnica kulture, Nova Gorica public institute (short GO! 2025), established by the Nova Gorica Urban Municipality in 2022, and its Italian counterpart GECT GO / EZTS GO, a public institute dedicated to regional development, established in 2021 by the Gorizia, Nova Gorica, and Šempeter-Vrtojba municipalities. It manages the Transalpine / Europa Square renovation project and numerous other cross-border projects, funded by the European Regional Development Fund and through Italian national co-financing. The ECoC’s ambitious programme of over 140 events is backed by 40 other municipalities from both countries and kicks off on February 8, 2025. Some events are co-organised also with the German town of Chemnitz, another European Capital of Culture, in 2025.

Programme

The programme evolves around four themes: War and Peace, Creating the New, Smugglers and Very Green. The inaugural performance will be directed by Neda Rusjan Bric, the artistic advisor for GO! 2025 and the main local initiator of the bid for the European Capital of Culture. Other notable projects include Destin(y)ation/Touch of Destiny, a year-long omnibus of international performances directed by Tomi Janežič and co-produced by Slovene National Theatre Nova Gorica as well as a theatrical trilogy Inabili alla Morte, co-produced with the Italian Mittelfest; the main exhibition project is dedicated to a world-renowned Modernist painter Zoran Mušič (1909-2005), who was born in a nearby village of Bukovica; among the exhibitions there’s also an enhanced edition of the Biennial of Textile Art BIEN, exploring contemporary textile art and design (Nova Gorica, Idrija, Kranj, Jesenice, and Škofja Loka); the 25th edition of the FICE Convention, the largest professional meeting of the Italian film industry, organised by Federazione Italiana Cinema d’Essai will take place in Nova Gorica and Gorizia; a cross-border dance ensemble is formed and developed under the notion of Borderless Body by MN Dance Company (the key event is set in the post-apocalyptic local quarry). The program also features EPICentre, a unique flagship project devoted to capturing the diverse personal and historical perspectives of life on the border.

Venues

The GO! 2025 headquarters offices are situated in the X Centre close to the iconic monument to Edvard Rusjan (1886–1911), a Slovenian flight pioneer. The Capital’s urban and symbolic backbone, however, is the so-called ECoC district, a kilometre-long border strip between two former customs houses (see Carinarnica) with the iconic venues such as the Transalpina / Europa Square and the dominant railway station (built in 1906). The EPICenter will be housed on the vast premises of a nearby renovated railway warehouse. The events will also be co-produced in collaboration with the existing cultural and educational institutions and will take place in the respective venues (cf. Nova Gorica Arts Centre, France Bevk Public Library Nova Gorica, Goriška Museum (Kromberk Castle and Dobrovo Castle), Nova Gorica City Gallery, Slovene National Theatre Nova Gorica, Arts Academy of the University of Nova Gorica, Carinarnica, etc.).

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Nova Gorica–Gorizia, European Capital of Culture 2025

Contents

Production and co-ordination

Programme

Venues

See also

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