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The ERSTE Foundation and the Igor Zabel Association for Culture and Theory warmly invite you to the 2026 Igor Zabel Award Ceremony and its accompanying programme, taking place on 26–27 November 2026 in Ljubljana. 

You are invited to the presentation of the monograph Desires and Contradictions: Exhibiting Art and Architecture in Slovenia 1947–1979  in Zagreb. 

Where did the watermelon come from as Palestine's loudest symbol these days? This lecture follows that question into the art scene in Palestine under occupation, and how it functioned and adapted across different political ruptures. Join us at the lecture by Rana Anani, which will take place on Monday, 19 October 2026, at 18:00 at Pritličje in Ljubljana. 

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Boris Marte, long-time CEO of the ERSTE Foundation, initiator of the Igor Zabel Award for Culture and Theory, and co-founder of the Igor Zabel Association for Culture and Theory.

Join the open call for the Artist-in-Residence programme aimed for artists, curators, and theoreticians from Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine working in the field of contemporary visual art. 

Nataliia Ivanova, curator, educator, and the founding director of the Yermilov Centre in Kharkiv, is the 2026 Igor Zabel Award Laureate. Tania Arcimovich, Alona Karavai, and Octavian Esanu receive Igor Zabel Award Grants.

Follow the screenings of the documentary OHO Film at film festivals and on the regular programme at the Slovenian Cinematheque. Join us for upcoming screenings! 

The Speculative Infrastructures. Outposts in Collapsing Realities anthology centres on Klara Debeljak’s original concept of “speculative infrastructures,” which she defines as networks and collectives that challenge dominant techno-social systems through creative, real-world practices and imagine new ways of organising, ownership, and resistance—often from within or alongside existing institutions.

You are invited to the Crit Club event, which will take place as part of this year’s Ljubljana Art Weekend on Saturday, 23 May, at the Tabor Sports Hall (Sokolski dom). This experimental discussion, conceived by artist Cem A., will feature Stephanie Bailey, Manca G. Renko, Andrej Škufca, and Alenka Pirman and will be moderated by Kate Brown. 

You are invited to a round table discussion marking the publication of the monograph Desires and Contradictions: Exhibiting Art and Architecture in Slovenia 1947–1979. 

The monograph Desires and Contradictions: Exhibiting Art and Architecture in Slovenia 1947–1979 examines selected examples of art and architecture exhibiting, observing them through the prism of the Yugoslav political order, its doctrine and its geopolitical prospects.

We cordially invite you to the first Forest Encounters book presentation, which will take place at Pritličje, Mestni trg 2, in Ljubljana.

Save the date for the Igor Zabel Award for Culture and Theory 2026 and its accompanying programme, taking place on 26–27 November 2026 in Ljubljana.

You are invited to apply for a scholarship to attend the International Summer Academy of Fine Arts in Salzburg 2026.

MGLC Švicarija and the Igor Zabel Association invite art writers to apply for a fully funded, one-month residency in Ljubljana during October 2026.

The Forest Encounters book invites you into the forest and its many meanings. It brings together voices from different disciplines, geographies, and cultures. The book is freely accessible online.

As part of the commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the death of Igor Zabel
(1958–2005), we have prepared, in cooperation with the Archives Department of Moderna
galerija, Ljubljana, an updated Zabel’s bibliography and a list of his exhibition projects.

A discussion around the book Shaping Revolutionary Memory: The Production of Monuments in Socialist Yugoslavia with Sanja Horvatinčić and Beti Žerovc, moderated by Antigoni Memou in London. 

You are invited to a one-day conference marking the twentieth anniversary of Igor Zabel's death, which reflects on the relevance of Zabel's thoughts on the relationship between art and the socio-political context and follows his legacy of exploring contemporary developments in art.

You are invited to a lecture and workshop by Cem A., as part of a Critic-in-Residence programme in MGLC Švicarija in Ljubljana. 

In memory of Igor Zabel (1958–2005), in collaboration with the Ljubljana's Museum of Modern Art, we are opening an exhibition Inexplicable Absence. Tracing Igor Zabel's Curatorial Practice on 24 September 2025.

Join the open call for the Artist-in-Residence programme aimed for artists, curators, and theoreticians from Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine working in the field of contemporary visual art. 

International premiere of the feature-length documentary OHO Film at the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival.

Twenty years ago today, Igor Zabel (1958-2005) passed away. In his memory, in collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana we are opening an exhibition on 24 September 2025, and organizing a conference this October.