Bunker Institute

Established in 1997, the NGO Bunker produces and presents a wide range of cultural events, from contemporary theatre and dance performances to workshops and other educational programmes. It also carries out research in the field of culture, organises one of the most prominent international festivals in the region, the Mladi levi Festival, and runs the Ljubljana venue, Old Power Station.

Bunker aims to invigorate the Slovenian cultural landscape by encouraging the mobility of artists and their work in Slovenia and abroad, and by promoting dialogue between different artistic disciplines. It collaborates extensively with artists, theatres, festivals and networks across Europe. Through its programmes and events, Bunker stimulates discussion on contemporary artistic practices and social issues.

Stara Elektrarna venue

In 2004, Bunker began managing the Old Power Station in Ljubljana after winning the public tender initiated by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia. The programme at this site of cultural heritage consists of Bunker's productions as well as theatre and dance productions, festivals, concerts and various interdisciplinary events produced by other organisations.

Production

In its productions, Bunker focuses on works that employ innovative approaches, intertwine different artistic disciplines and reflect on pressing cultural, political and social issues. In addition to producing works by other performing arts makers, Bunker has recently developed research-based projects that respond to global challenges such as migration and ecological awareness, often in collaboration with international artists, while also adopting the concept and practices of degrowth as part of its commitment to accelerating the green transition in culture.

Festivals

Since 1998, Bunker has organised the annual international festival of theatre and dance Mladi levi (Young Lions). Taking place at the end of August, the festival presents artists and groups from around the world whose work is marked by distinctive ideas and innovative artistic approaches. Together with co-organisers from Italy and Latvia, Mladi levi is also part of the SPA Festival initiative, which promotes slower and more accessible festival formats that encourage rest, attentive viewing and greater inclusivity for diverse audiences.

In 2002, Bunker co-organised the first Drugajanje Festival together with the Second Grammar School in Maribor. Since then, the festival has expanded to grammar schools in several other Slovenian towns. The festival introduces young audiences to contemporary dance and theatre through performances, workshops and lectures.

Educational activities

In collaboration with the Maribor Art Gallery, the Celje Regional Museum, the Srečko Vilhar Public Library, Koper-Capodistria in Koper and the Novo mesto Institute for Culture, Sport, Tourism and Youth, Bunker has developed a three-day School in Culture programme that offers young participants an immersive encounter with the arts. The programme combines participation and direct artistic experience while addressing all three pillars of cultural and arts education: experiencing art, learning about art and learning through art. Each edition features a diverse selection of artistic genres and at least three different cultural fields, with particular attention to those less accessible or less represented in school curricula.

International projects

Bunker has a long history of participating in various international cooperation and collaboration projects, which have garnered support from different funding programmes of the European Commission. It is (or has been) a member of numerous international networks, including Beyond Front@: Bridging Periphery, Greenstage, Less Is More, Junge Hunde, Theorem, International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts (IETM) and others.

Besides participating in or leading numerous international projects, Bunker also organises international discursive forums and discussion evenings.

Read also

Mateja Lazar and Tanja Kos: Reinventing_International_Mobility (2021)

External Links

Projects

Current and past international collaborations on the Bunker website

Gallery

The international theatre co-production Fun Fact, created in collaboration between the Beton Ltd. collective and Estonian theatre Kanuti Gildi SAAL, premiered in 2023. Author: Ivian Kan Mujezinović

Primož Bezjak and Branko Jordan from Beton Ltd. collective in their first production SO FAR AWAY: Introduction to Ego-logy, produced by Bunker Institute in 2010. Author: Urška Boljkovac

Primož Bezjak, Katarina Stegnar, and Branko Jordan from collective Beton Ltd. in their performance Grosse Erwartungen. Author: Nada Žgank

Primož Bezjak, Branko Jordan, and Katarina Stegnar from collective Beton Ltd. in their performance Grosse Erwartungen. Author: Nada Žgank

Invalid solo performance by Primož Bezjak, directed by Bojan Jablanovec, produced by Via Negativa, Mladi levi Festival, Bunker Institute, 2010

Alma R. Selimović, development manager of Bunker Institute, 2017.

Za Narodovo Zdravje, zabavna monodrama.

Theatrical essay Circle, created by Neja Tomšič, that intertwines storytelling, visual art, architecture, and sociological research, 2022. Author: Nada Žgank

The project Still Unknown at Drugajanje Festival, Maribor 2022. Author: Janez Klenovšek

The project Still Unknown at Drugajanje Festival, Maribor 2022. Author: Janez Klenovšek

Dance performance The Lost Songs at Drugajanje Festival, Maribor 2022. Author: Janez Klenovšek

The project Still Unknown at Drugajanje Festival, Maribor 2022. Author: Janez Klenovšek

The project Still Unknown at Drugajanje Festival, Maribor 2022. Author: Janez Klenovšek

Performance Sakhozi says NON to the Venus in Plasticization by Nelisawe Xaba (Republic of South Africa), Mladi levi Festival, 2011

Nijinsky Siam choreography, artistic direction and set design by Pichet Klunchun (Thailand),Mladi levi Festival, 2010

Performance Before Your Very Eyes by Gob Squad & CAMPO (Great Britain, Germany), Mladi levi Festival, 2011

Mare Bulc's participatory mono performance The First Altruistic Performance at Mladi levi Festival in 2018. Author: Nada Žgank

Audience at the Mladi levi Festival, Old Power Station. Author: Nada Žgank

Performance Duos by Czech artistic group Temporary Collective at the Mladi levi Festival in 2023. Author: Nada Žgank

Performance Human Territory by Slovenian artist Gregor Zorc, taking place at the Sports Society Tabor, Mladi levi Festival, 2023. Author: Nada Žgank

The opening of the Mladi levi Festival in Old Power Station. Author: Nada Žgank

Performance Unending Love, or Love Dies, On Repeat Like It’s Endless, performed by Aaa Biczysko and Beverly D. Renekouzou at Mladi levi Festival in 2023. Author: Nada Žgank

Dance performance A Quick Story by Sanja Nešković Peršin and Branko Potočan, Bunker Institute production performed at Stara Elektrarna - Old Power Station, 2004.

Lea Kukovič's project FORSALE, a conceptual artwork radicalizing the economics of theatre and providing an answer to the question of the value of theatre performances today, Old Power Station, 2021. Author: Nada Žgank

Performance Trans-Plant by Luka Martin Škof and Nika Švab at Old Power Station, 2020. Author: Nada Žgank

Old Power Station at night. Author: Nada Žgank

Façade of the Old Power Station. Author: Nada Žgank

Bunker Institute

Past events

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