KiBela Art Space

KiBela Art Space is one of several sections of Ace Kibla. Since its establishment in 1996 is Aleksandra Kostič, main curator of the show room and nowadays the president of Ace Kibla, togeter with colleagues Peter Tomaž Dobrila, curator Maja Vuksanović and others creating very defined programme of Slowenian and international art or so called "transnational" art, as they do not like to classify art by nationalities. Pogramme-oriented gallery goes beyond traditional exhibiting boundaries, it connects various visual media ventures with audio communications, telecommunications, interactive technology, sometimes contemporary dance and theatre as well - what is extraordinary for Slowenian dimensions and is bringnKiBela to its international succeses.

Famous Australian artist Stelarc has said for Kibla »this is the best cyber space in the world,« artist Eduardo Kac, who works at the Art Institute of Chicago, »something like this doesn't exist in United States« and Joseph Tabby, university professor and writer, »I came to visit Slovenia, because I've heard about KIBLA.«

History

KiBela Art Space has been developed within Multimedia Centre Kibla together with an Internet café, Kibela.Tif graphic studio and Za:misel Bookstore. Its programme has been running since the year 1996 when Multimedia Center Kibla has been established. In the second half of the 90's plans for KiBela have begun to take form with the help of experience and common knowledge-in a time when emergence of new technologies and art approaches has already become self-evident and necessary when planning a contemporary gallery.

Location

KiBela hall is on the ground floor of Narodni dom in Maribor and was rennovated in January 1999 with the purpose of installing visual and other forms of art. Often KiBela is cooperating with other spaces and institutions, sometimes is preparing site-specific outdoors prjocets.

Concept

The fundamental concept of KiBela Art Space is that of liberating and connecting traditional and electronic art media, presenting artistic (non)messages and artist+ (ir)responsibility, integrating art with science and technology and establishing new aesthetics and ecology of the mind. The concept is contemporary, multimedia and intermedia related.

KiBela has worked towards establishing links between alternative and established art and culture, between young and older generations, between the domestic and foreign art scene, between classical and electronic media, between art, technology and science and between different aesthetics and thinking.

Programme alias Exhibitions and Events

In more than 10 years of KiBela operation it was released more then 200 social art openings, performances, presentations and other art events with the exclusive approach of installing art in the space: various art aesthetics in space being such by content or by media that artists use in a creative way. Since 2004 are all events of KiBela, what is more than 100, very good visualy and textualy documented on KiBela internet archive.

KiBela is also a multi-purpose entertainment space for organizing seminars, presentations, round tables, press conferences and rich cultural programs, including exhibitions, theatre performances, video projections, concerts, literary readings, debate clubs, etc.

Exhibited Artists

The gallery collaborates and presents the recent works of international, national and regional multimedia and visual artist following the curated programme of house and external, freelanced curators.

In 2009 there was featured work of Thomas Fourmond, Anna Anders, Marko Košnik, Anne-Valerie Gasc and Gilles Desplanques, Biljana Đurđević, Kristian Kožul, Tanja Vujinović, Marko Jakše, Lara Busch, Snježana Premuš, Stefan Doepner, Jasna Kozar, Matej Pečnikar, Ivana Franke, Natalija R. Črnčec, Luka Frelih and Robertina Šebjanič and Don Ritter.

In 2008 were shown follwed artists: Julian Oliver, Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Jonathan Barnbrook, Geska Helena Andersson & Robert Brečević, Ksenija Čerče, Zachary Lieberman, Ceren Oykut, Luiza Margan and Miha Presker, Silvan Omerzu, Jure Zadnikar, Primož Jeza, Video duo: Claire Dantzer & Pascual Sisto, Ana Pečar, Huiqin Wang & Maja Pučl, Rodney Place, Herwig Turk, Thierry Kuntzel.

In 2007 these artists were selected for presentation in KiBela: Petja Montanez, Mladen Stilinović, Eduardo Kac, Julien Maire, Ildi Hermann, Matej Kristovič, Martin Bricelj, Aleksij Kobal, Nika Oblak and Primož Novak, Stane Špegel, Jaša Mrevlje, Luka Dekleva and Cameron Bobro, Wang Huiqin, Sanna Maarit, Boštjan Plesničar.

and in 2006: AES + F, Jurij Kelhar, Aleksandra Vajd and Hynek Alt, Miha Ciglar, son:DA, Mojca Kasjak, Vlado G. Repnik, Marko Ornik, Marko Košnik, Sumi Masayuki, Barbara Thun, Alenka Pirman, Matjaž Krivic, Dušan Fišer, Sašo Sedlaček, Marta de Menezes, Marta de Menezes, Davide Grassi.

