Abramović - Ulay among Ljubljana art highlights in 2025

Cukrarna Gallery

The Cukrarna contemporary arts gallery is gearing up for the Art Vital exhibition dedicated to Abramović, one of the world's best known conceptual artists and Ulay, a German performance artist. It will showcase the duo's 12-year collaboration, which left a significant mark on performance and contemporary art.

Running from late November 2025 to early May 2026, the exhibition is being prepared in collaboration with the Ulay Foundation, Lena Pislak, and the archives of Marina Abramović and Sydney Fishman. It will bring the first comprehensive overview of their creative partnership that went on for twelve years between 1976 and 1988. Instead of following a chronological format, it will focus on their nomadic lifestyle, which defined the early years of their work.

All phases of their collaboration will be presented, along with the themes they explored. In addition to iconic events documented in videos, photographs, and memorabilia, the exhibition will feature ephemeral and archival materials, such as photos, recordings, playlists, books, letters, and even personal notes, many of which have never been shown to the public before.

Other notable exhibitions and projects planned for the year include works by Dorit Margreiter Choy and David Maljković, internationally recognised artists and participants of the Venice Biennale. Their exhibitions will open in mid-May and will complement each other.

Also on the programme are exhibitions by Aleksandra Vajd and Anette Mona Chisaa, Aleksandra Domanović, Hasan Khan, Shona Illingworth, and a performance by Slovenia's world-renowned music group Laibach.

New productions of performative arts, video art, and interdisciplinary projects combining art and design will also be presented under the Performativa, Moving Image, and Grey Zone programmes.

City Art Gallery Ljubljana

In March 2025, the Ljubljana City Gallery will launch a comprehensive exhibition dedicated to Zora Stančič, one of Slovenia's most significant artists in printmaking, drawing, and painting.

Her career, spanning over four decades, will be celebrated through a selection of major works that highlight the development and unique structure of printmaking as a medium. For the first time, her oeuvre will be presented in such depth, featuring large-scale spatial installations created specifically for the gallery.

In late October, the gallery will showcase the work of Stane Jagodič, a master of satire and an innovator in mediums such as photomontage and X-ray art. A founding member of the internationally significant Grupa Junij, Jagodič's socially engaged works tackle pressing issues like ecology and anti-militarism.

This retrospective will cover his creative journey from the 1970s onward, offering a fresh perspective on his contribution to Slovenian contemporary art.

Additionally, the gallery will co-host the 2025 International Biennial of Graphic Arts, with curator Chus Martinez incorporating parts of the biennial into its unique spaces.

Vžigalica Gallery

Vžigalica Gallery begins its 2025 programme in February with The Valley, a multimedia documentary project by Slovenian photographer Manca Juvan, who explores the impact of industrial pollution in the Soča Valley and its broader effects on local communities.

In April, the gallery will feature Love Can't Pay Rent, a project by Keiko Miyazaki, a Japanese multimedia artist residing in Celje. Miyazaki examines the constraints placed on love by fast-paced modern society.

The gallery's hallmark Lighting Guerrilla Festival, scheduled for May, will explore the topic of Mutations, featuring light installations by artists like Annti Kulmala, Ida Hiršenfelder, and ::vtol::.

In the autumn, the gallery will host Living Images, an exhibition in collaboration with Montenegro's Museum of Contemporary Art, addressing societal and political issues in Montenegro.

To close the year, a retrospective will look at the 60+ year career of renowned Japanese artist Yoshio Nakajima, one of the first performance and happening artists from the legendary Tokyo avant-garde scene of the 1960s.

The two Bežigrad galleries

The traditional exhibition From Sketch to Puppet, a fixture in the Bežigrad galleries since 1980, which explores the wider creative process involved in puppetry, will feature smaller-scale theatre productions for children this year. Bežigrad Gallery 1 will also host exhibitions of Miha Erič's graphic works and Milan Golob's paintings and videos.

At Bežigrad Gallery 2, highlights include the Nature video festival, a retrospective of sculptor Dragica Čadež, the 2025 Prešeren Prize laureate, and a major survey of the work of painter Jože Marinč to mark his 50-year career. The gallery will also present a retrospective of paintings by Andraž Šalamun, a leading figure in Slovenian art and a member of the influential OHO group.