Visual Identity of the Twentieth Generation by Črt Mate
Programme
The World of Art: School for Curatorial Practices and Critical Writing is the only programme in Slovenia dedicated to both practical and theoretical training in the field of curating. The education of future cultural workers includes the acquisition of skills and familiarity with various practical methods relevant to the field of contemporary visual art. Founded in 1996, the school has so far been attended by more than 130 participants, many of whom are now actively shaping the artistic landscape in the local and international contexts of contemporary visual art.
The two-year programme is continuously upgraded and updated with each new generation of participants. At the school, participants become acquainted with current curatorial practices of key actors, experts, and cultural workers on both the local and international scene. They acquire skills and methods that help them develop their own curatorial practice and gain insight into diverse approaches to working within the production of contemporary art. The acquisition and sharing of knowledge takes place within a structured group and with the school’s leaders and external collaborators on a horizontal level, which allows participants to be more fully engaged in the school’s programme and working process.
The programme is structured into modules, which include lectures by experts, workshops, visits to production and exhibition spaces, artist studios, conversations with curators, artists and other cultural workers, reading seminars, individual writing consultations, and more. The aim is to maximise inclusion while enriching the programme through the diverse backgrounds of each generation of participants.
MODULE 1 | Exhibition
In the first year, through curatorial research and the preparation of a virtual exhibition, participants gain insight into the processes of research and production that are involved in exhibition-making. The final assignment of the two-year programme is the design and realisation of an exhibition at Škuc Gallery in Ljubljana, which is the focus of the second year. Through specific themes, the work of artists, and the development of a group concept, participants experience first-hand the process and steps of creating exhibitions. In the second year, through collective curatorial research, participants curate the exhibition at Škuc Gallery under the mentorship of Alenka Gregorič and Vadim Fiškin.
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1st YEAR
World of Art Team: Curating an exhibition within TAM-TAM Street Gallery
In 2025, SCCA-Ljubljana, in collaboration with the TAM-TAM Institute, will prepare a cycle of exhibitions in the TAM-TAM Street Gallery on Vegova Street. Participants will be invited to independently or in pairs design and carry out a poster exhibition. With the support of the World of Art team, they will develop the concept, invite artists, select artworks, write texts, assist with production, organise the exhibition opening, etc. Through this, they will become acquainted with all the steps of exhibition preparation in practice and gain concrete work experience. The work will be carried out in the form of consultations.
Yasmín Martín Vodopivec: Management as a Tool for Realising Ideas in the Field of Culture
Cultural potential can be realised when ideas are transformed into a project and are implemented. An uncertain and rapidly changing social situation requires new ideas, which are difficult to recognise without thorough strategic planning. Cultural management offers a set of knowledge and skills through which goals can be achieved, both in promoting and evaluating different artistic and cultural phenomena and in preserving collective memory and cultural heritage. Understanding the importance of culture and the specificities of working in its field is crucial for the creation, mediation, and evaluation of cultural initiatives.
Nina Vošnjak: Contemporary Art and Educational Programmes
Direct contact with high-quality works of art can have invaluable educational value, where the preparation of suitable pedagogical programmes is key. Educational activities in galleries not only encourage close and precise observation of artworks, but also develop and strengthen a range of other skills such as communication, self-expression, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. Alongside presenting the importance and potential of educational activities in contemporary art galleries and selected examples of such programmes, the lecture will also outline the basic guidelines for working with different age groups of children and young people. This will be followed by a practical part in which participants will design a programme for a selected target group.
Matic Vrabič: Exhibition Design and Temporary Structures
Exhibitions are temporary structures that shape both mental and built public space, and therefore require careful planning. Their main goal is to communicate various contents to a broad spectrum of visitors, young and old, experts and beginners, dedicated professionals and casual passers-by, offering several levels and types of information, from the spatial experience to in-depth content elaboration. Exhibitions, as temporary structures, consume large amounts of material in a short time, which makes it essential to consider the origin, efficient use, and afterlife of materials. For the successful materialisation of an exhibition in space, these considerations should not be an afterthought but an integral part of the installation process, from concept to realisation.
MODULE 2 | Curatorial Research
This module offers an overview of exhibition practices in modern and contemporary art. We will examine the key turning points and mechanisms that have shaped and continue to shape exhibition phenomena and the role of the curator. Visits to exhibitions and art institutions will provide insight into the functioning of different public institutions, independent organisations, and individuals, complemented by moderated discussions with cultural workers.
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1st YEAR
World of Art Team: Curatorial Research
We will explore how curatorial research unfolds in practice. How do we begin to develop an exhibition? How do we approach research and gathering information? Do we start with a conversation with an artist, a studio visit, a known work, or an exhibition we’ve seen? Do we dig through the internet, online databases, libraries, and archives? What research methods are used, and how does collaborative work in a curatorial group function? These meetings will focus on the development of an individual virtual exhibition, which participants will create during the first year with the support of the World of Art team and present to the mentors at the end of the year.
