Independent Biennial

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The Independent Biennial, originally named as Slovenian Independent Illustrators' Biennial, was established in 2007. It was established as an answer to the burgeoning illustration scene in Slovenia that up until than lacked a proper means of izpostaviti, pregled, reflection of this very heterogenous artistic practice. Due to its specific nature and relatively young protagonists, it was not všeta v established gallery networks and logics, and furthermore, it was not even properly theortically conceptualised and even recognized as an artistic practice due to its position of being commercially exploited. Both cultural policies and educutaional gabarites miss out on it as well.

So, the Independent Biennial works on changing this and establishing a history, community and platform for promotion, collaboration and reflection. This being said, illustration recognized by biennial is very wide phenonemaa and can be caricature, comics, design illustration, logos, graffiti, and also "dynamic" such as animation, multimedia interventions and webdesign, and many other thigs as well. Illustration has a position in other artistic practices, so these are subsumed in the biennial that caters to the wider creative community in Slovenia.

Programme

The logic of the biennial is quite different from other similar institutions, as the proper curator role was enacted by the postavljalci of the biennial only in 2007, when they chose the 40 artists they presented. Afterwards, these artists had the oppurtunity to nominate the chosen ones for 2009 and so on. These illustrators are often present new works, created for the biennial, whioch is also its specific, as otherwise the presented works have to be published somewhere. Here, experimetal illustrations are so much easier to present. Also, the logic of institutions in determening quality is replaced by this being defined by the community itself. By now, the producers of the biennial already have a feeling that the scene has grown even more and establsihed itself in the field of Slovenian culture.

Each biennial is spaced throughout Ljubljana and it various galleries and also public spaces, as well as on the website, where the works are shown and also contextualized along with the artists milleus. Each year, there are about 20 independant exhibitons for particular artists. During the biennial, there are also discussions being held with both producers adn theoreticians, trying to at least outline what is going on currently both on a local as well as global level. There are also public events such as live in situ illustration at public spaces, audio-visual events (in 2013 involving the renowned electronica producer Vladidslav Delay), workshops (one, for example, made in cooperation with the ALto university from Finnland).

There have also been a book released with the authors from 2007 – 2010 and the texts, being the Prva pregledna knjiga slovenske neodvisne produkcije. contempoirary visual culture

Venues and exhibition grounds

As said, one of the venues is the inetrnet. Another very important venue is kino Šiška, there are various bars (Nikofe, LP bar, ), there is the MSUM+, Galerija JE2, DU BOP BAR, Zaklonišče 2 v Parku slovenske, ud France Prešeren, Studio 8, ŠKUC in v netipično galerijskih prostorih kot so Kolovrateater, Open cafe, BiKofe, bar Maximal, Fetiche, in kavarna Mestnega Muzeja, reformacije

The artists were Ana Baraga, Anka Kočevar, Aphra Tesla, Biba Košmerl, Dunja Janković, Dušan Moldovan, Eva Lucija Kozak, Gregor Balog, Kaja Kisilak in tandem Kitsch Nitsch.Ana Baraga, Anka Kočevar, Aphra Tesla, Biba Košmerl, Branko Humar, Davor Gromilović, Dolores Colores (Poni Mafia), Dunja Janković, Dušan Moldovan, Eva Lucija Kozak, Gregor Balog, Kaja Kisilak, Kitsch Nitsch (David Kladnik in Jaka Neon), Kolektiv Turbo Comix (Johanna Marcadé in Bruno Tolić), Leon Zuodar, Matej Jarc, Matija Medved, Miroslav Erjavec, Nejc87, Neža Jurman, Cecco/ Matej Lavrenčič/ Milan Erič / Mladen Stropnik in Nataša Skušek / Polona Poklukar/ Neja Tomšič in Špela Škulj/ Neža Zinaić / Patricija Čičmir / Sara Jassim/ Saša Štucin/ Špela Čadež/ Tilen Sepič/ Urh Sobočan/ Urška Štrukelj/ Veli Silver/ Hannes Gröblacher/ Žiga Artnak

Ob peti obletnici svojega obstoja se je Bienale neodvisnih predstavil v sklopu Evropskega meseca kulture v Washingtonu s kar dvema dogodkoma, prvi se je odvil v osrednjem prostoru slovenskega veleposlaništva, drugi v galerijskem prostoru NYU – New York University. Na obeh razstavah so bili predstavljeni avtorji mlajše generacije, ki so med leti 2007 in 2013 sodelovali na Bienalu slovenske neodvisne ilustracije in ki ustvarjajo na obrobjih umetnosti, oblikovanja in sodobne ilustracije. Ob peti ediciji Bienala je društvo Tretaroka, iniciator bienala, pripravili predstavitev platforme in pregledno razstavo avtorjev Bienala neodvisnih v Washingtonu v sodelovanju z Ministrstvom za kulturo RS, slovenskim veleposlaništvom v Washingtonu ter Kinom Šiška. Več kot 80 avtorjev z več kot 100 deli, ki so bili v preteklih letih del Bienala, se je predstavilo na pregledni razstavi v prostorih Slovenskega veleposlaništva, platforma pa se je predstavila tudi na NYU - New York University. Oba dogodka sta potekala pod okriljem Evropskega meseca kulture v Washingtonu, v otvoritvenem tednu pa se ju je udeležilo skoraj 4000 obiskovalcev.

Besides the aformentioned Alto universiyt workshops, there has also been another cooperation with finnish creator in 2012, Dogodek bo potekal simultano v Ljubljani in Helsinkih, udeleženci na obeh lokacijah pa bodo med sabo povezani preko spleta in dela v virtualnem prostoru, creating different wokrs and applicative projects, and so fostering communication and dvelopment of particular local ideas. It was cooperated with Kino Šiška and eurooppasali (where also some other IB mid-events were held) The Independent Biennial is proud to present 50 visual works of our authors in a screening exhibition at Merkillinen - visual poetry exhibition at Gallery Aila Seppälä Lahti, Finland from 29th July to 23rd August 2015.

The exhibition is organised by Sanakuva Collective, a Finnish cross-disciplinary arts group. It is a experimental platform where poetry, and literary texts, are interpreted via means of design, dance, photography, moving image and sound to be presented as literary interventions taking shape online, as live performances and exhibitions. It is this interdisciplinary approach and the bridging of different artistic expression that binds the Sanakuva Collective to the Independents biennial. The idea of presenting the works of the Independent Biennial authors at the Merkillinen emerged during the planning of the collaboration for the Independents Biennial 5th edition. The works and authors presented in Lahti were previously presented at the Embassy of Slovenia and the New York University in Washington.

External links

Independent Biennial presentation in Washington, May 2015

Independent Biennial

Programme

Venues and exhibition grounds

External links

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