The Frankfurt Book Fair is increasingly moving from a predominantly business fairground, which is closed to the non-specialist public for half of the fair, to bookstores, libraries, cultural institutions and schools in the city itself, becoming what the Germans call a "Publikumsmesse" – a fair for the public.
The guest country is present in shop windows, museums, cinemas and concert halls. The Slovenian accompanying programme, supported financially and organisationally, in addition to the Slovenian Book Agency, by the Ministry of Culture and the Slovenian Cultural Information Centre SKICA in Berlin in cooperation with Slovenian institutions, will be extremely varied in autumn 2023, with a mosaic of different contents – from a retrospective of Slovenian films at the Film Museum in cooperation with the Slovenian Cinematheque, concerts of Slovenian musical poetry by Ana Pepelnik and Aleš Šteger performed by the renowned Ensemble Modern Orchestra and a concert by Ecliptic in collaboration with Jazz Frankfurt, to a major concert by Laibach with a symphonic adaptation of the novel Alamut.
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Alamut is an original symphonic work by the group, Laibach, and was inspired by the famous story from 11th century Persia based on true historical events and described by Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol in his novel of the same title. The main character is the heretic, Hasan ibn Sabbah. Photo: Valter Leban
Slovenian art and culture will also be presented in exhibitions
Every year, the museums in Frankfurt decide whether to dedicate a special exhibition to a guest of honour. After the period of the COVID pandemic, we are extremely pleased that so many museums have decided to cooperate with Slovenian partners.
For example, the most prestigious gallery, the Schirn Kunsthalle, will host an exhibition by Maruša Sagadin, and the Archaeological Museum, in cooperation with the National Museum of Slovenia, which has coordinated 13 Slovenian museums, has prepared a comprehensive exhibition entitled Tweets from the Past.
The Museum of Telecommunications, in cooperation with the Technical Museum of Slovenia, is hosting the exhibition Hello, is anyone there, which presents the development of telecommunications in Slovenia and Germany. The renowned Museum of Romanticism, in cooperation with the National and University Library, will present France Prešeren.
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Neanderthal flute (music) – collection of the National Museum of Slovenia. Photo: National Museum of Slovenia archives
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Silver plate with Venetian inscription (first written words) – collection of the Tolmin Museum. Photo: Tolmin Museum archives
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Prehistoric figurine (symbols) – collection of the Pomurje Museum. Photo: Pomurje Museum archives
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Slovenian archeology through sounds, symbols and first written words. Photo: Slovenian Book Agency archives
The Museum of Telecommunications, in cooperation with the Technical Museum of Slovenia, is hosting the exhibition Hello, is anyone there, which presents the development of telecommunications in Slovenia and Germany. The renowned Museum of Romanticism, in cooperation with the National and University Library, will present France Prešeren.
The Haus am Dom will present the journey and writing of Alma M. Karlin in cooperation with the Celje Regional Museum, while several Slovenian illustrators will be presented in the renowned Struwwellpeter Museum of Children's Literature and at the main fair venue itself.
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Famous traveller and author Alma Maximiliana Karlin was an exceptional woman who travelled to the most remote and unexplored parts of the world during her lifetime and wrote brilliant novels, travelogues and stories. Photo: Lili Pušnik
The Fotografie Forum Frankfurt gallery will showcase the photographs of Vanja Bućan, Jošt Dolinšek and Bojan Radič. The Portikus Gallery on an island in the middle of the river Main will have a kiosk by Saša Mächtig, selling books on Slovenian art and design, selected by the curators from Slovenian antiquarian bookshops.
Most of the exhibitions will open as early as September 2023 and will last well beyond the duration of the fair itself.
Date: 5. September 2023
Time to read: 2 min
