April 22, 2018
As an aid to your own journey through this ancient city we again present a small selection of the organised entertainments, events and enlightenments on offer over the next seven days, in the hope that something will appeal and you’ll go out and contribute to the local economy, build your social network, or simply enjoy the built and natural environment in what promises to be a week of fine weather (at least until Saturday, when “light rain” is predicted).
As ever, clicking on the venue name will get you more details with regard to the time, price and location, and if you want to get a Ljubljana Tourist Card, which gives you travel on the city buses and entry to a lot of attractions, then you can read more about that here.
Finally, Friday 27 April is a national holiday to mark the Day of Uprising Against the Occupation, so some places may be closed then, but on the plus side there’s a lot of all-night club events on Thursday catering to those who can stay in bed the next morning.
CINEMA
You can read about all the cinemas in town here, while a selection of what’s playing this week is below. (And if you like to study Slovene by watching trailers, we have a round-up of some of the best from first three months of the year, just click this and learn something new.)
Kinodvor – The art house theatre has, among other features, Lady Bird, the French movie Django (not unchained), a documentary on a Romani community called A Ciambra, and the UK production Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, with the trailers show below.
Kinoteka – The revival house and archive doesn’t seem to have anything in English this week, but is still a fun place for cinephiles to visit.
Kolosej – The multiplex out at BTC City Mall is playing, among other titles, I Feel Pretty, Rampage, A Quiet Place, and Blockers, as promoted below.
Komuna - The theatre behind the Nama department store is showing A Quiet Place and I, Tanja.
CLUBS
Channel Zero – This week’s regular Monday dub night promises something a little more experimental with Turning Jewels into Water and Nitzz, with the former being promoted with the following track. On Thursday, starting at 23:00 and lasting until 06:00 is a night headlined by Bjørn Torske, with support from Uche Nakova and Ichisan. A set by Mr Torske is appears after TJiW. Friday then sees a night of drum’n’bass, in an event called Frag::ments x LiquiFi, with a whole bunch of DJs playing what the Facebook post calls “liquid funka, techstepa, jungle-a, footworka and neurofunka”. One of the DJs will be Dirty Speakerz, with a set placed after the others.
Gala Hala – Friday is a night called Träprünka vol. 2, promising “new trap bangers, verses and even bigger hype.” DJ ArminKU will be playing twice, so he gets the embedded set. Then Saturday is Rave Voyeur, with the beats to go with the smiles being provided by DJ Tolstoyed.
Klub Cirkus – Among other events, the klub has a night called New AGE: Episode 4 / Senidah on Thursday.
Klub K4 – Thursday there’s an all-nighter called K4x4 w/ Anastasia Kristensen (and others), where the music policy is techno.
EXHIBITIONS
Note that state-owned galleries and museums are usually closed on Mondays and since this Friday is a national holiday you may be out of luck then, too.
Aksioma – The evening of April 25, a Wednesday, sees the opening of a new show at this gallery just a short walk from Dragon Bridge, going up the hill away from the Castle. Called Transnationalisms, it’s being promoted with the following text: “Liberalism vs fundamentalism, science vs fiction, transparency vs opacity, globalization vs nationalisms and Balkanization: these are some of the contradictions and paradoxes of contemporary society, and the border is the place where they manifest more explicitly: the border between physical zones and particularly between nation states, but also that between the physical and digital, apparently introducing to a different zone of possibility. Curated by British artist James Bridle, this exhibition explores alternative models and protocols of citizenship, identity, and nationhood...”
Channel Zero – On Thursday, 19:00–22:00, Anja Šmajdek will be presenting some of her sculptures with the aid of video, computer technology and performance, in an event called "Gobe trosi non-podobe"
City Hall, the building near Robba Fountain in Town Square, the Old Town, will be showing and selling rag dolls for UNICEF, with a related exhibition opening at 17:30 on Wednesday and lasting until May 9.
The Balassi Institute – (The Cultural Centre of the Embassy of Hungary) – This is at Barvarska steza 8, Ljubljana, not far from Dragon Bridge, and from March 6 until April 30 will be hosting a show by László Herman, a Hungarian painter living in Slovenia, with an example shown below.
Cankerjev dom – Running until May 6 is a free exhibition of photographs from the Dnevnik daily newspaper. The show Ivan Meštrović: Corporeality and Eroticism in Sculpture continues until May 20, with an example shown below, while a show linking Meštrović and the architect Jože Plečnik is on until May 20.
Ivan Meštrović: Physicality and eroticism in sculpture
International Centre of Graphic Arts – Opening Friday the 13th and running until July 29 is David Lynch: Fire on Stage, presenting seventy lithographs from the director.
City Museum – An extensive exhibition on Medieval Ljubljana is showing until May 2, 2018.
Galerija Jakopič – Running until May 13 is a show by the photographer Mario Magajna.
Galerija Kresija – On until May 11 is a show called Stane Jagodič: SPIRITUS POETICUS / assemblage, collage, scenography/ 1969 – 2017, which is being promoted with the following image.
Stane Jagodič
MAO – a show called Stanko Kristl: Poetry and Humanity in Architecture continues until May 27.
Moderna galerija – The Marij Pregelj retrospective is on at the Moderna’s main branch, near Tivoli. Well worth the entrance fee, this occupies several large rooms, with the works from the last decade of the painter’s life being especially impressive. Highly recommended and showing until May, with an example shown below.
