Story Time emphasises the significance of knowing the cultural histories of various nations and milieus, for it is precisely this knowledge that represents the first common point on the way towards understanding other cultures arriving in Europe with migratory flows. The invited artists will reinterpret cultural histories and cultural contexts from both European and Arabic worlds. They will emphasise questions related to postulates such as humanity, peace, war, good and evil, and, at the same time, they will interrogate the role of the individual and thus also the individual’s responsibility towards fellow human beings. The invited artists will convene workshops in pairs. In the workshops, they will use dialogue to develop new interpretations of traditional motifs in the light of the migrant crisis. Although some of the presented artworks touch upon global issues, most of the participating artists approach the topic from the individual’s position and experience of the present situation. The artists will present their working methods and the issues they have been tackling as well as the starting points for the newly conceived works, which will be included in the Story Time exhibition (12. 10., KGLU), which will be on display under the umbrella title of In/On the Way.

Programme

>> Nadine Kaadan: The Jasmin Sneeze
13. 9., 17:00, KGLU

Nadine Kaadan is an illustrator and storyteller of Syrian descent. Together with the museum’s curator pedagogue Nina Popič, she will convene a reading of the story and a workshop for children.

>> Artist Talk: Vesna Bukovec, Nadine Kaadan, Jalal Maghout, Jure Markota
14. 9., 18:00, Čajnica PEČ, in case of bad weather KGLU

Presentation and conversation with the artists participating in the residencies as part of the Story Time project.

>> Nadine Kaadan & Vesna Bukovec – Herbs Without Borders
14. 9., 19:00, Čajnica PEČ

Planting Herbs and Picking Stories. Workshop about herbs, designed as an opportunity for socialising and collecting personal stories and memories about herbs. The workshop aims to develop a dialogue and a cultural exchange through looking at various culinary herbs.

>> Jalal Maghout & Jure Markota – Two Media, One Language
15. 9., 17:00, KGLU

Jalal Maghout and Jure Markota interview each other, talking about their works and how they deal with the current political issues. The discussion will include a Q&A session with the audience.

>> Film screenings and discussion with the artist Jalal Maghout
15. 9., ob 19:00 Čajnica PEČ

Screenings of films by Syrian filmmaker Jalal Maghout: Selfie Attempt (2016, 1’11’’), Strive (2017, 1’27’’), Canvas on Mixed Media (2013, 5’12’’), Suleima (2014, 15’04’’)

>> ŠKART (Djordje Balmazović & Dragan Protić) – All the roads lead also to Slovenj Gradec
25.–29. 9., every day 10:00–13:00, KGLU

>> Engaged Cinema Workshop with Nika Autor
27. 9., 17:00, KGLU

In this workshop, using various examples of film practices, we shall focus on the fields of engaged cinema, essay films and newsreel experiments.

* The Story Time project connects five European organisations: the publishing house Izvori, LLC, from Zagreb; the organisation Inter – kultura, LLC, from Maribor; the Austrian Society for Children’s Philosophy (Österreichische Gesellschaft für Kinderphilosophie) from Graz; the company Studio Gaus, LLC, from Berlin; and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Koroška (KGLU) from Slovenj Gradec. The diverse project partners form a platform for the execution of activities aimed at establishing and consolidating intercultural dialogue.