The Slovenian Cultural Centre in Berlin (SKICA Berlin): Bridging Cultural Diplomacy and International Connections
updated 16 hours ago
In 2026, the Slovenian Cultural Centres (SKICA) in Vienna and Berlin each celebrate a significant milestone. Established in 2011, SKICA Vienna marks fifteen years of activity, while SKICA Berlin, founded five years later, celebrates its first decade. Created as a joint initiative of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, the two centres play a vital role in promoting contemporary Slovenian art and culture internationally.
The projects and partnerships developed by SKICA Berlin are strikingly diverse. They range from cooperating at the Slovenia’s appearance as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2023, to an exhibition on Slovenia’s beekeeping heritage at Berlin’s Museum of European Cultures, and an exhibition Beyond Impressionism – Slovenian Modernism and Dachau at the Dachau Art Gallery. At the time this interview was conducted, SKICA was also presenting, together with the Centre for Creativity and the LJFW Institute, a pop-up showcase of Slovenian fashion designers during Berlin Fashion Week.
We spoke with Saša Šavel Burkart, MSC, who is the Head of SKICA Berlin since January 2021. She reflects on the centre’s work and some of its most significant achievements, discusses the approaches that underpin the successful international promotion of Slovenian art and culture, and considers the measures needed to support the long-term development of Slovenian cultural diplomacy.
SKICA Vienna: Fifteen Years of Connecting the Slovenian and Austrian Cultural Scenes
updated 16 hours ago
In 2026, the Slovenian Cultural and Information Centres (SKICA) in Vienna and Berlin each celebrate a significant milestone. Established in 2011, SKICA Vienna marks fifteen years of activity, while SKICA Berlin, founded five years later, celebrates its first decade. Created as a joint initiative of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, the two centres play a vital role in promoting contemporary Slovenian art and culture internationally.
We posed a few questions to Aljaž Arih, a long-time career diplomat who took over the leadership of the SKICA in Vienna in 2021. He presented the work of the center, focusing on Austrian partnerships that have enabled the successful promotion of art and culture of all genres in the international arena.
Slovenski kulturno-informacijski center na Dunaju (SKICA Dunaj): petnajst let povezovanja slovenske kulture z avstrijskim prostorom
updated 16 hours ago
Slovenska kulturna centra (oziroma SKICI) na Dunaju in v Berlinu v letu 2026 praznujeta vsak svojo obletnico. SKICA Dunaj je bila ustanovljena leta 2011, torej deluje že 15 let. Pet let pozneje je bila v Nemčiji ustanovljena še SKICA Berlin, ki letos obhaja svoje prvo desetletje. Oba centra sta kot skupni projekt Ministrstva za kulturo ter Zunanjega ministrstva Republike Slovenije izrednega pomena za promocijo in prepoznavnost sodobne slovenske umetnosti in kulture v tujini.
Aljažu Arihu, dolgoletnemu kariernemu diplomatu, ki je vodenje dunajske SKICE prevzel v letu 2021, smo zastavili nekaj vprašanj. Predstavil je delovanje centra, predvsem avstrijska partnerstva, prizorišča in festivale, ki omogočajo uspešno promocijo umetnosti in kulture vseh zvrsti v mednarodnem prostoru.
Slovenski kulturni center Berlin (SKICA Berlin): med kulturno diplomacijo in mednarodnim povezovanjem
updated 16 hours ago
Slovenska kulturna centra (oziroma SKICI) na Dunaju in v Berlinu v letu 2026 praznujeta vsak svojo obletnico. SKICA Dunaj je bila ustanovljena leta 2011, torej deluje že 15 let. Pet let pozneje je bila v Nemčiji ustanovljena še SKICA Berlin, ki letos obhaja svoje prvo desetletje. Oba centra sta kot skupni projekt Ministrstva za kulturo ter Zunanjega ministrstva Republike Slovenije izrednega pomena za promocijo in prepoznavnost sodobne slovenske umetnosti in kulture v tujini.
Projekti in sodelovanja, v katerih je udeležena berlinska SKICA, so zares raznoliki: od sodelovanja na knjižnem sejmu v Frankfurtu, na katerem je bila Slovenija leta 2023 častna gostja, do razstave o slovenski čebelarski kulturni dediščini v berlinskem Museum Europäischer Kulturen ali razstave »Po impresionizmu: slovensko modernistično slikarstvo in Dachau« v Gemäldegalerie Dachau. Prav v času, ko je nastajal ta pogovor, je SKICA skupaj s Centrom za kreativnost (CzK) in Inštitutom LJFW pripravila tudi pop-up predstavitev slovenskih modnih oblikovalk in oblikovalcev v okviru Berlinskega tedna mode.
Pogovarjali smo se s Sašo Šavel Burkart, diplomirano novinarko in magistrico znanosti s področja antropologije in medijskih študijev, ki je vodenje berlinske SKICE prevzela januarja 2021. Sogovornica je predstavila delovanje centra in nekatere njegove najvidnejše dosežke, obenem pa spregovorila o ključnih praksah za uspešno promocijo umetnosti in kulture v mednarodnem prostoru ter razmišljala o ukrepih, ki bi bili potrebni za dolgoročni razvoj slovenske kulturne diplomacije.
International awards
updated 18 hours ago
Culture.si lists a selection of significant international awards received by artists, cultural workers, and cultural organisations from Slovenia.
Slovenian Book Agency
updated 2 days ago
The Slovenian Book Agency is a public agency that was established in 2008 to engage the area of literature in a coordinated and uniform way. Its primary concerns are to facilitate better availability of books, to promote Slovene authors internationally, to financially support literary events, projects concerned with reading culture, publications of quality books and translations, and to regulate the process from the production to publication to distribution of literature.
JAK (Slovenian abbreviation for Slovenian Book Agency) is located in the house called Vratarnica (Gatekeeper's house) in the Metelkova Quarter of Ljubljana, in the vicinity of the Ministry of Culture.
Seviqc
updated 2 days ago
Today, the Seviqc Festival is synonymous with early music in Slovenia. Over four decades, it has solidified its reputation both domestically and internationally. At home, it is considered a crucial national development programme and one of the most significant cultural events. Globally, it is renowned as an exceptional and highly esteemed event, garnering acclaim from artists, producers, critics, the business world and music enthusiasts alike.
The 2026 festival runs from 7 to 21 August, mostly at various venues in Celje.
Biennial of Slovene Book Illustration
updated 2 days ago
The Biennial of Slovene Book Illustration has been organised since 1993 by Cankarjev dom Gallery in cooperation with the Illustration Section of the Slovenian Association of Fine Arts Societies (ZDSLU) with the aim of promoting book illustration as a fine arts discipline.
Among the selected exhibited works, the best ones are bestowed with the Hinko Smrekar Award and associated accolades.