Temporary exhibition Culture to the People!

In Decembre 2019 we opened a new temporary exhibition entitled Culture to the people!.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Cultural society Svoboda Celje, we present a century-long history of one of the most numerous and active societies in Celje.

The founding member and initiator of the Social democratic cultural society Vzajemnost (Reciprocity), which was soon renamed to Svoboda (Freedom), was Ivan Cankar. The purpose of the society, established in Ljubljana in 1909, was to developed cultural and educational work among Slovenian working-class people through various cultural and sports activities. Svoboda established branches in the industrial centres of Slovenia, including a branch, which was established in Celje in 1919. Svoboda Celje was one of the most active in Slovenia; that is why in 1935 Celje hosted the famous working-class cultural manifestation Zlet Svobod (gathering of different sections of Svoboda) with around 10.000 participants.

After WWII, Svoboda established itself on new foundations and expanded its activities in the field of mass culture. Still, her mission remained the same – to convey culture to the workers and to integrate them into cultural events. In the second half of the 20th century, various sections were active within Celje society, presenting the results of their work at the annual parade Svoboda poje in igra (Svoboda sings and plays). It was the massiveness that was the hallmark of this cultural society; this way of spending leisure time is unimaginable these days, in times of shopping malls, mass media and social networks. The restructuring of Celje industry gradually transformed the traditional working-class, its identity and culture. As a result, at the turn of the century, activity of the society changed dramatically, and Svoboda gradually lost its former role. Today, the functioning of Svoboda Celje is beyond compare with the golden years of the past decades. In the last quarter of the 20th century, the Association of Svoboda Society, of which Celje was also a part, gradually transformed into todays Union of the Cultural Societies of Slovenia.

The phrase “Culture to the people!” was used as a motto on the official letters and publications of the society during the times of socialism.

Temporary exhibition Photo House Pelikan 1899-1919-2019

In September 2019 we opened a new temporary exhibition entitled Photo House Pelikan 1899-1919-2019 in the basement of Pelikan’s House on Razlagova Street 5 in Celje.

This year we mark 120 years since photographer from Celje, Johann Martin Lenz, built an apartment house with an extension – a photographic studio with glass salon (in 1899). After his death, the building came under the ownership of photographer Josip Pelikan, who came to Celje a century ago (in 1919) and stayed and worked here for almost six decades.

The renovated glass atelier, unique in Slovenia and one of the few in Europe, has been an essential part of the Museum of Recent History Celje as Skylight photographic studio of Josip Pelikan for over two decades. In keeping with the remarkable Pelikan legacy, Museum has new plans – the construction of an all-inclusive complete cultural and museum complex, based on Pelikan’s photographic heritage from Celje and its connection to contemporary photographic production and activity, that would allow the visitor to stroll through the history of photography from the end of the 19th century to the present day in a completely authentic environment.

This temporary exhibition, set in the basement of Pelikan’s House on Razlagova Street 5, therefore not only illustrates an outline of its past, but also represents a symbolic beginning of its transformation into the Photo House Pelikan and is only the dawn of the major renovation of the house.

The basement of the Photo House Pelikan is more and more looking like a gallery for contemporary photography, and with planned walks through the apartment we want to present the living culture of a 20th century Celje’s citizen. Visitors will be able to take a walk through the house, through the Pelikan’s workrooms, darkrooms, warehouses and development facilities on the next two Wednesdays (18 September and 25 September) and Saturdays (21 September and 28 September) at 10 am, however only by advanced appointment at the museum.
Exhibition will be opened until end of June 2020.

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