Of all the (many) cities to claim the ‘Paris of the East’ moniker, Ljubljana wears it with a touch more credibility than most. Think Hapsburg rather than Haussmann, but with a penchant for grandiose boulevards and mercantile swagger accented with Bohemian detail that banishes any vestiges of Soviet influence to the merest footnote in its long history.
It is an elegant urban backdrop that sets a high bar for visual creativity, and which complements high artistic aspirations. “Think for a moment of biennials and exhibitions with an aspiration to contribute to the public good as oracular shrines,” states the rubric which announces the city’s 70th Biennale of Graphic Arts, scheduled for June 2025. An ambitious and emphatic jumping-off point for what promises to be a rewarding summer foray.
Excerpt from press materials: MGLC, the International Centre of Graphic Arts, unveils the concept and plans for the 36th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts—The Oracle. On the Regeneration of Democracy—which takes place from June 6 to October 12, 2025.
The 36th edition will be curated by renowned curator, lecturer and researcher Chus Martínez as Artistic Director. The list of participating artists will be announced early in the new year at a series of launches internationally and in Slovenia.
The concept draws upon the oracle as the name given in antiquity for the place where we encounter the future. The exhibition—art—can be this place. Think for a moment of biennials and exhibitions with an aspiration to contribute to the public good as oracular shrines. The 36th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts—which turns 70 this edition—wants to be a place of consultation on how art can regenerate our trust in freedom, in freedom of expression, in solidarity, in support for art and culture. How? By exploring fantasy as a space for action and life simulation. By exploring desire and the anatomy of wishing, projecting into a better world. By exploring dreams, the possibility of enhancing our dreams, of simply sleeping better to make, as well, better decisions.
Chus Martínez explains, “An exhibition—like an oracle—relies on the sum of inquiries posed by the artists and the will to connect and motivate all the visitors. Regaining motivation and a sense of self-fulfilment are nourishing elements for a renaissance of orality and meaningful communication. Democracy depends on trusting each other’s experiences and on finding paths to slowly recover from these times of radical greed.”
Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts
June 6 to October 12, 2025
Ljubljana, Slovenia
The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. – Aristotle