The Moderna’s Metelkova branch has a retrospective on the work of Milenko Matanovič, which you can read about here.
Museum of Contemporary History – Renovation work means that the permanent Exhibition “Slovenians in the 20th Century” will temporarily lack the period from 1945-1990, but there are still interesting things to see about the recent past in this museum, set in Tivoli Park. For example, showing until May 1 is Temporary Border: Life and Longing in Zone A (1945- 1947). As per the website: “The exhibition marks the 70th anniversary of the creation of the western Slovenian border. It is devoted to an outline of existential relations in the area of the Julian March before 1947 through the memories of the inhabitants, reveals the complex relations in the region during the Allied Military Government (1945-1947).” The same venue is also showing a selection of graphic works from the German expressionist master Otto Dix entitled “Der Krieg”, on until May 6.
Kino Šiška – The new artist of the month is Maja Poljanc, with a show called Encyclopedia Mythologica Slovenica.
Mestna Galerija – A show called Tomislav Gotovac: Don't Ask Where We're Going is on until June 10, which is being promoted with the following image.
Tomislav Gotovac
National Gallery – Running until June 3 is an exhibition dedicated to Artists of the SAZU (he Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts), a great chance to see works from a wide range of Slovenian artists – seize the day.
National Museum of Slovenia – The Past Under the Microscope. Scientific Analyses in Museums is on until the end of April.
Photon Centre of Contemporary Photography – Running from March 30th to May 18th there’s a group exhibition called Beyond Myself: Self-portrait in the time of social media, including the following image from Paula Muhr, titled Etat Normal (2009).
Slovene Ethnographic Museum – Until May 6 there’s the show Africa and Slovenia. A web of people and objects.
FAMILIES & KIDS
You can find our Top 10 list of things to do with kids in Ljubljana here, and if want to read more about the philosophy behind the wonderful House of Experiments look here.
Learn more about this fellow here. Photo: JL Flanner
LGBTQI+
If you want to learn more about Ljubljana Pride, then take a look at our interview with its president here.
Klub Monokel – No events seem to be scheduled for this predominantly lesbian bar, but that’s no reason not to go there and see what happens.
Klub Tiffany – Monday the gay bar next door to Monokel has a performance by Vulgar Acne, inspired by the Slovenian translation of a speech by gay activist Larry Kramer. Then Thursday Roza Škis - an evening of tarot and party games, starts at 19:00
LIVE MUSIC
Cankerjev dom – Silence, aka Boris Benko and Primož Hladnik, have a concert Tuesday evening, and the following video shows them performing at the same venue some years ago.
Gala Hala – On Thursday there’s live music from Jinho Jinza, who play what’s described as noise music, blues rock and stoner rock, as heard below.
Kino Šiška – Monday there’s a show by the Anarchist Republic of BZZZ, see below, while on Thursday there’s a performance by Nils Frahm, as seen and heard after BZZZ.
Klub Gromka – The big show at this venue, based on the number of posters around town, is Thursday night’s concert by White Stain (album release), with support by No Force Can, with an earlier performance by the former shown below.
Ljubljana Castle – Friday night is usually jazz night at the castle, but this week there appears to be no performance there, perhaps because the 27th is a national holiday. That said, the place is still illuminated in the evenings, and you can get a lovely view of the city from there.
Orto Bar – Thursday there’s a live set from American ska veterans The Toasters, in business since 1981. Friday, April 27, then sees a night called Ljubljana goes Hardcore - Re-occupation of Emona, headlined by Brainstorm and supported by Psychfucker.
OPERA, THEATRE, DANCE
Pocket Teater Studio – This small teater (sic), just off French Revolution Square, has the third edition of its Gypsy Night, with Katja Šulc, singer, and Urška Centa, flamenco dancer, showcasing Roma music, dance and poetry from the Spanish regions, the Balkans and Eastern Europe. It starts at 20:00, Tuesday, and the place is tiny, so reservations are essential: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 070 325 522 / 040 414 939. The price of ticket is 20€, 15€ for the students, and includes a glass of wine.
SNG Opera & Ballet – The ballet Doktor Živago will be performed April 22–24, with the first and last performances in the evening, the middle in the afternoon. A taste of the 2016 staging at the same venue is shown below.
MISC.
Every Friday through the warmer months there’s the Open Kitchen in Ljubljana Market, where you can try food and drink from some the biggest names in town, and you can read more about it here.
Breg Embankment, just opposite the Old Town and by the river, has a small flea market open every Sunday morning. Learn more about it here, (or just take a look at all the Yugostalgia on view at Verba while on your way to the Castle).
If you’re in town and want to go jogging or walking in nature, why not take another look at the Castle, with a brief guide to the trails here. If you want something bigger, head to Tivoli Park.
National Gallery – Monday, April 23, will see Thomas Piketty and Mladen Dolar talking at this venue, starting 19:30.
Ziferblat – Monday, 17:00, is the Migrantour training, as detailed here. Thursday, at 17:30, there’s A Taste of Yoga, while Saturday, noon, there’s a Vegan Brunch. The full schedule is on the Facebook page, and you can read more about the venue here.
TRIPS
Most of Slovenia is only a few hours from Ljubljana, and you can easily visit Lake Bled, Lipica Stud Farm, Postojna Cave, and Predjama Castle,
