June 24, 2018
The longest day and shortest night have been and gone, and now the days begin to tighten even as they heat up and the streets of the capital fill with ever more tour groups, travellers and Instagram stars, along with street performers of all kinds, leaving some locals to mutter darkly about the influx of visitors, with no seats in the usual cafés, as well as no Slovene being spoken, and wondering if it’s time to decamp to Croatia.
But we’ll be staying in town this summer for as long as possible, because we like the hustle of the season and the cosmopolitan air of so many languages and diverse fashion senses to be found this time of year, as well as all the free entertainment provided by both the city authorities and the informal economy.
One such event starts on Wednesay night, and that's Ana Desetnica, an annual celebration of street performers that takes place at various locations around town and offers free shows in a wide vareity of styles. You can read more about it here, but just going out at night, and especially along Slovenska cesta - the main street with the Nama department store - will reward you with many surprises.
Something from last year. Photo: © Luka Dakskobler
Another big thing this week is the start of the Ljubljana Festival, which begins on Thursday with the performance of a new show by the Catalan company La fura des baus, titled Sfera Mundi - A Voyage Around the World. This will take place in Kongresni trg / Congress Square at 21:00, and tickets are 49, 29 and 9 euros. Here’s a look at a previous show, and you can get tickets here.
The website for the Festival, which runs until early September and offers a varied programme of music and dance, can be found here.
Also opening this week is the 59th Ljubljana Jazz Festival, which you can read about here.
Note that Monday, June 25, is a national holiday – Statehood Day – and thus, in addition to the usual closures of galleries and museums, most stores will also be shut.
Those in town and wanting to watch the World Cup with others should have no problem doing so, as most cafés and bars seem to have big screens set up inside and out for your pleasure.
Some of the other events on around town are presented below. As ever, clicking on the venue name will get you more details with regard to the time, price and location, as well as other events on this week, 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, and if you want to use the bike share system, as useful for visitors as it is for residents, then you can learn more by clicking this.
Finally, if there's something you want to promote in a future edition of What's on... please get in touch with me at flanner(at)total-slovenia-news.com
Enjoy the city
CINEMA
You can read about all the cinemas in town here, while a selection of what’s playing this week is below, and note that kid’s movies tend to be shown in dubbed versions, so do check before driving out to a multiplex and dropping off the young ones. (And if you like watching trailers with Slovene subtitles, then catch up on some from earlier this year here.)
Kinodvor – The arts cinema not far from the train station, but still rather tucked away, especially with the current street repairs, is showing, among other features, Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami, and Nick Broomfield’s latest documentary, on Whitney Houston.
Kinoteka – The revival house is showing various classics, including a short season of David Lynch movies, with Dune, Lost Highway, and the one that started it all, Eraserhead.
Kolosej – The multiplex out at BTC City Mall is playing all the big movies, which this week include Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2, Blockers, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Book Club, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Love, Simon, Ocean’s 8, Loving Pablo, Hereditary and Fack ju Göhte 3. There’s also The Incredibles 2, but note that it’s dubbed. Starting Tuesday, the theatre will be playing Tag.
Komuna – The cinema in a basement behind Nama department store is showing Book Club, Ocean’s 8, Loving Pablo and a dubbed version of The Incredibles 2.
CLUBS
Notable this week is Saturday’s all-day event, if your day starts at noon, taking place in front of City Hall and Pritljiče and then moving to Channel Zero (see below) at 23:00. A long list of DJs will be providing the music, and you can do your part by turning up and getting into the groove. Facebook details here.
Channel Zero – Monday night is Dub Lab night, and this week it’s Flash Forward offering the sounds of Alleged Witches, described as “bass. beats. experimental”, with a sample on offer below. Friday there’s a huge DJ programme under the name Elektroliza: Electro City Ljubljana; the event is to promote an album, and the promo mix is after the one by Alleged Witches.
Klub Cirkus – The more commercial end of clubland has a night called ULTRA Europe Countdown x Crazy Cirkus on Friday, related to the electronic music festival of the same name and promising big room dance anthems, while Saturday you can enjoy the Best of RnB.
Klub K4 – The K4 Season Closing show, on Friday night, is headlined by Boo Williams and a lot of other DJs playing disco, house and techno. The set below sounds great, and provided the soundtrack to making this post.
EXHIBITIONS
Please note that public galleries and museums are closed on Mondays.
The Balassi Institute (The Cultural Centre of the Embassy of Hungary) – This is at Barvarska steza 8, Ljubljana, not far from Dragon Bridge, and hosts various events. Until August 6 it’s also showing photos by Ora Hasenfratz.
Jakopič Gallery – Fans of Magnum and photography in general will wish to check out the Marc Riboud show here, as detailed in an earlier story, and on until October.
Marc Riboud. Huangshan, 1985. On the right, the pine named Flower-Formed-on-the-tip-of-a-Dream-Paintbrush. On the left, the Sublime Peak. ©Marc Riboud – all rights reserved.
Cankerjev dom – Running until the end of February 2019 is an exhibition titled Ivan Cankar and Europe: Between Shakespeare and Kafka. This is “An examination of Cankar’s art through an analysis of influences and interpretations, and juxtaposition with contemporary European writers. The visually elaborate architectural and graphic layout, supported by audio-visual media, installation art and diverse visual highlights, offers a vivid account of Cankar’s excellence, his comprehensively exquisite aesthetic and artistic vision.”
