Slovenian Culture and Information Centre, Vienna (SKICA)

The Slovenian Culture and Information Centre in Austria (SKICA) was established in Vienna in 2011. The centre intends to integrate Slovene creativity in the field of arts and culture as well as science and research into the cultural milieu of the city of Vienna and beyond. SKICA aims to become a model for the future network of Slovene culture and information centres abroad: as such, in November 2016 the SKICA Berlin, Slovenian Cultural Centre was inaugurated.

As a joint project of the Slovene Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Slovenian Culture and Information Centre (SKICA) is located at the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia Vienna. SKICA is an associated partner of the EUNIC Austria Cluster.

Mission and objectives

The Slovenian Culture and Information Centre in Vienna was established by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Culture. Its purpose is to create a synergy among Slovene institutions and organisations and Austrian cultural institutions, producers and venues; to foster cooperation efforts; and to facilitate communication. Thus, SKICA should become a central forum and a representative of Slovene cultural, education, and scientific activities in Austria as well as a catalyst of new international projects.

Programme

SKICA endeavours to promote its cultural programme while focusing on building a multidisciplinary approach from all study fields and art disciplines. Outlined annually, the SKICA programme consists of a few complex projects that are developed in close cooperation with Slovene cultural organisations and Austrian partners, and a number of projects where SKICA facilitates realisation and broader communication of the event.

Music

Since 2013 SKICA has supported SIGIC, Slovene Music Information Centre and Kino Šiška Centre for Urban Culture who organise the presentation of bands from Slovenia at the Waves Vienna Music Festival. Up to 2015, the following bands were promoted: Coma Stereo, It's Everyone Else, New Wave Syria, N'toko, Toronto Drug Bust,Werefox, Oknai, Your Gay Thoughts,Nikki Louder, Blaž & Simon, Koala Voice, All Strings Detached and Ludovik Material. In recent years, the collaboration with the MENT Ljubljana has born fruit: Slovenian moMENTs featured The Canyon Observer, Karmakoma and Jardier in 2016, and the Persons from porlock, Daniel Vezoja and КУКЛА in 2017.

Slovenian acts at Waves Vienna 2013 by SIGIC - Slovenski glasbenoinformacijski center on YouTube

In 2014, the concerts by Tori Tango with accordionist Jure Tori and Otto Lechner & die Wiener Ziehharmoniker with accordionist Bratko Bibič were the highlights of the 17th International Accordion Festival Vienna. Maja Osojnik who lives and works in Vienna is an improvising electroacoustic musician and sound artist whose performances have garnered international acclaim.

Tori Tango - Porgy & Bess Vienna by juretori on YouTube

Theatre and dance

In 2015, a few performances toured Austria with the support of SKICA: the Library of Letters: A Walk, a monodrama directed by Barbara Novakovič Kolenc, [[Muzeum Institute], was staged at the Italian Culture Institute in Vienna, in the framework of the Magic of the Language EUNIC festival programme. Nora Gregor – the Hidden Continent of Memory, a performance about one of Austria's most popular film stars of the 1920s ,co-produced by Mladinsko Theatre and the Slovene National Theatre Nova Gorica, was hosted by the Schauspielhaus Graz; and the Dance Theatre Ljubljana productions Wunderbare Jahre and Senza senso by Jan Rozman were staged at the tanzhafen Festival in Linz.

In 2017, Metamorphoses 3°: Rhetoric by Bara Kolenc and Atej Tutta, produced by KUD Samosvoj Cultural Association was presented at Brut Theatre in Vienna.

Visual and new media arts

SKICA has supported selected photography exhibitions of the Photon Gallery at Zieglergasse 34 in Vienna, among exhibited authors were Borut Peterlin, Goran Bertok, Žiga Kariž, Tomaž Gregorič and Bojan Salaj.

The participation of Slovene galleries at the Viennacontemporary International Art Fair, and the steirischer herbst festival of new arts (for example, Tobias Putrih's Routine Inspection in 2014) have also been promoted.

