Kunigunda Festival of Young Cultures
Background
The festival began in 1998 when three founders, with great aspirations but almost no funding, started laying the foundation. Their efforts, with a strong focus on alternative culture, turned Kunigunda into one of the driving forces of the youth scene in Velenje. Graffiti art adorned the Red Hall, and local bands increasingly gained opportunities to perform on the big stage. As early as the second year, the team organised an international camp, gradually acquired their equipment and involved enthusiastic youth in leaving their mark on the local cultural scene.
Interactive programme activities at the 26th Kunigunda Festival of Young Cultures in Velenje. Photo: Staš Gregorič
Programme
Kunigunda Festival of Young Cultures is a symbol of young alternative culture in Velenje. The mosaic of local subcultures that gets shaped during the year on the local cultural scene is reflected in the festival’s programme. It wouldn’t be wrong to describe its creators as a group of people who represent the passing of knowledge between generations of young, eager, socially critical and informed individuals who care about events in Šalek Valley and the surrounding area. It was the passing of knowledge, combined with spending quality time and ensuring employment opportunities for those who want to work, that became a value that the festival began to emphasise as soon as the concept spread its wings. Interested and promising individuals are getting irreplaceable work opportunities in all areas that the organisation of such a festival entails.
The programme is conceptually broad and diverse, comprising music, visual arts, dance, theatre, puppetry, installations, film and video screenings, literary evenings, new media art events, lectures, the festival's own productions and urban sports.
The events are spread throughout the city, from its parks and streets, from caves to museums and elsewhere, to the main stage at the Youth cultural club eMCe and the Open-air cinema at Škale Lake.
Big names in music and other areas have been hosted. Along with top artists, Kunigunda’s organisational team is increasingly involved in the programme. Projects like the national beatboxing championship and City on Water found their place at Kunigunda, while team-produced projects critical to society, like Experiment: Tito’s Velenje, The Wedding: a celebration of love, Kunigunda and the founding of the Autonomous Republic of Kunigunda (ARK).
Croatian band Brkovi performing at the 26th Kunigunda Festival of Young Cultures in Open-air cinema at Škale lake, Velenje 2023. Photo: Lara Lukše
Kunigunda is constantly evolving, reconstructing and reconfiguring itself, injecting culture into its veins, slapping the faces of the prepared and unprepared alike. And will continue to do so in the years to come.
Music
Kunigunda’s stage has hosted many well-known artists from all directions (in an abstract as well as artistic sense). In the spirit of emphasising all cultures and musical genres, they headbang with metal heads, bang with rappers and MCs, rave with DJs, dance to reggae and ska and enjoy everything that fits anywhere in between.
Concert atmosphere at the 26th Kunigunda Festival of Young Cultures, Velenje 2023. Photo: Lara Lukše
See also
External links
- Kunigunda Festival website (in Slovenian)