Programme

18.00 @ headquarters (MGLC Švicarija)

Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze: Experiment, projects presentation

Gago Giorgi Gagoshidze will present three of his previous projects – The Invisible Hand of My Father (2019), It's Just a Single Swing of a Shovel (2015) and Mission Accomplished: Balenciege (together with Miloš Trakilović and Hito Steyerl, 2020), which explore the conditions of capitalist production, the mechanisms of commodification and the role of digital technologies in this context. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the current research project with the working title Experiment, which is based on two parallel events: the first attempts to use computers in the Soviet Union and the beginning of the introduction of limited forms of ownership to boost the economy. Experiment opens up a debate on the current forms of technology that – especially since 1989 – enable the methodologies of mass privatisation. The talk will be moderated by Tjaša Pogačar.

Bookings on trgovina@mglc-lj.si

The event will be held in English language.

Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze (b. 1983 in Kutaisi, Georgia), graduated in 2007 from Tbilisi state academy of arts. In 2016 he received his Meisterschule degree at Professor Hito Steyerl’s new media class at UDK Berlin. Gagos’s works has been shown internationally in various exhibitions such as Lulea, Luleå Biennial 2020 / Vienna, Kunsthalle Wien / Graz, steirischer herbst ‘19 / Stockholm, Konsthall Mint ABF / Berlin, n.b.k./ Recently he lives and works in Berlin. In his works, Gagoshidze considers issues such as the moving image, the political background of its production and distribution, and its socio-political significance.

18:00 @headquarters (MGLC Švicarija)

Shy Radicals, film portrait of the artist and activist Hamja Ahsan

Screening. Director: Tom Dream, UK, 2020, colour, 23', Slovenian subtitles

Conversation: Hamja Ahsan, Tom Dream, Matic Majcen (Moderator)

Film portrait of the recipient of the Grand Prize of the 33rd Biennial of Graphic Arts, Hamja Ahsan, an artist, writer, activist and curator who lives and works in London and Maastricht. The film Shy Radicals is based on Hamja's book Shy Radicals: The Antisystemic Politics of the Militant Introvert. It follows the artist as he deals with the unfolding events of his brother's extradition case in USA whilst travelling the world, where real life and imagination blur to inspire and educate through creativity and activism.

The film screening is accompanied with a conversation with 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗷𝗮 𝗔𝗵𝘀𝗮𝗻 and director 𝗧𝗼𝗺 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺. The conversation is moderated by 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗠𝗮𝗷𝗰𝗲𝗻.

Admission free.

Hamja Ahsan's exhibition I DON'T BELONG HERE أنا لا أنتمي الى هنا is on view in ZVKDS Gallery (Trg francoske revolucije 3), until 21 November.

9.00–16.30 @ headquarters (MGLC Švicarija)

YUFU Conference, international conference

While post-communist, post-socialist and post-Yugoslav discourses merely reinforce the appearance of an unchanging and unstable present with a more or less accurate expression of the situation, Yugofuturism follows the example of other ethnofuturist movements such as Afrofuturism, Sinofuturism, Baltic Ethnofuturism and Hungarofuturism, which tactically empower peripheral identities and subversively affirm individual cultural curiosities.

Participating: Tibor Hrs Pandur, Dinko Kreho, Vera Mevorah, eurovicious, Enea Kavčič & Maks Valenčič, Mladen Zobec

In cooperation with Zavod Maska.

𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲:
Rok Bozovičar, Pia Brezavšček, Alja Lobnik, Muanis Sinanović, Lili Šturm.

Prijave na trgovina@mglclj.si

Admission to the event is free. The event will be held in English language.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺
𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟭𝟵 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟭

9.00 Reception

9.30 Introductory greeting

9.45 Tibor Hrs Pandur: Tesla and Yugofuturism (lecture and Q&A)

Short break

10.30 Dinko Kreho: The Science-fiction Republic of Yugoslavia: The Yugoslav Future(s) of Yesteryear (lecture and Q&A)

Short break

11.15 Vera Mevorah: Ex/post-Yugoslav Digital (Meme) Culture: In Search for Subversive Affirmation Strategies (lecture and Q&A)

12.00 Lunch break

13.45 eurovicious: 21st Century Turbofolk (lecture and Q&A)

Short break

14.30 Enea Kavčič, Maks Valenčič: Fast Right (lecture and Q&A)

Short break

15.15 Mladen Zobec: Albanofuturism Before Yugofuturism: How Albanians in Yugoslavia Forecasted the Capitalist Future (lecture and Q&A)

Short break

16.00–16.30 Concluding panel

17.00–19.00 @ MGLC Švicarija

ISKRA DELTA talks

17.00–19.00 ISKRA DELTA talks
19.30 Announcement of the recipient of the Grand Prize of the 34th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts and the Audience Award
20.00 Closing of the Biennale and socialising with the screening of videos by Kukla Kešerović

The events with international guest will be held in English language.

17.00 @ Headquarters (MGLC Švicarija)

ISKRA DELTA acts as a fictional, virtual entity, a name for and an incantation of the future, a world yet to come. It features projects that use the power of fiction, speculative design, LARPing, gaming, the internet, pop and emerging technologies to re-imagine and engineer possible other realities and worlds to the one we inherited.
The panel will focus on world-building tools and practices for imagining, constructing, prototyping and enacting alternative present/futures. Talks by international speakers will touch upon approaches and ideas in art, (speculative) design, architecture and (science) fiction that are a source of inspiration behind the approach of this edition of the Biennale.

Participants: 𝗕𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗮 𝗞𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿, 𝗞𝗮𝗷𝗮 𝗞𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝗝𝗲𝗻 𝗞𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗵𝘃𝗶𝗹, 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗢'𝗦𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗻.