Zollamt: Tobias Putrih - Routine Inspection by steirischerherbst on YouTube

In 2015, an extensive exhibition featuring works by 96 Slovene visual artists from 1968 to 2013 was shown at the Künstlerhaus in Vienna: The Magic of Art was curated and organised by Aleksander Bassin.

Slovene artists have participated regularly at the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz: in 2017 Maja Smrekar won the Hybrid Art Golden Nica for her K-9_topology project. SKICA also supported the participation of Nika Oblak and Primož Novak who presented their Border Mover kinetic video installation at the Niños Consentidos Vienna Experimental and Interdisciplinary Art Festival at Brick-5 in Vienna.

Architecture and Design

During the Vienna Design Week 2012, the exhibition Niko Kralj – The King of Chairs took place at the Architekturzentrum Wien. This retrospective exhibition of one of the pioneers and leading legends of Slovenian industrial design was prepared by the Museum of Architecture and Design in Ljubljana. The Architekturzentrum Wien hosted also the exhibition Max Fabiani, the architect of the monarchy, marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of the architect in 2015.

In the framework of the designforum Wien 2013, the exhibition Silent Revolutions, presenting Slovene product design of the last two decades, took place at the Museumsquartier, while the Vienna Design Week hosted the workshop Dementia and Arthritis. What can design do for me? by Petra Černe Oven and Barbara Predan from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design of the University of Ljubljana. The two design theorists curated the Past Future Perfect exhibition of Slovene design at the Austrian Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art in Vienna in 2014.

The Vienna Design Week 2014 featured the Pop-up Home programme of an open platform featuring works by young Slovene designers, architects and artists from the Ljubljana Poligon Creative Centre. The edition in 2016 featured the Friendly Enemy exhibition by Re-generacija Association.

Film

Since 2013, the Let's CEE Film Festival in Vienna featuring high-quality productions from Central and Eastern Europe has also presented film production from Slovenia. SKICA collaborates with the Let's CEE team on a regular basis: in 2013, Damjan Kozole's film retrospective and masterclass took place in Vienna, in 2014 and in 2016 the Slovene Film Days were organised, featuring also Slovene cinema classics and documentary films, and in 2015, the six screenings took place in Graz. The 2017 festival edition featured 11 Slovene films (cf. link below).

LET'S CEE presents A NEW HOME (Slovenia 2016) by LETSCEETV on YouTube

Literature

At the Buch Wien 2012, Slovene book illustration was presented: an overview of Slovene book illustration (1954–2011) was complemented with an exhibition of the award-winners of the Biennial of Slovene Book Illustration 2012.

Slovene writers of the younger generation Goran Vojnović, Katja Perat, Nejc Gazvoda, Nataša Kramberger,Jure Jakob, Vesna Lemaić and Klemen Pisk were presented in spring and autumn 2012 to broad audiences at a well-known literary venue Literaturhaus Wien, where Anja Golob also read her poetry within the Schamrock – Festival of Female Poets 2014. At Literaturhaus Wien The Worldtravelers met Mexicans exhibition of the graphic novels by Slovene authors Jakob Klemenčič, Zoran Smiljanić and Marijan Pušavec took place in 2016.

SKICA also supported the Slovene authors Ana Pepelnik and Stanka Hrastelj who participated at the Literatur & Wein Kulturenfestival in Krems.

Interdisciplinary

A film Beyond Boundaries with music by Brina Vogelnik and texts by Aleš Šteger was premiered in Austria in the framework of the Diagonale Festival in Graz/Gradec.

Brezmejno - BEYOND BOUNDARIES Trailer (Deutsch) by zac1p on YouTube

Arts & Culture Residency Vienna

SKICA also supports the artist-in-residence programme in Vienna organised by the Slovene Ministry of Culture.

External links

SKICA website
Let's CEE Film Festival 2017 Slovene film programme
Graphic Novels from Slovenia at Literaturhaus Wien
EUNIC Austria Cooperation, Magic of the Language project
Skicirajmo SKICO!, a website in support of SKICA (2013)

Gallery