The Moderna galerija in Ljubljana was founded in 1948 as the national Slovenian museum for modern and contemporary art. The stimulus for its construction came from the art historian Izidor Cankar, who to this end also secured a large financial contribution from the estate of the industrialist Dragutin Hribar. Architect Edvard Ravnikar began plans for the building in 1939, thoroughly considering the needs and tasks of a contemporary art museum at the time. Ravnikar conceived a formally neutral building ﾐ a ﾒwhite cubeﾓ ﾐ in which exhibitions spaces were hierarchically equal, while the central hall, from which one had access to the other rooms, would allow the independent installation of various exhibitions and collections.

Influences of Ravnikarﾕs teacher, Jo_e Ple_nik can be seen in the architecture, particularly in its facade and windows, as well as rationalistic and functionalistic elements (the entrance), which derive from the architectural modernism of the legendary Le Corbusier, under whom Ravnikar worked for a brief period in 1939. By 2007 the museum no longer provided enough space for Moderna galerijaﾕs operations, resulting in the total renovation of the building by the firm Bevk Perovi Arhitekti, selected via an open competition.

The renovation of the protected historic building within the existing specifications was completed in the autumn of 2009, representing not only an architectural restoration, but the renewal of purpose. This was made possible by the acquisition of additional museum space in the building at Metelkova 22. Restoration of this space will began at the end of 2009 by the firm Groleger Arhitekti, again selected through an open competition. This was the final step in restoring and upgrading the former army barracks and will complete the formation of a new urban cultural center on Metelkova Street.

The renovation of Moderna galerija at Tom_i_eva and Metelkova divided the focus of the museum between two formal units; a Museum of Modern Art and a Museum of Contemporary Art, each with respective collections, that would both share professional, technical, and administrative offices. The two units will cooperate closely, maintaining a dialogue between their programming and collections.

The Museum of Modern Art on Tom_i_eva will house and display the national collection of 20th and 21st century modernist art. This museum maintains, adds to, and presents the national collection of 20th-century Slovenian art, seeing to continuing the general publicﾕs knowledge about the tradition of modern art. It will do so through the presentation of exhibitions in its own building, off-site in spaces throughout Slovenia and abroad, survey exhibitions, scholarly exhibitions, retrospectives, and solo shows featuring modernist artists.

The Museum of Contemporary Art on Metelkova will house a display of the collection of contemporary art (the national and international Arteast 2000+ collections) and stage exhibitions. This museum will thus present art dealing with contemporary themes and media, including works that present the tradition of such art from the 1960s on.

Mala galerija is Moderna galerijaﾕs outstation, located in the heart of the city center. Over its fifty years of existence, it has hosted some of the most highly acclaimed Slovenian and international artists, a tradition that has made it a prestigious venue for contemporary visual practices. It is now a project space for individual artistic statements, whose messages gain special resonance thanks to Mala galerijaﾕs conspicuous location on the city’s main street.

The Moderna galerija collections comprise: the national collection of Slovenian art of the 20th century (collections of paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, video, and electronic media); a collection of works from the other nations of former Yugoslavia; and the international Arteast 2000+ Collection.

The national collection presents all the crucial points in the development of the traditions of Slovenian modern and contemporary art since the beginning of the 20th century. The international Arteast 2000+ Collection presents the most important Eastern European postwar avant-gardes in dialogue with artistic practices from other spaces.

Moderna galerijas additional facilities include: the archives, a specialized museum library, a conservation-restoration department, a photo-archive and a photo studio, a translation and publications department, and educational programs. These services will function as a link between the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art; the main archives and the photo archive will also continue to compile national databases of modern and contemporary art. The conservation-restoration studio will be suitably large in order to serve the needs of both museum units. The library will also have a reading room and share most of the ground floor with the archives. The educational programs will be carried out at both locations; each building will have a new auditorium for lectures and space for workshops. The offices of the collections and exhibition curators will be located at either Tom_i_eva or Metelkova, depending on their field of expertise.

Moderna galerija presents approximately 15 exhibitions each year.

Most outstanding projects in recent years:

Last exhibition in the unrenovated building: Every Man Is a Curator/ Jeder Mensch ist ein Kurator, June–September 2007

Projects in between:

Hosting Moderna galerija!, December 2007–April 2009;
Museum in the Streets, September–October 2008;
The Next Step International Conference of Museums of Modern and Contemporary Art, May 2009

Exhibitions and activities in the renovated building:
Zoran Mu_i_ in public and private collections in Slovenia, November 2009–February 2010;
Radical Education conference, November 2009;
U3 – 6th Triennial of Contemporary Art in Slovenia: An Idea for Living. Realism and Reality in Contemporary Art in Slovenia, June–September 2010.

The Moderna galerijaﾕs exhibitions, as well as its diverse public programme contributes to knowledge production about modern and contemporary art in local and wider contexts. Public talks and discussions, conferences and symposia, workshops and performances, film screenings and lounge events open up spaces for new opinions and narratives.

Besides public talks, discussions and free events taking place in the museum, the Moderna galerija provides online access to its programme with videos about the making of its exhibitions, talks with curators, artists and others involved in preparations. It uses social media to communicate to its audience, such as Facebook, YouTube, WordPress, and Flickr, and publishes conferences and talks on the internet portal: www.videolectures.net

The Museum’s educational programs are conceived to encourage active participation, and a creative dialogue with art. Diverse interpretation materials are made available at exhibitions, such as guided tours and programmes where visitors of all ages can meet and talk with artists and curators.

The Museum continually collaborates with kindergarten, primary and secondary schools, schools for children with special needs, social centres, and art institutes. For a decade and a half the museum has been systematically educating the youngest generations to become active museum visitors through the Minimalists’ Club workshops. In addition to programs relating to exhibitions, Moderna galerija is also involved in a great variety of educational projects organized in association with other institutions, initiatives, and individuals which take place in the public and social sphere, to encourage critical discourse on contemporary art in the broader social and political environs.

A long term collaboration has been established between the museum and the Art History and Sociology departments at Ljubljana University, as well as with independent academic educational programs such as, Delavsko – punkerska univerza, and Open University. A new series of seminars will be presented for the academic year 2010-2011.

Moderna galerija regularly publishes exhibition catalogues in Slovene and English. Current publications can be viewed online: www.mg-lj.si/node/405

3338,47 m2 total. Gallery spaces: collection 896,70 m2; exhibitions 1207,31 m2; auditorium 185, 43 m2; cafe 129, 93 m2; museum shop 36 m2; offices 138, 30 m2, support services 234,19 m2.