Closing Biennale Days

PROGRAMME OF THE CLOSING BIENNALE DAYS

Thursday, 11 January, 17.00–18.00, Cukrarna

Thematic guided tour of the Biennale, conducted by Natalija Majsova, cultural studies expert

On a cosmic level, categories such as the past and the future are related in ways that we can only rarely experience directly. Art can be one of the portals that make such trans-temporal experiences possible. Memory is another portal. During the guided tour of the 35th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts, cultural studies expert Natalija Majsova will reveal the intricate layers of memory in chosen artworks, delicately woven with potentialities and simultaneously fragile and fleeting.

Natalija Majsova is an associate professor and researcher in the Department of Cultural Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. Her research interests include memory studies, cultural theories and film studies as well as media archaeology. She is the head of the Slovenian-Croatian research project on aesthetics and strategies of remembering in popular culture MEMPOP (2023–2026).

Admission

Friday, 12 January, 15.00–18.00, SVS Studio (Štefanova 12)

Closing with the SVS group and exhibition

The Sreda v sredo (SVS) group was founded in Ljubljana in 2019. Located in the heart of Ljubljana, in the basement of an apartment block, the members of the group have set up a print workshop inspired by the "Do It Together" thinking. This is where they work, alone or with guests, mainly using intaglio printmaking techniques. As part of the 35th Biennale of Graphic Arts, they opened their doors to visitors every Friday between 3 and 6 pm as one of the Biennale venues and at the same time a relaxed working and meeting place. Over seventeen meet-ups, they hosted many different artists and more than 200 visitors from Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, Poland, Australia, Slovakia, India and Romania. Together with their guests, they created more than 20 different graphic works. As the Biennale comes to a close, a special exhibition prepared for the occasion will showcase works created during the laid-back Friday gatherings, including, amongst others: Maja Poljanc, Hana Stupica, Farah Sara Kurnik, Marko K. Gavez, Filip Kolačkov, Jure Engelsberger, Martin Fujan, Žiga Sever, Nik Leban, Suna Srdić, Flora Omerčević, Selom Koffi Kudjie.

Admission free

Saturday, 13 January, 11.00–18.00, MGLC Grad Tivoli

Guest Appearance: Taller Experimental de Gráfica de la Habana/Experimental Graphic Workshop of Havana, Cuba

During the Cuban Revolution in the 1950s, which coincided with the beginning of the Cold War and the emergence of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961, printmaking became an important tool for political propaganda and activism. Several print workshops were founded during this period, including the Experimental Graphic Workshop of Havana (Taller Experimental de Gráfica de La Habana), which is still active today, where artists learned printmaking techniques and created a space for political and social criticism through art.

Organised as part of Guest Appearance:

Public lecture:

11.00–12.00, MGLC Grad Tivoli:

Smoke Rings in the (R) Evolution of Cuban Printmaking

What are the sources of inspiration for Cuban printmaking in both historical and recent times, and what underlines current trends? The topics of our discussion will include the changes, techniques and interplays between art, the tobacco industry, posters and printing.

Admission free. Registration to trgovina@mglc-lj.si

Experimental printmaking workshop:

12.30–18.00, MGLC Print Studio:

Smoke Curtains, Artist Book

We will produce an A4 artist's book in the linocut and chine-collé techniques (using cigar labels/cigarette stickers) in an edition of 9 copies (for all participants and two for the archive of the Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts).

Maximum seven participants per workshop. Suitable for art professionals, experienced art lovers and art students.

Please register with a short description of yourself after 3 January 2024 to lili.sturm@mglc-lj.si.

Registration fee: 25 EUR.

Please note that the workshop registration fee comes with a special gift: a 2024 annual membership to the Friends of the Biennale Club.

The lecture and workshop are conducted by Yamilys Brito Jorge, artist and Director of the Experimental Graphic Workshop of Havana, in English.

Yamilys Brito Jorge was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1972. She graduated from the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro in Havana in 1991 and received her degree from the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in 1996. She is most known for her series of prints, which are typically monotypes or collages, as well as for her pen and ink drawings. By piecing together symbols and images from Cuba's history, architecture, folklore and traditions, she creates mixed media prints that explore concepts ranging from memory, isolation and nostalgia to homeland and national identity. She has been teaching printmaking for over 20 years and her artworks have been exhibited in Cuba, the United States, Haiti, Spain, France and Germany. Yamilys brings with her a wealth of knowledge. She is in full command of her skills and finds a fine balance between the technical and the playful to express a voice uniquely her own.

She explains:

"My work is always on paper. I enjoy the possibilities that this medium has to offer. I love the memorabilia of other countries – old filmstrips, theatre tickets, vintage postcards, photographs, posters and old handwritten letters. My work is made of mementoes, vestiges and souvenirs, all collectable pieces of heart, soul and time. For me, reality is stronger than everything. I approach my work utilising all the graphic techniques and skills, and when creating my works, I can combine three or four procedures at the same time."

More about the artist on Instagram: #yamilysbritojorge

Sunday, 14 January, 11.00–16.00, all exhibition venues

Marathon guided tour with the Artistic Director and the Curators of the 35th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts

Guided tour of the Biennale exhibition venues with the Biennale Bus. Conducted by Ibrahim Mahama, Kwasi Ohene-Ayeh (Exit Frame Collective), Selom Koffie Kudjie and Patrick Nii Okanta Ankrah.

Meeting point: MGLC Švicarija.

Viewing programme:

11.00–11.30: MGLC Švicarija: introductory presentation of the Biennale and viewing of the exhibition

11.40–12.40: MGLC Grad Tivoli: visit of Yamilys Brito Jorge, artist and Director of the Experimental Graphic Workshop of Havana (MGLC Print Studio) and viewing of the exhibition

Closing talk with curator Gregor Dražil and artist Azad Karim, in Slovenian.

The focus will be on the presentation of the graphic artists included in the exhibition, who have participated in the Biennale of Graphic Arts in the past, and on how Yugoslavia's inclusive foreign policy strategy is reflected in the long list of countries participating in the Biennale. Azad Karim, an Iraqi Kurd who has lived and worked in Slovenia since the late 1970s, will share his experience of taking part in the Biennale in the 1980s.

12.55: departure of the Biennale Bus from Moderna galerija, Bleiweisova cesta, to Cukrarna, Poljanski nasip 40

13.10–14.00: Cukrarna: viewing of the exhibition; at 14.00, the bus will take us to PLAC, Linhartova 43

14.15–14.45: PLAC – Participatory Ljubljana Autonomous Zone: visit to the venue; at 14.45, the bus will take us to Krater, Bežigrad construction pit, entrance from Peričeva ulica

15.00–15.30: Krater, Creative laboratory in a construction pit: visit to the venue; at 15.30, the bus will take us back to Moderna galerija

15.45–16.15: SVS Studio

Admission free. Registration to trgovina@mglc-lj.si.