[spectre] Fwd: Ljubljana, eviction from Metelkova 6

[Andreas Broeckmann]

Betreff: SCCA-Ljubljana response regarding eviction from Metelkova 6
Datum: 	Mon, 2 Nov 2020 17:29:04 +0000
Von: 	SCCA-Ljubljana, Center for Contemporary Arts 
<scca.ljubljana at gmail.com>


SCCA-Ljubljana response regarding eviction from Metelkova 6 A public 
letter regarding the long-standing programmes in the field of culture 
that are endangered by the Ministry of Culture’s notice of eviction.


*SCCA-Ljubljana response regarding eviction from Metelkova 6*

We are publishing a public letter by SCCA, Center for Contemporary Arts 
– Ljubljana regarding the long-standing programmes in the field of 
Slovenian culture that are seriously endangered by the Ministry of 
Culture’s notice of eviction from the building at Metelkova 6.
________________

SCCA, Center for Contemporary Arts – Ljubljana (SCCA-Ljubljana) was 
established in 2000 as the successor of the contemporary art center 
active from 1993 to 1999. We have been using the space at Metelkova 6 
since 2002, having established an archive, library and the Project Room 
SCCA in addition to our office. It is a multi-purpose public space 
dedicated to our educational programme, exhibitions, screenings and 
workshops, as well as to the cultural public and visitors of various 
interests. Our library and archive are regularly visited by researchers 
and curators from all over the world. Students, pedagogues and artists, 
especially videasts and filmmakers, visit our DIVA Station archive of 
videos, experimental films and new media art. Even though the archive is 
available online, rare and valuable materials are viewable only at 
Metelkova. The archive caretakers assist visitors with additional 
professional information, mediate in establishing contacts with the 
artists in the archive, and assist in further research. The Project Room 
SCCA is also a classroom. It holds the meetings of the World of Art, 
School for Curatorial Practices and Critical Writing, the sole programme 
for curatorial practices in Slovenia, which will mark its 25th 
anniversary next year and has been attended by numerous Slovenian 
curators, custodians and cultural workers. The Project Room also holds 
public lectures by acclaimed Slovenian and international lecturers, 
artist talks, discussions and occasional exhibitions. We also offer the 
space to producers for planning projects (partner meetings, musicians’ 
concert preparations and film screenings), press conferences and 
audio-visual recordings, as well as meetings of the users of Metelkova 6.

According to the decision of the Ministry of Culture, we operate in the 
public interest, the City of Ljubljana supports us programmatically as a 
support organization, and in 2020 the Ministry of Public Administration 
also supports our projects. We are involved in international projects, 
also with the support of the Creative Europe programme. The Ministry of 
Culture supports us with a multi-year project, and we are also 
successful in one-year project tenders. As users of the space owned by 
the ministry, we manage it carefully and responsibly, and we are 
therefore outraged by the irrevocable notice of eviction in three 
months. It is not just the operational and production space of 
non-governmental organisations, but a public space that Metelkova 6 
users have been developing for more than 20 years and that places us on 
the map of public spaces for culture and art in Ljubljana. Such a sudden 
and unilateral move by the ministry endangers the many years of work, 
the priceless cultural heritage, and the projects planned with partners 
in Slovenia and abroad.
________________


*RESPONSE TO THE ATTACK OF THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE ON NON-GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS AT NO. 6 METELKOVA STREET*

Ljubljana, 20 October 2020
________________

On Monday 19 October 2020 the non-governmental organizations operating 
at No. 6 Metelkova Street in Ljubljana received a proposal for an 
amicable termination of the lease from the building manager of the 
Ministry of Culture and an order to vacate the building by 31 January 
2021. If we fail to do so, the Ministry has threatened to enforce the 
eviction through the courts, at our expense. The reason given is that 
the Ministry supposedly needs the premises for its own use and intends 
to renovate them, although the budget is not slated to provide funds for 
such renovation until 2023, and the Ministry has not offered tenants 
replacement premises, nor has it entered into any sort of dialogue with 
us. The termination of the leases came to our addresses unannounced and 
on the very day when the SARS-CoV-2 virus epidemic and curfew were 
declared. We strongly protest the actions of the Ministry of Culture and 
regard it as an attack on civil society and independent culture intended 
to prevent the functioning of the critical public. The current 
government and especially the largest government party, the SDS, have 
never hidden these intentions.

