The residency in Maribor started intensively. Upon arrival, the residents met members of
the Pekarna Magdalenske mreže association, who explained the history and current status
of the former barracks, now known as Pekarna. The premises were occupied by civil society
in 1994 and converted into a cultural space. Pekarna is still a unique center of alternative
culture in Maribor. It consists of several buildings, within which we can find the authentic
Ciproš library, the Gustaf club, art studios, a climbing hall, etc.
During the first week of the residency, we took the residents around the spaces of
independent culture in Maribor. We started in GT22, a space that is one of the rare
examples of a patronage space – meaning that a privately owned space was given over to
cultural activities for use. The cultural workers and artists created a theater hall, a skate
ramp, an exhibition space, a darkroom for developing photographs, a photography
museum, and a woodworking workshop. The space is also home to the student radio station
Marš, and recently, the users of the space have also been raising bees and engaging in
urban beekeeping. Uroš Kaurin, an actor and member of the Moment collective, took us
through GT22.
The visits continued at Kibla, the first independent institution dedicated to intermedia art in
Yugoslavia and beyond. We were met by Peter Dobrila Peco, who explained the historical
and spatial dimensions of Kibla to us, and surrounded us with publications and books that
testify to the active role of the institution in the contemporary art scene. Kibla operates in
three spaces and regularly collaborates with both domestic and foreign artists, often with
world-renowned names in contemporary art. Kibla is currently having problems with
financing its programs, which prevents them from working at full capacity. We concluded
the first block of getting to know the scene with Simon Žlahtič, who prepared a city tour for
the residents on the topic of former cultural spaces that, for various reasons, are no longer
cultural spaces.
