Minimalists' Club

The Moderna galerija "Minimalists' Club"
Since 1998

In 1995, Moderna galerija introduced a novelty: regular art workshops and activities for young children on certain Saturday mornings. Our aim was to familiarize children with modern and contemporary art with the aid of top-notch artworks and projects. The workshops were organized in conjunction with current exhibitions and used the "learning-by-doing" method to interpret the exhibited art and the materials used. In 1998, on the occasion of the celebration of Moderna galerija's fiftieth anniversary, the Friends of Moderna galerija Club was founded, while the creative Saturdays came under the formal auspices of the "Minimalists' Club."

A minimum financial participation of the parents ensured the continuity of the program. The club does not aim to form future artists, but to teach future museum visitors to be open-minded, inquisitive, creative, and tolerant of what is new and, at first blush, perhaps incomprehensible. In conceiving the program our guidelines are: continuing the tradition of an interactive approach (thus in addition to being able to "ride" Lujo Vodopivec's bronze horses at the exhibition the children could take rides on real Island ponies outside the gallery, or attend dance workshops on the occasion of the exhibition of avant-garde art Tank!, and make and animate shadow puppets at Zvonko Čoh and Miran Erič's exhibition), a creative approach to materials (often recycled materials and increasingly sound), and employing new media (digital cameras and camcorders for making short films or clips).

The workshops generally start with a tour of the exhibition and a discussion of the works, followed by activities that help children comprehend what they had just seen. The activities are conceived by the Moderna galerija curator Adela Železnik, MA, and carried out by animators, that is, students of art history or of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design. The more demanding projects are sometimes led by the exhibiting artists. In the almost decade and a half of "Minimalist" activities in Moderna galerija several generations of children have been raised to appreciate a lot of new things. We "tested" our method in 2005 with the Transfers project, an exhibition plus video produced by "Minimalist veterans" (aged around thirteen), mentored by the artist Polonca Lovšin.

The recommended age for workshops is five to ten years, but both younger and older children attend them occasionally, and we adapt the level of difficulty to their capacity and interests. At the end of the year a traditional puppet show is organized in the museum, followed by a pre-holiday workshop where we make greetings cards.

For the past year and a half, the activities of the Minimalists' Club have been greatly reduced due to the extensive renovation of the Moderna galerija building. The Club will "re-open" again in November 2009, at the overview exhibition of Zoran Mušič. Before that you are cordially invited to attend a one-day workshop From Moderna galerija to Metelkova.

More information: Adela Železnik, phone 00 386 (0)1 2416808, adela.zeleznik@mg-lj.si