Discovering Hidden Treasures
Street Art
The most enjoyable parts of a trip are, in my opinion, the moments when you happen upon a little something that you really like which was not in the plan.
A nice cafe or restaurant (forget mainstream), windows that are different from your regular ones, colourful doors, and, street art can make one’s day when visiting a new place. Or might it be just me?!
The list would become too long if I were to name all the charming little things that can count as unexpected discoveries. Those will stay with one long after the trip has ended.
I visited Ljubljana back in 2018 and I was lucky enough to stumble upon the Alkatraz Gallery.
Surprisingly, Trip Advisor has nothing much to say about this place. It does rank it as “#249 out of 253 things to do in Ljubljana” (!?), but that’s about it. No picture, no description. Quite odd. This however makes this place an even more worthy candidate for the top of my random discoveries.
In all fairness, Trip Advisor has more things to say about Metelkova, an alternative culture center in the capital of Slovenia, and as far as I know, Alkatraz Gallery is located in the very same neighborhood. So, it might very well be a part of it and not standing on its own.
Regardless of these aspects, this cultural hub is worth visiting as it is a sanctuary for art that challenges conventions and showcases the richness of human imagination.
The materials the artists used are most interesting. From whole cups to ceramic shards or whole plates to statues, the artists don’t seem to have shied away from anything. I’ve even seen a part of the rose window of a Church somewhere. I guess one can easily imagine what the artist was getting at by adding that (If not, one might want to pay attention to what’s inside the circle on the left in the first picture below).
Alkatraz Gallery can be seen as an open-air art museum displaying a collective work. One gets access to it for free. It can also be regarded as some sort of laboratory for the experimental contributions of emerging creators. The neglected buildings from a former army complex have become their blank canvases.
The whole work is likely a statement and this is how the local artists can challenge the norms and values in their society without fearing repercussions.
Art is what you can get away with. (Andy Warhol)
While I gravitate towards more subversive street art and the meanings of many parts of the mosaic were just beyond my grasp, the vibrancy of their colours has remained ingrained in my memory. I find the combination of derelict walls and art irresistible, so it was impossible not to have left a mark on me.
I don’t remember much about that trip, but whenever I hear anything about Ljubljana, it is this place which comes to mind. Well, that’s the thing about small discoveries… they tend to be what one remembers, the highlights of a trip.
I really enjoyed exploring some really interesting street art through Krasi Shapkarova‘s words:
I haven’t seen New Zealand (yet) and it was a joy to read Tim Ward, Mature Flâneur’s article about street art in “The Edinburgh of the South” (Dunedin).