The lectures will be followed by a short performative lecture and a video projection by the 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, that emerged in 2013 as a platform for critical discussion on art and algorithm, and now works at the intersection of art and philosophy, focusing mainly on philosophy of technology, dromology, governance, semiotic economy, and conflict. After holding events at the Školská 28 gallery in Prague, the Collective relocated their activities to the Display z.s. gallery in the spring of 2016. Since then, it has become a platform for contemporary theory and praxis, mobilizing associations of artists, writers, coders and thinkers in the wider CEE region.

The discussion will be moderated by Tjaša Pogačar and Maks Valenčič.

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺

The day of conference lectures, presentations and discussions will conclude with The Award Ceremony of the 34th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts and socialising over the screening of videos by Kukla Kešerović, a Slovenian music producer and film director.

11.00 @ skyscraper (TR3 Gallery)

Aleksandra Domanović, presentation of work with the artist

Aleksandra Domanović will present her project, Worldometers – named after a website that aggregates live tickers for various real-time statistics – gives form to things that are difficult to imagine. Hybrid image-objects that display the coronavirus data also show the proximity of life and its absence and act as a kind of capsule from a time defined by the porosity of the boundaries between dream and reality, fact and fiction, statistics and the unconscious.

More information about the project and the artist here.

17.30 @ headquarters (Tivoli Mansion)

Lawrence Lek, screening of AIDOL film and conversation with the artist

Artist Lawrence Lek will prepare a live presentation of the sonic environment Nepenthe Zone, named after the medicine for sorrow in Greek mythology, is designed to help forget the troubles of the world. Chill-out club environment of the near future where entertainment and culture have become fully automated draws parallels between ‘healing’ lifestyle design and future ‘wellness cultures’. The zone features a CGI fantasy ‘AIDOL’, set in the year 2065 against a backdrop of increasing tensions between man and machine. We follow Diva, a fading superstar who enlists the help of an AI songwriter for her comeback performance at the eSports Olympics. Fame – in all its allure and emptiness – is set against the contradictions of a post-AI world. In this scenario, originality is no more than an algorithmic trick and machines have the capacity to love and suffer.

PROGRAMME:
16:00: Screening of AIDOL film (83min)
17:30 - 18:00: Artist talk
18:00 - 18:30: Discussion moderated by Tjaša Pogačar and Maks Valenčič

You can find more information about the project and the artist here.

Film trailer: https://vimeo.com/331655114

19.00 @ headquarters (MGLC Švicarija)

𝗧𝗵𝗲 Landsapes 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗿
𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗼 𝗣𝗲𝗹𝗷𝗵𝗮𝗻

"But first I will speak of the province of Ladomir. Here, on the Earth-Moon of the island of Krk. People, wrapped in cocoons of survival, sleep. Other people visit them. They speak quietly to each other. A stage appears on the horizon, moving slowly. On it, the sailors of Ladomir steer a spinnaker of thought. Large sails propel it forward, a complex mechanism makes its legs lift and turn. There is no metallic sound. The materials are new and unfamiliar. It has legs and looks like an insect. It has the functionality and energy balance of a bee and the armour of an apocalyptic cockroach. /... / They will connect with satellites, they will roam the planet. They will discover its deep laws. They will be creators from all directions, brought to the platform by different winds. Scientists and artists. They will discover the laws of time. Communication. Electromagnetic flow. Navigation of whales, birds and humans. They will measure and calculate the dynamics of thunder and cells. They will coordinate and understand. The final equation and law. They will sail far away. With incredible speed. And the world will be their stage." (Excerpt from Krk – The First Concept of Makrolab, 1994).

𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗼 𝗣𝗲𝗹𝗷𝗵𝗮𝗻 (1969) founded the art organisation Projekt Atol in 1994 and became co-founder of the Ljubljana New Media Laboratory Ljudmila a year later. He first presented one of his best-known projects, Makrolab, at Documenta in 1997 and at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003. Since 2008, he has co-directed the Arctic Perspective Initiative with the American-Canadian artist Matthew Biederman, which reflects on the global significance of the geopolitical, natural and cultural dimensions of the Arctic. Peljhan is also dedicated to research and pedagogy at the intersection of art, technology and media at the University of California, UC Santa Barbara, where he holds the title of full professor. In Slovenia, he was one of the initiators for the establishment of the Slovenian Centre of Excellence for Space Sciences and Technologies and started to work actively in space and aeronautics research and culturalisation in 1998. In the radio spectrum, he is known as S54MX.

𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲.
𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗮@𝗺𝗴𝗹𝗰-𝗹𝗷.𝘀𝗶

11.00 @ skyscraper (TR3 Gallery)

Nascent (Paul Seidler and Max Hampshire): Temporal Secessionism, project presentation and marathon guided tour

The Biennale will conclude on 21 November with 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝘂𝗼 𝗡𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺. Timezone #1 & Timezone #3 are pieces of alternative infrastructure that aim to catalyse different experiences of time in their local areas. Like a kind of public information terminal, these objects present alternate time counting systems based on a selection of technological processes. The passage of time is affecting fragmentation and re-arranging of a text by Amy Ireland, providing a generative framework of textual references. Timezone #1 at MGLC opens up a zone of BTC/energy time. Timezone #3 at the TR3 Gallery opens up a zone of Paxos/machine time.

Their presentation will be followed by 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗦𝗞𝗥𝗔 𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗧𝗔: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟯𝟰𝘁𝗵 𝗟𝗷𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗕𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀, introduced by its curator Tjaša Pogačar (TR3 Gallery, Tivoli Mansion) and guided by assistant curator Lara Mejač (Ajdovščina Underpass, MGLC Švicarija).

Find more information about the project and the artists on
https://34.bienale.si/.../nascent-paul-seidler-and-max.../