Bunker Institute

Bunker Institute is a non-profit organisation for the realisation and organisation of cultural events established in 1997 by Nevenka Koprivšek. Bunker produces and presents contemporary theatre and dance performances and organises one of the most noted international theatre and dance festivals, the Young Lions Festival. It also manages the performing arts venue Old Power Station in Ljubljana.

Overview

Bunker produces works by different performing arts and dance makers, such as Sanja Nešković Peršin, Jurij Konjar, Mala Kline, Magdalena Reiter, and Jette Ostan Verjup. These 'house artists' tour international festivals, while several international authors have also been presented to Ljubljana audiences as part of Junge Hunde network events. In its productions, Bunker focuses on works that employ innovative approaches, intertwine different art disciplines, as well as offer reflections on topical cultural, political, and social issues. Since 1999, Bunker is also the producer of the physical theatre group Betontanc, led by Matjaž Pograjc.

Aiming to expand the existing notions of the function and meaning of art in general, Bunker initiated in 2007 the project Sy(e)nergy [Si(e)nergija] - an interdisciplinary open forum intended to a creative understanding of changes and stimulation of collaboration among artists, scientists, and practitioners. Attempting to spark up a dialogue between the seemingly incompatible disciplines (art/science) and possibly provide answers to burning global issues, the project's events (lectures, round tables, presentations, films) focused on areas of electric energy, housing, and transport.

Since 2004 Bunker has been running the programme of the performing arts venue Stara Elektrarna - Old Power Station in Ljubljana. The programme consists of theatre and dance performance production, concerts, educational activities, and presentations of different art projects. The facilities are used for rehearsals, education (dance, art management, and other workshops), and stage performances.

Bunker has developed several collaborative projects, one of them being the renovation and revival of the cultural house in Medana, a small city in Goriška region, where workshops have been organised in co-operation with the local community. Thus Medana is becoming an international residency centre, an important meeting point for a number of international networks and projects, and a venue, which also hosts the international festival Days of Poetry and Wine Medana.

In 2008, Bunker has co-organised (with P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E. Institute and Obrat Association) the first Complaints Choir in Slovenia.

Festivals

Bunker has organised the annual international festival of theatre and dance Young Lions Festival every end of summer since 1998, which showcases groups and artists with distinctive and original ideas and disciplines from all over the world. Since 2002 Bunker has co-organised Drugajanje Festival together with the 2nd Grammar School in Maribor, which aims to affirm contemporary dance and theatre art among the young with a wide programme of performances, workshops, and lectures.

International cooperation

Bunker actively participates in the international network Junge Hunde that stimulates mobility of young and promising artists. Further, Bunker has also been part of the international project Sites of Imagination, led by Alkantara, Lisbon (Portugal) and co-organised by Carovana, Cagliari (Italy), L'Officina, Marseille (France), L'Animal a l'Esquena, Girona (Spain). The project focuses on cultural development of the Mediterranean region through exchange and cultural dialogue and is supported through the European Commission. Although primarily a research project, which included a number of artists from different countries and artistic disciplines, the project resulted in a performance Début - In Memory of Coming [Debut - v spomin prihodnjega] by the dancer and choreographer Mala Kline, which premièred in 2007 in Girona, Spain.

In 2009 Bunker has joined the project Sostenuto - thinking culture as a factor of economic and social innovation, launched by Expeditio - Center for Sustainable Spatial Development, which aims at reinforcing the competitiveness and the capacities of economic and social innovation from the cultural and creative sector in the Mediterranean space by accompanying its transformation towards new economic and social models.

Bunker is a member of the following international networks: Junge Hunde, Theorem, Informal European Theatre Meeting (IETM), Danse Bassin Mediterranéen - DBM, Balkan Express network, and the Slovene Asociacija, Association of Arts and Culture NGOs and Freelancers.

Bunker Institute

Contents

Overview

Festivals

International cooperation

See also

External Links

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