Vladimir Vidmar: Reading the Exhibition
The exhibition is a medium marked by its long history, decisively shaped by Enlightenment thought and the political developments of modernity. The knowledge systematised by institutions becomes visible through a set of protocols defined by rules and consensus. Entering an exhibition means entering a rebus. To “read” an exhibition is to understand its socio-political foundations while also unravelling the investments of contemporary artists and curators. The series “How to Read an Exhibition” will combine a “phenomenological walk,” through which we will analyse the exhibition’s elements, with the next step of reassembling them under the umbrella of a curatorial/artistic concept, as manifested discursively, formally, or otherwise.
Alenka Gregorič, Vadim Fiškin and the World of Art Team: Presentation of Virtual Exhibitions
At the end of the first year, participants will independently design a virtual exhibition, which they will present to the mentors and the group before the start of the second year. In doing so, they will take into account the specificities of the chosen exhibition space. Based on the submitted virtual exhibitions, the mentors will select a smaller group to be invited to enrol in the second year.
World of Art Team: Curatorial Mapping
Through visits to different exhibition spaces for contemporary art, participants will meet their collaborators, learn about the specificities of each venue, and gain insight into their programme orientations and organisational structures.
Presentations of Artists, Curators, and Other Cultural Workers, and Studio Visits
Getting to know the practices of artists, curators, and other cultural workers is essential for curatorial work. At the school, this takes place through conversations that provide opportunities to learn about artistic production, artists’ practices, and diverse curatorial approaches. These encounters offer personal contact and dialogue, helping to build and maintain professional relationships based on following production, curatorial dialogue, and a holistic approach to artistic work as a curatorial responsibility.
MODULE 3 | Theory
1st YEAR
Jasna Jernejšek: Contemporary Art and Visual Culture
The lecture introduces possible approaches to understanding contemporary art through the lens of broader visual culture and its conceptual-analytical apparatus for critical reflection and interpretation of visual representations. We will engage with basic theoretical concepts of representation and various analytical tools for decoding images and their ideological underpinnings.
Rebeka Vidrih: Art of the Second Half of the 20th Century and Contemporary Art
This lecture provides an overview of key movements and tendencies in post-WWII art and its institutional context. Abstract Expressionism as the peak of modernism was followed by the dismantling of traditional modernist painting and sculpture, the “expansion” of the art field: incorporating popular culture (Pop Art) and the viewer’s physical experience (Minimalism), the dematerialisation of the art object (Conceptual Art), and the rise of new media (photography, performance, installation, video art).
Domen Ograjenšek: Philosophy through the Discourse of Art
The lecture surveys the philosophical currents of the 20th and 21st centuries through the lens of art discourse. Which philosophical ideas and methodologies influenced the understanding of artistic practices? What factors contributed to their establishment? And how did these ideas affect the further development of art? From the influence of phenomenology and phenomenological aesthetics on modernist discourse, to the transition towards structuralism, poststructuralism, psychoanalysis, and the broader humanistic (interdisciplinary) perspectives shaping contemporary art paradigms, and finally to the critical confrontation with humanism’s anthropocentric core in relation to recent speculative artistic practices. Examples from Slovenia and abroad will be included.
Tia Čiček: Why Curate?
This lecture addresses questions concerning the significance and forms of curating contemporary art. We will review the history of curating and focus on key actors and exhibition phenomena that constitute the canon of contemporary art, while asking about the possibilities and modalities of curating today and in the future.
Rok Vevar: The Performance of the Other, Other Performances, and Their Public Time
The lecture will feature selected works and performances from the performing arts of the 20th and 21st centuries—theatre, dance, performance—that cross into other media, spaces, or practices, and are provocative and paradoxical enough to stimulate reflection on artistic practices, systems, and their limitations. The lecturer will use several personal classifications and theoretical categories to facilitate thinking about the relationships between performing arts and other artistic practices, and to shed light on how crucial systemic and aesthetic shifts in deterritorialisation have occurred at their boundaries. The notion of “public time” will serve as a framework for reflecting on what traces these examples have left behind.
MODULE 4 | Cultural Policy
1st YEAR
Lilijana Stepančič: Art Systems
This lecture will define the concept of the “art world” and its structure, which took shape in the 1980s in the Western world and underpins today’s conditions. It will also present some practices that challenge this cultural system.
Alenka Pirman: The Art System. An Insight
Don’t be misled by the poetic title of the programme. The “art world” is nothing special—it too is ruled by institutions, involves specialised professions, and includes capital transactions. In a two-hour discussion, we will attempt to answer questions such as: What constitutes the art system? What role do exhibitions play within it? Who finances them? And how does a curator function as an economic actor within such a system?