Selection of the artists beeing featured in KiBela space for art before 2006: Remigiusz Dobrowolski, Stelarc, Raj Petrot Kraljev, Trevor Batten, Alain Escalle, Marina Gržinić, Igor Štromajer, Brane Zorman, Marko Butina, Bob Ostertag, Vuk Čosić, Simon Biggs, Nigel Helyer, Jon Rose, Teo Spiler, Machine for Making Sense, Mitja Koštomaj, Anne Farrel, Marti Ribas Duran, Nuria Garcia, Ken Gregory, Dragan Sakan, Marko Modic, Grejpfrut, Magdalena, Thomas Bayrle, Mirko Simič, Zoran Todorović, Dušan Geržič, Tatjana Vujinović, Sonja Savić, Damijan Švarc, Dunja Zupančič, Marko Jakše, Eduardo Kac, Dragan Živadinov, Twilight Demo Group, Here Nor There, Mirjana Rukavina, Sonda, Machine, Picture This, Marko Črtanec, Matjaž Krivic, Sestre, David Carson, Magdalena Pederin, Clif, Machine, Urška Golob, Mojca Kasjak, Christopher Hales, Diana Dominges, Jože Šubic, Marko Peljhan, Damijan Kracina and Vladimir Leben, Mitja Ficko, Goran Bertok, Alen Ožbolt, etc.

International cooperations

Through KiBela distribution channels many of Slovene artists were presented through years in different art spaces around the world. So, KiBela as art space is known as partner of many international projects of similar organisations from Graz, London, Zagreb, Belgrade and the United States, having the aim of presenting new approaches through intermedia as well as classic fine arts.

One of the recent projects X-OP - eXchange of art operators and producers. It goes about gradually growing network of artists, researchers, operators, producers and centers with the aim to establish European platform for creation of art and exchange. By long-term cooperation the partner centers are establishing and further developing infrastructural and information supportive environment in relation to information technology, digital culture and art creation in wide aspect from art production and presentation to research and education. Beside Ace Kibla and KiBela are in the partners consortium Museum Lapidarium (Novigrad, Croatia), Media in Motion (Berlin, Germany), Egon March Institute (Ljubljana, Slovenia, MoKS – Kunsti ja Sotsiaalpraktika Keskus, Center for Art and Social Practice (Mooste, Estonia), CIANT – International Centre for Art and New Technologies (Prague, Czech Republic), Politechnic of Tomar (Tomar, Portugal), MAA – Taidekoulu, Art School (Helsinki, Finland), Apartment Project (Istanbul, Turkey) and Rahmenwerk – Transforming Freedom (Vienna, Austria). In 2009 they held sessions in Berlin, Novigrad and on Philippines on the Asia-Europe New Media Art Symposium. As it goes about the project from Ace Kibla, the role of the KiBla Art Space ist to give its exhibiting place for presentations - like the improvisational audio-video performance between Tengal (Manila), Marko Batista (Ljubljana), and Ana Pečar (Maribor), what happened in november 2009.

International Art Fairs

Since 2009 KiBela attends international art fairs. In July 2009 KiBela was hosted on the Art Vilnius 09 fair, the very first international art fair in Baltic region, which happend as part of the European Capital of Culture 2009 in Lithuania. KiBela as the only Slovenian gallery presents two Slovenian artists of the younger generation: the sculptor Boštjan Novak and the painter Jure Zadnikar. In September 2009 KiBela took part on curated fifth edition of Preview Berlin - the emerging art fair presenting computer controlled instalation Robot Partner 0.2 - Automated Table Modification by Stefan Doepner, German artist, living and working in Ljubljana.

Publications

Since 1998, starting with the esseys collection of Eduardo Kac with titles Teleporting An Unknown State and Telepresence, Biotelematics and Transgenetic Arts, KiBela published more than 25 publications. The recent once: catalogue Performing Pictures from Geska Helena Andersson & Robert Brečević, catalogue AES+F: Action Half Life, catalogue Sonic from Ksenija Čerče, DVD Digital commune in Maribor, DVD with the title Zapri oči in glej from Alenka Pirman and others.

External Links