Modern Art Archive, Museum of Modern Art

Contact

Oddelek Dokumentacija-arhiv, Moderna galerija

Maistrova 3, SI-1000 Ljubljana

http://www.mg-lj.si/si/knjiznica-in-arhivi/751/dokumentacija-arhiv/

dokumentacija@mg-lj.si

Phone386 (0) 1 241 6825

Managed byModerna galerija / Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana plus Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova

The Modern Art Archive of the Moderna galerija / Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana plus Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova was established in 1971 at Moderna galerija by the curators Ljerka Menaše and Eva Gspan with the objective of systematically collecting and organising data on exhibitions in Slovenia as well as exhibitions of Slovene artists abroad. By systematically collecting, evaluating, and updating its database, the department has thoroughly documented the development of the contemporary Slovene fine arts sector (in the broadest sense as revealed through its authors as well as writers, curators, venues, and owners).

In 2011 the archive moved from the Moderna galerija building into the new premises of the Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova. A portion of the database, including biographies and bibliography references of some artists, is available on the Internet (cf. Raz_Ume Database). The Modern Art Archive is also a part of the platform European Art Net (EAN).

Services

Since 1989 invitations, catalogues, posters, press clippings and other materials related to exhibitions of Slovene artists have been digitised using the special Razstava (“Exhibition”) software programme. The department has also built an archive and press clipping service of articles containing biographical and bibliographical and also other data on Slovene 20th- and 21st-century artists. Since 1993 this data has been accessible via the Umetnik (“Artist”) computer programme. Both of these databases may be browsed in-person at the department.

A selection of the two databases is available online through the Raz_Ume Database. It currently contains over 13,500 artists, more than 8,300 exhibitions and 170 photographs. (Interestingly, Raz_Ume is a play on words using Raz from Razstava, "exhibition" and Ume from Umetnik, "artist" to create the Slovenian expression "He/She understands".)

The department also prepares lists of documentation and bibliographies for publications, primarily for exhibition catalogues of the major retrospective exhibitions of Moderna galerija.

International co-operation

From 2000 to 2003 the department co-operated with similar European institutions as a partner in the framework of the project Vektor – European Contemporary Art Archives, which received funding from the Culture 2000 programme of the European Commission. The Vektor project has since developed into the European Art Net, initiated by basis wien – Kunst, Information und Archiv in Vienna and the art magazine Kunst-Bulletin in Zurich, which offers a comprehensive search engine of various archival databases from European institutions of art.

As a partner in the EU project Gravity – Art, Religion, Science (2003–2005) the Modern Art Archive realised an innovative bilingual online archive Towards Zero Gravity. Gravity in Slovene Fine Art in the 20th and 21st Centuries conceived by Igor Zabel.

Other resources

Collecting and organizing the documentation photography is the domain of the autonomous department Museum of Modern Art Photo Archive that is located in the Moderna galerija building. Another autonomous department helpful for researchers to obtain further resources is the Museum of Modern Art Library, located at the new Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova.

See also

• Raz_Ume Database of artists and exhibitions of the 20th and 21st century
• Moderna galerija / Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana plus Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova
• Museum of Modern Art Photo Archive
• Museum of Modern Art Library
• Web Museum

External links

• Documentation, Modern Art Archive, Museum of Modern Art web page
• The Raz_Ume online database
• European Art Net EAN website