Miha Satler: Cultural Policy and the Status of Freelance Cultural Workers
What factors shape the work of artists and producers in Slovenia? How does cultural policy function, and which laws are key to understanding the status of cultural workers? This lecture introduces the basics of cultural policy: from the historical roots of current challenges to legislative frameworks and the map of key cultural actors, as well as the importance of networking in efforts to improve conditions for freelance cultural workers.
MODULE 5 | Funding
1st YEAR
Urška Jež: Securing Sponsorship
We will first consider the effects and goals that companies pursue through sponsorships, to understand sponsorship mechanisms from a corporate perspective better. We will then examine the key segments of developing and managing sponsorship partnerships, helping us to reflect on identifying suitable sponsors and creating sponsorship offers: brand management, analysis of sponsorship objects, selection and analysis of potential sponsors, target groups, sponsorship activation methods, partnership content, innovative compensation methods, sponsorship management, reporting and measuring results. The steps will be presented mainly through domestic examples.
Polona Torkar: Mapping Calls and Open Calls
This session outlines the map of tenders and open calls available to young cultural workers. We will review mechanisms of the Ministry of Culture (one-year project calls, multi-year project and programme calls, scholarship calls) and the Municipality of Ljubljana (one-year project calls, multi-year programme calls, the Mladika call). We will learn the difference between a tender and an open call, which requirements and attachments deserve special attention, how the application process works, and how applicants are informed. We will also address appeals against expert committee decisions. Finally, we will discuss international calls that encourage mobility.
MODULE 6 | Strategic Communication
1st YEAR
Dominika Maša Kozar: Content Creation on Social Media
Life without social media now seems almost impossible. With the growing popularity of online advertising, competition is increasing, and visibility is shrinking. How can one stand out from the flood of content, remain engaging, and avoid annoying one’s followers? We will address online identity in relation to content creation: from learning the characteristics of each platform to researching communication styles and tools for producing and organising content.
Urška Comino: Public Relations for Contemporary Art Exhibitions
Successful and especially innovative public communication is an essential part of producing exhibitions. In the art world, PR techniques are not only about promoting an event, but also about making contemporary art more understandable, accessible, and less hermetic. This workshop introduces different communication tools, with special attention given to preparing and implementing PR strategies using the school’s final exhibition as a case study.
Mojca Podlesek: Strategic Communication with the Public
How does a PR officer help shape the stories presented to the public and co-create exhibition projects to reach audiences at the right place and time? This lecture introduces the background of PR work in galleries, where communication with the public goes beyond promotion to become an interplay of strategies and close collaboration with curators and artists. Cooperation between the curator and the PR officer is key to effective communication of a gallery’s programme, which attracts visitors to the institution. The lecture will focus on behind-the-scenes processes, the challenges of interpreting artistic concepts, understanding different visions, and constructing narratives that reflect the content of exhibitions while strengthening the gallery’s visibility locally and internationally.
MODULE 7 | Writing
1st YEAR
Lara Plavčak: Text Optimisation
This lecture, aimed at developing and consolidating linguistic competence, introduces reference corpora and normative guides of Slovene literary language, useful for writing and solving issues of usage and norms. We will look at common spelling mistakes and communication guidelines. The content will be adapted to the types of texts typically prepared for and alongside exhibitions of contemporary art. The lecture also includes individual consultations on texts for the TAM-TAM exhibitions curated by the participants.
MODULE 8 | Accessibility
1st YEAR
Katja Mahnič: Accessibility of Galleries and Museums
According to Slovenian law, culture is a public good and must be accessible to all, regardless of personal circumstances. It is therefore essential for curators and authors of exhibitions to be familiar with the environmental and personal factors that support or hinder accessibility of institutions, exhibitions, and accompanying materials, as well as with solutions to ensure accessibility. This lecture first presents the legal and professional framework for guaranteeing accessibility of museums for all visitors. We will then discuss the specific needs of different groups of visitors with various impairments and review suitable adjustments to museum/gallery spaces, exhibition design, and supporting materials that facilitate their visit. In the second year, a workshop will focus on planning accessibility adjustments for the final exhibition project in a specific gallery.
Saša Lesjak, RISA Institute: Information for All – Culture for All
Access to cultural goods must be guaranteed to everyone. Saša Lesjak will briefly outline how easy-to-read and simplified language has found its way into books, other media, museum walls, and cultural venues. Why must these practices expand, and what do they mean for people who rely on them? Lesjak, one of Slovenia’s most experienced experts in easy-to-read practices, will end the lecture with a challenge for participants: Can you produce an easy-to-read text too?