News

Peter Baroš, until recently the general secretary of SIGIC, the Slovenian Music Information Centre, and a former advisor for the musical arts at the Ministry of Culture, is now joining the team the team of the Minister of Culture Dr Asta Vrečko as an advisor.

Mihael Kelemina, an art historian and expert in the work of NGOs and freelancers in the culture sector, is joining the team of the Minister of Culture Dr Asta Vrečko as an advisor.

Marko Sraka, a doctor of archaeology, is joining the team of the Minister of Culture Dr Asta Vrečko as an advisor

Long-time journalist Dejan Štamfelj joins the team of the Minister of Culture Dr Asta Vrečko as a public relations advisor.

Dr Asta Vrečko’s ministerial team is being strengthened again, with the arrival of Lenart J. Kučić, a media researcher, lecturer and podcaster.

Nina Ukmar, until recently director of Kosovelov dom Sežana, became the head of Minister’s Office on 24 June. She is joining the team of the Minister of Culture Dr Asta Vrečko as an experienced leader and an expert in the field of culture.

Yesterday the Slovenian public were saddened to hear the news of the death of Borut Šuklje, the former minister and diplomat. Part of his long and fascinating political career was spent as culture minister in 1992 and 1993. The Ministry of Culture expresses its deepest condolences to his family and friends.

Artist and illustrator Marlenka Stupica provided the artwork for more than 100 children’s books and picture books over her career of more than 70 years. As culture minister Dr Asta Vrečko wrote following her death, Marlenka Stupica was one of the most important and recognisable artists in Slovenia, whose work is celebrated even outside the country’s borders.

Špela Spanžel, an art historian, curator and cultural heritage expert, became the new head of the Directorate for Cultural Heritage on 17 June of this year.

The Ministry of Culture is flying the rainbow Pride flag during the month of June as a sign of its support for the LGBTQI+ community. The minister Dr Asta Vrečko took part in Ljubljana’s pride parade on 11 June 2022.

Yesterday, the National Assembly confirmed the 15th Government of the Republic of Slovenia and appointed Dr Asta Vrečko as the new Minister of Culture. The handover took place today at the Ministry of Culture. After assuming office, Ms Vrečko thanked outgoing Minister Vasko Simoniti for the handover note, outlined her vision for the management of the Ministry of Culture and announced a strategically oriented cultural policy that has been neglected for 10 years.

The Slovenian pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale opened on 21 April 2022 with the exhibition of paintings by Marko Jakše, one of Slovenia's most acclaimed painters. The Slovenian Pavilion is once again located in the Arsenale, one of the two Biennale’s main exhibition venues. The vernissage is scheduled for 23 April, with the exhibition open until 27 November 2022.

Board of Directors of the Prešeren Fund annually announces recipients of the highest state awards for artistic achievements on December 3, on this Joyous Day, when several cultural institutions throughout Slovenia open their doors to celebrate the birthday of France Prešeren. The awards ceremony is then held on February 7, on the eve of Prešeren Day, a Slovenian cultural and national holiday, when we mark the anniversary of the death of the Slovenian poet.

The Government has declared 2022 the year of the architect Jože Plečnik and the composer Giuseppe Tartini.

The continually updated virtual exhibition "Pioneers of Slovenian Modern Architecture – Fabiani, Plečnik and Vurnik – Forms for a New Democracy" is being rounded off with an exhibition at the National Museum of Slovenia and a comprehensive monograph on the three great Slovenian architects produced by Bojana Čampa in Stane Jeršič.

A photo exhibition entitled Personae is on display in the lobby of the Ministry of Culture. Mexican-American portrait photographer Carlos David explores the complex relationship between how we see ourselves and the way we present ourselves to others. The exhibition is on display until February 22, 2022.

The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia is responding to the report by the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) on the state of democracy in Slovenia.

At the meeting of ministers responsible for culture, audiovisual and media in Brussels, which was chaired by the Slovenian culture minister, Vasko Simoniti, the Slovenian Presidency's commitment to a better tomorrow – for a green, sustainable, culturally diverse and resilient European Union – was reaffirmed with the approval of conclusions and discussions.

The Minister of Culture Vasko Simoniti will chair a meeting of ministers of culture, audiovisual affairs and the media in Brussels on 30 November. Agenda of the meeting includes adoptions of the decisions on high-quality architecture and the New European Bauhaus initiative, as well as European audiovisual and media content. Several other discussions and presentations are also on the agenda.

The Retrospective of Slovenian Film opens on Thursday, 2 December, at 19:00 in Brussels. Between 2 and 22 December 2021, ten feature-length classics from the Slovenian film treasury – from the silent beginnings to present day productions – will be shown on the big screen of the Royal Belgian Film Archive in Brussels. The retrospective will open with a showing of the first Slovenian silent feature-length film In the Kingdom of Goldenhorn (V kraljestvu Zlatoroga) accompanied by live original music.