Mostovna Cultural Centre

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 the city life.

The place hosts concerts, DJ evenings and occasional music festivals, and also sets up theatre and film shows, literary events, workshops and contemporary arts exhibitions. It also functions as a multimedia centre and is a part of the M3C Multimedia Centres Network of Slovenia, with the MMC Mostovna being the hub for various enterprises such as production of video and animations, audio engineering projects (recording of local bands and concerts,...), web services for local NGO's and other organizations...

Mostovna has two concert venues, an exhibition space working under the name TIR - Mostovna Gallery, a set of spaces called E-hiša [E-house] that presents , a studio, a library and also a small skateboarding ramp.

Background

The idea of reviving an abandoned industrial building on the outskirts of Nova Gorica and Solkan as a cultural centre was initiated in 1996 by the youth of the municipality. In 1998, following a massive manifestation at the Mostovna premises, Nova Gorica City Council appointed the Masovna Institute [Zavod Masovna] (founded by four youth organisations, Klub goriških študentov, Klub Druga stran, Klub 13. brat and ŠKUC Association - section Nova Gorica to build the new centre, manage it and conceive its cultural programme. The first of its spaces were opened to visitors in 2002.

Mostovna itself is a former industrial compound next to the railway and the national border between Slovenia and Italy which stood abandoned for several years before first ideas about its revitalisation surfaced in 1996. Although the City Municipality of Nova Gorica supported these ideas it took over a decade to build the necessary infrastructure (including the access road) and start with the cultural programmes in 2002 while the renovation and revitalisation activities in the area of Mostovna continue (in 2009, the place was even closed for half a year due to unresolved operation licenses).

Recently, new organisations have joined into organising events at the place, with some of them being the Wonderland Crew, Intensity, Zavod Bojler, Fresh hip hop movement and JZA Crew.

Programme

The place is open to producers, artists and other people from the region, who'd like or need to use the place.

Music

Glasbeno zabavni program na Mostovni poteka v petek in soboto. Občasno tudi ob drugih dnevih.

Foremost, there is the musical programme. As the most developed and active promoters working in the region are into HC, metal and similar musical expressions, this is also reflected in the line-up, though this is nevertheless much broader. The place hosted Paradise Lost, Cannibal Corpse, Lagwagon, Ulan Bator, Dismember, Kud Idijoti, Terror, Nightbringer, Today Is The Day, Cruel Hand, Rambo Amadeus, Edo Maajka, Dubioza kolektiv, Disciplin A Kitschme, Jinx, Vroom, Slander, Misery For A Living, Iamdisease, Red Five Point Star, Ana Pupedan, Ali En, Fake Orchestra, Lačni Franz, etc. The annual GO Moonlee! Fest also takes place at Mostovna.

Neuveljavljene glasbene skupine - "Open Stage" Young Gunz music natečaj

13brat.net and the Maovna Institute also produce a compilation album called Od soče do Korna, which based on an open call gathers new musical currents in the region and presents them to the wider public and in the end proiduces a festival where all the participant bands are presented.

TIR gallery

TIR - Mostovna Gallery is an important and very active part of Mostovna. It exhibits mostly young graphic and multimedia artists from the region, but also deals with a number of international projects, especially with relation to the neighbouring Italy, from where a number of artists were also hosted. One can here mention Franco Pinna's footage from Fellini's movie sets, and the more recent exhibition oh photographical projects that deal with the unitary urban nature of the region, which is otherwise divided by a national boder.

The exhibitions are also often accompanied by music performances or poetry readings.

Movies, literary evenings and other events

Movies and documentaries present another important part of the Mostovna programme, which for a time featured GO Film Fest Mostovna and is also part of the Animateka International Animated Film Festival, namely its Animateka after Animateka programme which present the best features of the previous year festival. There has been other film cycles as well, and also some minor parts of Italian movie production happened here. International Feminist and Queer Festival Red Dawns, which has been happening here as well, also featured movie screenings aside from other events.

The place also has regular readings, book presentations and other literary events and even a small library. Young Rhymes also had one of its events here, as has the Gorica book days festival. Urban sports figured strong at Mostovna, especially skating, as there was even a small mini-ramp here and once even a three day skating event with camping in front of Mostovna. Later, when a proper skate-park was opened in Nova Gorica, the Flowgrind contest also included the Mostovna premises.

Numerous other events have taken or are taking place at Mostovna - the Pixxelpoint International Festival of Computer Art, thatre shows, artistic workshops, debates, stand up shows and various international exchanges.

E-house

In 2008, the people at Mostovna established the e-House, house of experiments. It was housed in several containers at the courtyard of Mostovna and presented a collection of physical and chemical experiments and phenomena, introducing various educational and research programmes for kids as well as for grown ups. In 2013, the place moved to Youth Centre Nova Gorica, where there is now also a Festival of science Nova Gorica.

External links

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

Mostovna Cultural Centre

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