Beyond Transition - Welcome to the Future?
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Slovenia joined the European Union in 2004 and for some this meant the long-awaited 'better' future; for others, it was the final manifestation of a 'lost' past. There were also those (including the City of Women) for whom it was an inescapable reality, which continually urged us to think, envisage, struggle, contest and eventually enshrine alternative social and artistic codes and visions. This year's programme focuses on the search for the 'transitional', the 'not yet' defined moment in the 'here and now', the large 'open space' of possibility, which escape the need for identification and the linear model of progress but rather open up our minds to different futures and outcomes. The City of Women festival invites us to travel through time, to revisit ghosts of the past, preview the global economies and parallel universes of the near future and to muse on the 'science fiction' of the present. More than 40 artists take us through the journey, many of whom depart from any clearly defined genre and/or are innovators in the use of digital technologies. Others re-articulate traditional artistic genres, explore the vast terrain of transgender expression or echo our recent history and sound out the future. The 10th International Festival of Contemporary Arts - City of Women is organised by the Association for the Promotion of Women in Culture, in cooperation with Cankarjev dom. The festival is being supported by the Ljubljana City Council (MOL), the Slovenian Ministry of Culture, The British Council, Mama Cash, European Cultural Foundation as well as many other sponsors.