Maribor's status as the European Capital of Culture expires at the end of this year

Photo: STA

October 2012

Maribor's status as the European Capital of Culture expires at the end of this year. So far, the results of this highly important cultural project in Slovenia have been more than positive. The city's status as the European Capital of Culture (ECC) has given a new impetus to development in many areas, including the economy, where the results are obvious, particularly in tourism, said  Suzana Žilič Fišer, the Director General of MARIBOR 2012. The project has established close links between several cities in a number of areas, and these links should also be preserved in the future. In this context, the project's programme director, Mitja Čander, underlined that the EEC has exceeded many expectations. He added that the project is not yet over and that 'a rich programme still lies ahead until its completion at the end of the year; nevertheless, we are already looking to the future.'

The ECC has hosted more than three hundred thousand visitors and more than 3600 events so far. Events during the summer months included various festivals and other performances, among which the Lent Festival attracted the largest number of visitors. Since the beginning of the ECC programme until the end of August, exhibitions, concerts and other events have attracted an audience of more than 1 300 000.

ECC website - more than 600 000 visitors so far

The MARIBOR 2012 website will shortly introduce an Instagram application and will thus become the first ECC to introduce such an application. It should be noted that the first European culture capital website for use by people who are blind or partially sighted became operational a few months ago. Since the inauguration of Maribor as the European Capital of Culture, its website has recorded more than 600 000 visitors.

Programme highlights

Photo: STA

A number of programme highlights are planned until the end of the year, among them the Legacy of Socialism on the subject of film and industrial heritage, prepared by the international institution The Forum of Slavic Cultures. The Great Hall of the Slovene National Theatre in Maribor hosted the Tobari show featuring the Japanese dance group Sankai Juku.

A survey of Slovenian documentary film  brought a new documentary film experience to Maribor and its broader surroundings. The first showing of the feature film Shanghai  also took place within the ECC programme.

The exhibition Almost Spring, 100 Years of Art in Slovenia , with selected works of Slovenian visual arts from the 1912–2012 period, borrowed from public and private art collections, will cover an area stretching from Piran, Novo Mesto, Ajdovščina to Slovenj Gradec, Maribor and Murska Sobota in a symbolic and realistic manner (30 November - 30 January 2013). It will be followed by an exhibition on Austrian design, including industrial, interior, furniture and even fashion design.

German artist Rebecca Horn  made her first debut in Slovenia and the broader region by exhibiting a selection of her best known works exclusively at the Maribor Art Gallery (28 September - 11 November). The Lent Festival Hall  hosted the Rosenberg Trio  (4 October).

Slovenian drama festival - Borštnikovo srečanje

An event not to be missed is the Borštnikovo srečanje drama festival, which is the largest and oldest Slovenian drama festival, whose Mostovi international section strengthens the relations between Slovenian theatres and modern theatre centres across Europe. Last but not least, Jančar's cult piece of drama Veliki briljantni valček (The Great Brilliant Waltz) is also an event well worth attending.

Text by Polona Prešeren, MSc, Sinfo, October 2012