Head of the festival Jernej Forbici has told the press ahead of the festival, running until 18 July, that the event will include exhibitions in almost all galleries and exhibition sites in Ptuj and nearby venues.

An international team of artists will work on a joint project in studios in Ptuj, while the main stage in Slovenski trg square will feature talks with the guest artists and curators as well as various performances and concerts.

Mestni trg square will meanwhile feature an exhibition of the smallest photographs in the world, called "Blink Circus". In the evenings, the streets of Ptuj will host concerts on mobile stages.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to enjoy in a selection of food and wine, while workshops will also be organised for children and youth, according to Forbici.

The accompanying programme includes the Art Stays cinema in the local theatre, which is dedicated this year to the artist duo Fischli & Weis, who won the Golden Lion prize at the 2003 Venice Biennale, and the recently deceased Swiss surrealist painter and Oscar winner H. R. Giger.

The main exhibition, set up in Miheličeva galerija, will feature works by 2011 Venice Biennale participant Fernand Prats, Turner Prize finalist Hannah Collins, who exhibited at the Pompidou Centre and Tate Modern, and the French duo Anne and Patrick Poirier.

A large exhibition of sculptures will be set up in the Dominican Monastery and the courtyard of the Ptuj Castle, while an exhibition of photographs and paintings of natural wonders will be on display in the Town Hall.

The artist residence will host Belgian artist Hans Beckers, a winner of the Arte Laguna Prize in Venice, who will stage the opening performance of the festival.

The performances will be photographed by German photographer Matthias Langer, while Italian artist Walter Trecchi will be creating works during the festival that will be included in a large exhibition planned for the autumn.

In addition to Beckers, the musical part of the festival will feature a project with renowned opera singer at the La Fenice opera house Paola Rossi and musician Erika Vicari, American singer and artist Nadia Buyse with the spectacle Die Unterwelt and performances of works by late-Renaissance composer Jacobus Gallus.