International Association of Art Critics (AICA), Slovenia

The International Association of Art Critics (AICA) was founded in 1950 under the patronage of UNESCO and aims to support art criticism in all its forms worldwide and to keep pace with its changing disciplines. Its members are organised into 61 national sections and one open section. The Slovene section of the AICA was accepted in 1992 on the Vienna congress and currently has 30 members. Prior to 1992 the Slovene critics participated in the international association as members of the former Yugoslavian section. Brane Kovič, an independent Ljubljana-based art critic, was elected the general secretary of AICA for the period of 2010–2014.

International association

AICA's head office, located in Paris, represents and promotes the activities of the Association's 4,200 members informing them of events and organising annual congresses. The Association is funded by the subscriptions of its Ordinary Members, Honorary Members and Patrons.

Activities of the Slovene section

Among its aims are the promotion of criticism as a professional field and the development of its methodologies, active involvement in the copyright issues and facilitation in the legislative and professional matters. An interdisciplinary approach is encouraged. The section's activities value the freedom of speech and opose the censorship. It organises educational events for members such as seminars and excursions as well as public debates and conferences and maintains strong international relations and visibility.

The current members of the national Executive Committee are Brane Kovič, Aleksander Bassin, Peter Krečič, Stane Bernik, and Meta Gabršek-Prosenc.

AICA Annual Congress in Slovenia

In 2005 the Slovene section of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) hosted the 29th AICA Congress entitled Art Theory and Art Criticism in the New Millennium. The first session "Constructing and Deconstructing Identities" began with an introductory lecture by Amelia Jones (Professor and Pilkington Chair, Head of Art History and Visual Studies at the University of Manchester) and a speech by Tomaž Brejc, a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design presenting the topic "A Crisis of Confidence, a Crisis of Language, a Crisis of Visions: Some Slovene Experiences". The second session "Concepts Models and Case Studies" was introduced by Viktor Misiano (curator and critic from AICA Russia) and the third one entitled Art Criticism Today: Positions and Perspectives was introduced by keynote speaker Irit Rogoff (Professor at Goldsmiths College, University of London).

International symposium Evaluation of Contemporary Art – Crisis of Criteria?

In 2009, in collaboration with the Slovene Art History Society, the Slovene section of AICA organised an international symposium held in the National Gallery of Slovenia and featuring Slovene (Andrej Medved, Sergej Kapus, Nadja Gnamuš) and international (Elaine King, Jagoda Barczynska, Jacinto Lageira) lecturers. The translated contributions of the latter have been published in the Slovene Art History Society's online Bulletin.

External links

International Association of Art Critics website (in English, Spanish and French)
AICA Slovenia web page
29th Congress in Slovenia on AICA website (2005)
The programme of the International Symposium on the AICA website (2009, in English) and the three translated contributions on the Slovene Art History Society website (in Slovenian)
International Association of Art Critics on Wikipedia

International Association of Art Critics (AICA), Slovenia

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