ABOUT THE OLD POWER STATION
Once a revolutionary power plant today shines again with new elements, thanks to the synergy of economics, heritage and politics. The Ljubljana city power station, a magnificent technical monument is one of the rare examples of industrial architecture, which is preserved in Slovenia. It has gone through numerous changes since 1898, when its construction began. It was modernized, upgraded and enlarged until the end of World War II, when the power station with its then obsolete technology, was replaced by a heating plant on the outskirts of the city.
Today, the building is a protected cultural, technical and historical monument. It is still owned by the company Elektro Ljubljana, which thoroughly renovated the structure on its centenary anniversary. Some artists “discovered” this interesting building during the 80’s and the 90’s and started to fill it with differing artistic components. Among the first artists to display their works at the Ljubljana Power Station were Ema Kugler, Matjaž Berger and Enrique Vargas, who used the power station as the venue for his performance through the medium of the Exodos Festival. The premises of the Ljubljana Power Station at the end of the 90’s, twice hosted the venue for the international performing arts festival Mladi levi.
The second renovation to the Ljubljana City Power Station or Old Power Station was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and supervised by the architect Matija Suhadolc, who also carried out the first renovation in 1998. Its hall, which was officially opened on August 21st, 2004, with the Mladi levi festival, is an excellent example of the co-operation between the fields of politics, economics, national heritage and culture. The Municipality of Ljubljana and The Ministry of Culture have reached an agreement with the company Elektro Ljubljana regarding the free rental of the building for the purposes of the performing arts. The artistic program is the responsibility of Bunker, which was chosen during a public tendering period. A certain section of the building is now the main hall, while a smaller section has been transformed into a museum, where visitors can still see a part of the chimney, turbines and some of the remaining, original instruments within the power station.
The Old Power Station is unique, as it is not an abandoned building: no less than a third of the city’s electricity is still produced there. It is a genuine example of the fusion of electric and artistic energy. The Old Power Station is also a unique example in Ljubljana of a long and well-established international tradition in transforming attractive industrial structures into cultural centres.
program in the power station
The Old Power Station enters 2026 with a new experimental programming and management model. After 20 years of operating as a venue for contemporary performing arts and at the conclusion of the current five-year management mandate of Bunker, we have embarked on a reflection about the future—about working conditions, modes of programming, and the venue’s role within the changing cultural and infrastructural landscape of Ljubljana and Slovenia.
The new management model responds to two key shortcomings of the previous mode of operation: short creation timelines, resulting in a fragmented programmatic and aesthetic profile, and the need for change after two decades of relatively uniform programming policy. The venue is transforming from a space of rapid turnover into one of longer, thematically coherent two-month cycles that enable in-depth work, co-programming, and shared responsibility.
The experimental model is being developed and piloted by a consortium of five organizations: Bunker, Maska, Emanat, City of Women, and Nomad Dance Academy Slovenia. The partner organizations enter the venue with their own programs, knowledge, experience, and international networks, while also collaborating on transversal programs (Audience Council, Yearly Subscription Tovariški Abonma, Reading the Archive, and Theatre Publishers). At the same time, space is maintained for established collaborations with festivals (Ment, Trigger, Bobri, Lutke, Naked Stage, Animateka), guest performances, residencies, creative working processes, and post-production of performances that have been developed at the venue in previous years.
The 2026 program is structured into autonomous two-month cycles that complement and interweave with one another. The year begins with Maska (January–February), foregrounding long-term research processes and a thematic cycle on accessibility, as well as the recontextualization of existing productions. This is followed by Bunker (March–April), focusing on devised theatre in collaboration with the collective Beton Ltd. (in withdrawal) and on the educational process Direction B, and then Emanat (May–June), which combines research laboratories, educational activities, post-productions, and publicly accessible hybrid formats.
The summer period will be dedicated to workshops and creative working processes by various artists and will conclude with the festival Mladi Levi. In autumn (September–October), the venue will be marked by the City of Women Festival, curated in 2026 by the new tandem Pia Brezavšček and Jasmina Založnik under the working title Feminist Joy. The year will conclude with a two-month cycle by Nomad Dance Academy Slovenia (November–December), featuring the production of new dance performances and CoFestival.
“On January 1st, 1898, the Slovene capital of Ljubljana shone with the electric light for the first time. This marked the beginning of the electrification era, of the implementation of everything new and modern. We can’t think of life without electricity today. Inventors developed new appliances, machines and modes of communication, which radically changed the conditions in the period of electrification.” Tadej Brate
