Curating of group exhibition
Alkatraz Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia
24 Sep 2019 - 7 Sep 2019
Slovenian Cinematheque, Ljubljana, Slovenia
3 Oct 2019
Curated by: Vesna Bukovec, Ana Čigon
Artists: Zemira Alajbegović & Neven Korda,* Nika Autor,* Vesna Bukovec,* Jasmina Cibic,* Ana Čigon,* Andreja Džakušič, Ana Grobler, Marina Gržinić & Aina Šmid, Đejmi Hadrović, Maja Hodošček, Sanela Jahić, Neža Knez, Polonca Lovšin,* Aprilija Lužar, Nika Oblak & Primož Novak, Ana Pečar & Oliver Ressler, Nataša Prosenc Stearns, Marija Mojca Pungerčar, Pila Rusjan, Duba Sambolec, Zvonka T Simčič, Nataša Skušek, Metka Zupanič, Valerie Wolf Gang
(Works marked with an asterisk* wer screened at the film marathon Cheers to Women! 25 Years of Film and Video in Slovenian Cinematheque) Co-produced by: SCCA-Ljubljana (DIVA Station), KUD Mreža, City of Women
Supported by: Ministry of Culture, City of Ljubljana
Thanks to: MG+MSUM (Tomaž Kučer), CONA.
The exhibition was opened with Ana Čigons' performance Cheers to Women! A Performative Appetizer to Video Art
The group exhibition celebrated the 25th edition of the City of Women Festival. We proudly looked at the 25 years of creative endeavours by female video artists in Slovenian space. Due to space and production limits, we decided to symbolically select twenty-five female authors, although there are, of course, infinitely more. The selected works were examples of diverse exhibition forms enabled by the video medium. Most of the works were presented in gallery space using various video formats and forms of display (single-channel, multi-channel, installation). Some of the works were shown on the big screen as part of the marathon of Slovenian female film and video artists at Slovenian Cinematheque on 3 October between noon and midnight. By screening their films in the regular programme, also the national broadcaster RTV Slovenia has paid tribute to Slovenian female directors.
We were looking for feminist and/or socially critical works as we wanted to know how society, culture and politics directly influence the lives of women and people in general. In their works, the female authors tackle the topics of social, welfare and political situation of women, issues of gender and reproductive rights, women’s bodies, pain and violence against women. They debate the position of female and male workers in capitalism and the position of female and male artists in precarious working conditions. They point out the problematics of media representation of discriminated social groups and the reduced or twisted media image of the world. They introduce the themes of discriminated social groups, such as refugees and migrants or ethnic and gender minorities. They tackle memory and the forsaken pasts, ecological and war themes, digital identity and the catastrophic effects of neoliberalism on the poor, endebted and disenfranchised individuals, regardless of their gender. They approach those topics with utmost seriousness, although the works feature several humorous and absurd moments.
We have prepared a subjective selection of works from the vast video production of numerous authors. We have started off by researching the video archive DIVA Station at SCCA-Ljubljana and the former editions of the City of Women Festival. We have exposed the works awakening and calling for debate, reflection and action.
Please see exhibition catalogue and the video link listed below for more information about the event.
Image 1 by Vesna Bukovec (based on still image from Shadowless B, Duba Sambolec’s video from 2000.)
Photos of the exhibition: Nada Žgank for City of Women (2 - 9)
VIDEO about the exhibition: https://vimeo.com/362765339