The organizations operating at No. 6 Metelkova derive from the heritage 
of the civil society movements that promoted the democratization and 
demilitarization of society in the 1980s, and thereby made a crucial 
contribution to the adoption of a democratic constitution after the 
country’s independence. One of the key symbolic moments of these efforts 
took place in 1993, when cultural workers, artists and activists 
occupied the former command headquarters for all Yugoslav National Army 
barracks in Slovenia located on Metelkova Street in Ljubljana. Since 
then, it has been a public space where diversity, solidarity, dialogue 
and critical thinking are respected and encouraged. The current 
government in power is attempting to erase these values and this 
history, even though the Prime Minister once considered himself a peace 
activist. Instead of demilitarization, this government is forcing 
Slovenia to purchase a huge amount of weaponry, and instead of 
democratization, it is following the authoritarian example of Hungary 
and other Visegrad countries, where they have already dealt with 
non-governmental organizations in a way similar to what the Ministry of 
Culture is trying to do with us.

Today, No. 6 Metelkova Street is home to non-governmental organizations, 
collectives and individuals engaged in independent cultural and artistic 
production, and research and advocacy on behalf of minority and 
marginalized groups. These are internationally recognized actors who 
have created countless books, films, magazines, exhibitions, 
conferences, festivals, theatrical, puppet and dance performances, 
intermedia projects and research over nearly three decades of operation 
in these spaces. Part of this production was supported by the very same 
ministry which is now throwing us out onto the street. We would expect 
the Ministry of Culture to be aware of this history and to support the 
creativity and knowledge produced here. On the contrary: it has decided, 
in the midst of an epidemic, to take away our basic infrastructure and 
thus the foundation for our operations. It should be stressed that in 
the case of No. 6 Metelkova, this is the only building in Slovenia that 
the Ministry of Culture has dedicated to independent cultural, artistic 
and research organizations, and the organizations that have premises 
here are designated as operating in the public interest.

We hereby inform the Ministry of Culture and the government of the 
Republic of Slovenia that we have no intention of leaving No. 6 
Metelkova and that we will resist with all possible means these attacks 
on civil society, independent culture, and democracy.
________________

List of signatories – organizations operating at No. 6 Metelkova Street:

Association of Slovene Film Producers
Association of Slovenian Foundations
Center for Slovenian Literature
City of Women – Association for the Promotion of Women in Culture
Contemporary Dance Association Slovenia
Dance Theatre Ljubljana
En Knap Dance Group
Exodos Ljubljana
Forum Ljubljana
Gallus J. Carniolus Institute
Gallus Foundation
Institute for Sustainable Development
Legal-Informational Centre for NGOs
Maska Institute
NSK Information Centre (Neue Slowenische Kunst)
Otok Institute / Isola Cinema
Peace Institute
Retro-avantgarde Society (Laibach)
SCCA-Ljubljana, Center for Contemporary Arts
SLOGA, Slovenian Global Action – platform of non-governmental organizations
ŠKUC Association
Vertigo Independent Film Production
Vitkar Institute
________________

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SCCA-Ljubljana, Center for Contemporary Arts, Metelkova 6, 1000 
Ljubljana, tel.: 00 386 1 431 83 85
(Member of  Asociacija, Association of Arts and Culture NGOs and 
Freelancers, Slovenia.)
Copyright © SCCA-Ljubljana, 2018. Some rights reserved.

www.scca-ljubljana.si