International Centre of Graphic Arts – Running until July 29 is David Lynch: Fire on Stage, presenting seventy lithographs from the director who’s made a fine career in movies on and on TV, with classics such as Eraserhead, Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks, but who started off as a painter and never left that world behind.
City Museum – In addition to the large permanent exhibition on the history of Ljubljana, the museum is offering guided tours of its collection every Sunday, 16:30, until the end of August, with the price included in the regular entrance fee. Details here.
Ljubljana Castle – Giampaolo Sgura, the fashion photographer, has an exhibition here until August 25, with images like the one below.
Giampaolo Sgura
MAO – The Museum of Architecture and Design is showcasing Slovenian designers in a show called Made in Slovenia, lasting until the end of 2018: “The selling exhibition aims to present good practices of Slovenian designers and companies in the creative sector.” The same venue has an exhibition based on Slovenia’s Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, called “Living with Water”, and on until November 25.
Something by Drago Tršar
Moderna galerija – The main branch of this gallery, to be found near the entrance to Tivoli Park, has a good collection of modern art, as well a nice café in the basement, and, until September 30th, a retrospective on the momumental sculptures of Drago Tršar, which you’ll recognise from around town (see more here). For even more contemporary work you can take a trip to the Metelkova branch, which until June 24 has a retrospective on the work of Milenko Matanovič, as noted here.
Museum of Contemporary History – The museum in Tivoli Park has two new shows. One is called Museum's (R)evolution 1948-2018, marking the place's 70th anniversary with an exhibition tracing its evolution through artefacts, photographs and personal stories and running until January 6 2019 (details here). There's also In Search of Freedom: 1968-2018, lookiing at the 1968 student protests.
National Gallery – The country’s main gallery has “the best” of what’s on offer in non-contemporary of modern visual arts, and is in a great location for exploring other areas, just by Tivoli Park and opposite the main branch of the Moderna galerija. Running from June 20 February 10 2019 is a show called Ivana Kobilca (1861-1926): But Of Course, Painting Is Something Beautiful!, featuring works like the one below.
National Museum of Slovenia – There’s a lull in the temporary shows, but still plenty to see in the permanent collection, from Roman times, Egypt and more.
At the museum's Metelkova branch, located between one branch of the Moderna galerija and the Ethnographic Museum is the International Ceramic Triennial UNICUM 2018, which runs until September 30. "This prestigious competitive exhibition puts on display the latest trends in contemporary art ceramics. An international expert jury has selected 77 works of art from almost 300 artists from all over the world to compete for prestigious awards. The aim of the UNICUM Triennial is to present the contemporary developments of art ceramics around the world and the diversity of artistic approaches." It's being promoted with the tollowing image.
Slovene Ethnographic Museum – There’s a number of permanent exhibitions here, and it’s conveniently located near the newer branch of the Moderna galerija and Metelkova.
FAMILIES & KIDS
You can find our Top 10 list of things to do with kids in Ljubljana here. Something that's always popular is The Museum of Illusions, which you can read about here.
Something from the Museum of Illusions
LGBTQI+
If you want to learn more about Ljubljana Pride, then take a look at our interview with its president here, while the group’s events page, often updated after this guide is compiled, is here.
Klub Monokel – One Friday this predominantly lesbian club has an event called NANI MO - dj0/torkar/tetsuo/r36/liara t'soni, which, as you can probably tell, will be a night of DJ sets. You can here one by dj0 below.
Klub Tiffany – A predominantly gay club, which on Thursday, from 20:00–23:00, is hosting another of it’s café evenings, this one promoted as follows: “Two grills, vegan and non-vegan delicacies, cooled drinks, good music and a nice company. We will look back on how we did this year, consider the improvements and novelties, set for the new season and toast to all the co-creators of the Coffee Evening events, the audience and also the hosts.”
LIVE MUSIC
As noted in the intro, the Ljubljana Festival kicks off on Thursday lasts for the rest of the season. There will be a lot of classical performances, including some opera, so check out the schedule here.
Cankerjev dom – The main arts centre in the country Is playing host to the Ljubljana Jazz Festival – the schedule and some videos are here.
Channel Zero – Tuesday, June 28, there’s a live show by Kultur Shock.
Gala Hala>– Sunday, July 1, there’s what’s being promoted as a “Summer Garden Opening Party”, starting at 20:00, featuring the local duo Silence and some other acts, followed by a set from Kobayashii (Wave riders).
Klub Gromka – Friday and Saturday you can head to Metelkova for the Under The Guillotine Fest, a punk / hardcore / thrash extravaganza, with the full line-up on the events page. One of the bands is Germany’s Straightline.
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.
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.
Something new we added to the site last week was a look at the outdoor pools in town, which you can read here.
Ilirija pool
And if you're bored with the Old Town, why not take a walk, cycle or boat ride to nearby Špica and enjoy the riverside life. Learn more about that here.
visitljubjana.si
Want to eat like a Slovene star of cinema and TV? Then check out our review of Ljubljana Well Done, by Marko Miladinović.
If you want to learn 25 odd facts and features about Ljubljana, check out this popular article.
Flicker - Dave Rosenbaum CC by 2.0
Want to stretch and breath? Then check out our list of drop-in yoga classes for tourists, visitors and the uncommitted.
TRIPS
Most of Slovenia is only a few hours from Ljubljana, and you can easily visit Lake Bled, Lipica Stud Farm, Postojna Cave, Predjama Castle, the coast and other locations.
FINALLY
Think you know downtown well? See how many of these details you can locate.
Photo: JL Flanner
