RESCUE – Creative Regeneration of Disused Industrial Sites in Europe

CREATIVE IMPULSES OF INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE

Courtyard Valvasorjeva 40 and KIBLA PORTAL

Creative Impulses of Industrial Heritage, a two-day event organized by the X-OP Association as a part of the RESCUE project, through artistic interventions in the public space of the former textile factory in Studenci, an exhibition, film screenings, a forum of the theatre of the oppressed, artist talks, presentations of project publications, guided tour of Maribor’s industrial heritage and audio-visual performances, deals with the creative regeneration of former industrial sites and their current and future use. The event intervenes in the post-industrial area of the former factory grounds, whose premises are occupied by various activities – small businesses and shops, warehouses, collection centers, fitness center, mechanical workshop, and the largest independent exhibition of contemporary art in Slovenia.

The event, situated in the intermediate space of the courtyard of the complex, creates a space of creative experimentation and directly intervenes in the post-industrial landscape and its broader social context of everyday life. In the context of the entire project, especially this event, we ask ourselves whether there is actually room for artistic interventions in such an environment and under what conditions? The presented art projects, events, and interventions intertwine elements and forms of visual, sound, literary, and performing arts while connecting with the specifics of the location – architecture, urbanism, design, and social and labor history of industry in Maribor, thus contributing to a holistic and multifaceted approach to the issue of industrial heritage.

PROGRAM

FRIDAY, 27 August 2021

6–7 p.m. On industrial heritage through photography / Moderated discussion with Simon Žlahtič and Janez Klenovšek (moderator Irena Borić)

Location: KIBLA PORTAL – balcony

The resulting photo essay, which brings a new authorial view of fragments of the former Maribor industry, is the result of a collaboration between photographer Janez Klenovšek and art historian and curator Simon Žlahtič. In the process, they were not only interested in the aestheticization of individual locations but also focused on recording the multifaceted nature of the current situation as a result of ownership fragmentation, changing purpose and social context, and constant and uncritical interventions in existing architectural tissue.

7–8 p.m. Industriopolis / Guided tour (led by Barbara Izlakar)

Starting location: courtyard Valvasorjeva 40, at the entrance to KIBLA PORTAL

A guided tourist expedition through the industrial identity of the city, from its beginnings to the present day, intends to present the city’s economic development. This time we will take you on a short guided tour around Studenci. We will visit one of the largest still functioning railway colonies in this part of Europe, visit the workshops of Slovenian Railways – Vleka and Tehnika and Koroški kolodvor, and present the stories of the textile industry in this area.

8:30 p.m. Opening of the RESCUE exhibition

Artists: Sara Bezovšek & Dorijan Šiško, Vesna Bukovec, Maja Hodošček, Janez Klenovšek, lo milo, Nika Rupnik and Toni Soprano Meneglejte

Locations: courtyard Valvasorjeva 40 and KIBLA PORTAL

This spatially fragmented exhibition brings a set of artistic interventions and works that observe industrial heritage from different perspectives. While some artists create content in direct relation to a specific location, mainly on a design level, some primarily explore the socio-political, historical, and economic aspects of post-industrial everyday life in their works.

9 p.m. OR poiesis: Quarry KISETSU / Performative sound installation and performance

Location: KIBLA PORTAL

OR poiesis is an artist and researcher in the field of sound and auditory perception and poetic performance. At the core of the sound composition is the stone, the silence, the poetics of space, and the sonority of a particular place in an extended, cyclical time, stretching over several years. The echo of the stone garden is unencumbered by the speed of change imposed by the need for capital. It is the stone that connects a human to the ancient, original, cosmic elements of the world.

SATURDAY, 28 August 2021

6–7 p.m. The workers are gone, what now? / Moderated discussion with RESCUE workshop participants and mentor Tomo Podstenšek and presentation of the final publication (moderated by Irena Borić)

Location: KIBLA PORTAL – balcony

We will present the publication created within the series of RESCUE workshops by talking with the participants (Katja Cafuta, Maja Horvat, and Robin Marn) and the mentor. The workshops for high school students were based on writing short stories and, through them, reflecting on industrial heritage. The illustrations were created by young emerging artist Janja Kosi.

6–10 p.m. RESCUE Exhibition

Artists: Sara Bezovšek & Dorijan Šiško, Vesna Bukovec, Maja Hodošček, Janez Klenovšek, lo milo, Nika Rupnik and Toni Soprano Meneglejte

Locations: courtyard Valvasorjeva 40 and KIBLA PORTAL

The spatially fragmented exhibition brings a range of artistic interventions and works on industrial heritage from different perspectives. While some artists create content in direct relation to a specific location, mainly on a design level, some especially explore the socio-political, historical, and economic aspects of post-industrial everyday life in their works.

7–8:30 p.m. Forum of the Theatre of the Oppressed / KUD Transformator and KUD ZIZ

Location: courtyard Valvasorjeva 40

Impro-forum performance is a performance of forum theater based on improvisation, which means that the actors do not have any pre-presented script before performing. Everything is created on the spot, based on suggestions from the audience. This, in turn, takes the show along previously unknown paths of exploring and resolving various situations, which we move from life to the stage and add interventions. This time, a story on industrial heritage will be staged in the Impro forum performance.

8:30–10 p.m. Neja Tomšič: Workers Are Leaving the Factory, Bojan Labović: The Dead Giant / Film screenings and talk (moderated by Rene Puhar)

Location: KIBLA PORTAL – balcony

The film The Dead Giant by Bojan Labović presents the history of the Maribor Automobile and Motorcycle Factory (TAM) and its employees, and at the same time, displays a unique portrait of the Styrian metropolis and the wider region. Video essay Workers Are Leaving the Factory, by Neja Tomšič documents the exterior of the largest European shipyard Fincantieri in Tržič and the renovation of the wooden hut Galeb (Seagull) of ballet dancers Pia and Pino Mlakar. In these examples, the artist reflects on how the perception and evaluation of work change on a symbolic and material level.

10 p.m. DODECAHEDRAGRAPH: D2HGPH (abstract electronics) / Audio-visual performance

Location: KIBLA PORTAL

Conceptual, abstract audio-visual project D2HGPH by philosopher, sound artist, producer, and organizer of the Zasavje festival Noisefest International Neven M. Agalma, leaves us in an intermediate space, where we have to question the relationship of determinability (external/internal) forces that keep us stuck in a world of »our own« perception. Hard-to-define electronic music, which in turn invokes associations associated with films such as Blade Runner and The Cube, will fill the former spinning mill, which is today the most significant independent exhibition of contemporary art in our country.

Producer: Association for Contemporary Art X-OP

Co-production: KID KIBLA and CODE BLUE production

The Association for Contemporary Art X-OP is a transnational platform for the production of contemporary art and culture. The X-OP Association works at the intersection of contemporary visual and intermedia arts and literature and music in connection with technology and digital culture in various socio-political contexts. It focuses on establishing relationships and exchanges between different artistic discourses and environments, involving a wide range of audiences.