Another visit to Ljubljana was also marked by long walks between locations and visits to people and spaces that shape Ljubljana's independent cultural scene. We started in the courtyard of AKC Metelkova, where Danilo showed some of the spaces and shared some history and basic info of the space, which is a regionally known center of urban and alternative culture. The building at Metelkova 6 is home to many associations and NGOs.
We then walked past the Stara mestna elektrarna, a space managed by the Bunker association and is one of the few, if not the only, space dedicated to culture that finds its space in a public-private partnership. The Bunker organization supports and promotes contemporary theater, dance, intermedia art, and musical performances. Once a year, they also produce their own festival, Mladi Levi, and also collaborate with many festivals, such as the Mesto žensk, Ment, etc.
We then briefly stopped by Vladimir Mihajlović, a member of the band Srečna Mladina and a music producer and manager of several local bands. Next, the path took us to the premises on the eighth floor of the office tower, which is unusually home to three independent institutions: Atol – which deals with the production of intermedia art; Ljudmila – which works at the intersection of computer art, programming, DIY art production in connection with digital and net art; and Delak – an association led by Dragan Živadinov, a member of the NSK group and a theater director and producer. We were welcomed in the space by Katja Pahor, Maja Burja and Luka Frelih, who lead the Ljudmila. Luka, who is a co-founder of the association, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, told us about the history of the space, the context of the time (when computers were not accessible to everyone, and Ljudmila was the only accessible cyber point in the city), and about current projects, among which the A-dela festival and Pif-camp, which take place once a year in collaboration with the Atol institute, stand out.
We ended our day at Krater – one of the most unusual collectives that operate at the intersection of art, architecture, biology and ecology. Krater is a former construction pit managed by a group of individuals led by Andrej Koruza and Gaja Mežnarič. We were welcomed by Amadeja Smrekar - designer, photographer and one of the members of the collective. Krater collective cares about urban biodiversity, and from the seemingly degraded environment they create paper, ceramics, food, wood and other materials that can be obtained from plants and soil.
Inside the Krater there is also the Shelter for Abandoned Plants – a project that collects poor, discarded plants, regenerates them and then gives them to new owners. Beautiful, isn't it?
