{"id":5166,"date":"2020-05-28T17:58:05","date_gmt":"2020-05-28T15:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newedgemagazine.com\/?p=5166"},"modified":"2020-05-31T19:34:04","modified_gmt":"2020-05-31T17:34:04","slug":"gallery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newedgemagazine.com\/index.php\/gallery\/","title":{"rendered":"7:069"},"content":{"rendered":"

How would you describe your project to our readers \u2013 what is Gallery 7:069?<\/b><\/p>\n

7:069 is a platform that organises student exhibitions.<\/span> We don\u2019t <\/span>own a permanent<\/span> gallery<\/span> space,<\/span> therefore<\/span> our exhibitions <\/span>are organised as<\/span> pop-ups<\/span>, <\/span>each time in a new location. <\/span>We try to be consistent with showing students\u2019 work but also present the gallery\u2019s work as autonome activity where exhibitions are organised by students themselves -not tied to any educational institution or gallery.<\/span> This kind of approach <\/span>allows students to become acquainted with the various exhibition systems and the organization of the exhibition itself. <\/span>The whole process<\/span> starts with creating a portfolio, applying for an <\/span>open call<\/span><\/i>,<\/span><\/i> communicating with the gallery and\/or curator,\u00a0<\/span>then <\/span>writing an<\/span> artist statement<\/span>\u00a0and finally <\/span>ends<\/span> with successful presentation of the work. <\/span>The easiest way to get acquainted with<\/span> the process<\/span> is by doing it by yourself. Since it is a (voluntary) student activity, we allow ourselves to experiment a lot and we aren\u2019t opposed to projects that are still in the making. We can learn a lot from each other. Because we are all students, this exchange of knowledge and opinions is very relaxed. We<\/span> involve and include as many students from different art schools (ALUO, AVA, U-Nova Gorica) as possible. Almost all of our exhibitions include a student from abroad or from the Erasmus+ program, who came across our open call.<\/span><\/p>\n

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And if it\u2019s not a secret, who\u2019s behind the project and what is it that you do?<\/b><\/p>\n

The current 7:069 team <\/span>members are<\/span> Mihael Novak, Ma\u0161a Knapi\u010d, Nina Gorope\u010dnik, Lara Reichmann and Lene Lek\u0161e. 7:069 is our joint side project. Otherwise we all <\/span>work in different art fields<\/span>. We all graduated from ALUO, where we all met, Ma\u0161a as a painting major, Mihael, Nina, Lara and Lene as sculpting majors.<\/span><\/p>\n

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When was 7:069 created and why \u2013 how did it all begin?<\/b><\/p>\n

We started the project in 2018. During an exchange abroad we came across student galleries which operated under the auspices of the school, but at the initiative and in the organisation of students. We were impressed by the fact that exhibiting and the organisation of exhibitions were an integral part of the study program. We wanted to create a similar space in our student scene. Because we lacked resources and didn\u2019t want to bother with the bureaucracy for too long, we decided to take on the form of pop-ups and contact different galleries for exhibitions. We were very fortunate that Zala Orel, who runs the Layer House (Layerjeva hi\u0161a) art program, found our project intriguing and we had our first exhibition within about two months of the creation of 7:069.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why the name 7:069?<\/b><\/p>\n

We took the UDK code of the classification system, the system by which books are sorted in libraries. Under the number 7 you\u2019ll find the field of art, but if you\u2019re looking for <\/span>informations about <\/span>exhibitions, <\/span>art events or catalogues<\/span>, you\u2019d find that under the code 7:069. Maybe we would have chosen a simpler name now. Still, people remember that it has something to do with numbers and often ask why, which is a great conversation starter.<\/span><\/p>\n

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How does it all work, how do you \u2018operate\u2019?<\/b><\/p>\n

We are constantly searching for <\/span>new <\/span>locations and arranging dates. Most often we write <\/span>directly to<\/span> the galleries and spaces with which we would like to collaborate <\/span>with<\/span> or <\/span>we<\/span> apply for <\/span>open calls. Recently<\/span> some galleries have invited us to work with them on their own. Because we never exhibit in the same space, each exhibition is slightly different.<\/span> The <\/span>outcome <\/span><\/i>of exhibition <\/span>depends very much on the specifics of the space and communication with the gallery<\/span>. <\/span>When we worked with MOL (City of Ljubljana) we could not interfere with the space too much due to <\/span>protection of<\/span> cultural heritage <\/span>\u2013 hanging things on the walls proved to be problematic in that case. Thus, we were forced to create a kind of \u2018replacement\u2019 wall, which of course impacted the reading of the exhibition profoundly. Other times we<\/span>\u00a0set up exibitions in<\/span> spaces that are not necessarily (only) meant for exhibitions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The guest member also has a great influence on the whole process. As they take on the role of the curator of the exhibition, they can greatly impact the entire process. Some are more dedicated to communicating with artists, while <\/span>the approach of others is<\/span>\u00a0more theoretical. As a result, our roles also change. This way of work suits us, as each guest member gives a different approach to the exhibition. In a way, this also serves as a safeguard to keep us from becoming too homogenous in our work. We also publish a catalogue with each exhibition. It is the only physical evidence of the <\/span>exhibition which <\/span>remains. Each catalogue has an official record in the Cobiss system and can be viewed at the ALUO Central Library.<\/span><\/p>\n

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How do you connect with guest members, how do you make the selection?<\/b><\/p>\n

We <\/span>usually visit <\/span>semester exhibitions and talk to the students about their work. <\/span>We often<\/span> ask <\/span>artist<\/span>s<\/span> whos works we find interesting to submit their portfolios<\/span>. The guest member often suggests artist that we don\u2019t know, which is always extremely welcome. In addition, we hold an open call once a year and select from the received applications. We keep all the projects we receive in a database which is reviewed each time we prepare a new exhibition. It often happens that the received works are included in later exhibitions.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What exhibitions have you presented to the public so far?<\/b><\/p>\n

All our exhibitions are numbered according to the TV series system \u2013 the first one was titled <\/span>S01: PILOT episode<\/span><\/i>. At the time we didn\u2019t have any expectations but the response we\u2019d received was very positive, so we continued with the <\/span>S01E01<\/span><\/i> exhibition in Velenje. We try not to focus our activities solely on Ljubljana, but of course this also depends on who is willing to collaborate with us. So far, we\u2019ve held exhibitions in Kranj (Layer House, Stolp \u0160krolovec), Novo Mesto (Gallery Simulaker), Velenje (Stara Pekarna), Ljubljana (MGLC, THL, GalerijaGallery, Stekleni atrij Mestne hi\u0161e) and Cerkno (CMAK).<\/span><\/p>\n

Our <\/span>current<\/span> exhibition <\/span>S03E02<\/span><\/i> that we prepared in collaboration with Layer <\/span>House <\/span>was fistly planned for March but<\/span> has been delayed due to the current (Covid-19) situation. <\/span>We have now successfully opened it on May 15 and will be open for visits until 5 of June.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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What are your future plans for 7:069?<\/b><\/p>\n

If all goes well, we will be opening an exhibition in Kino \u0160i\u0161ka in June. In the long run, however, we need to get serious about finding new members who will continue our project after we complete our studies.<\/span><\/p>\n

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You can find 7:069 on Instagram<\/a> or Facebook<\/a> and by visiting their website www.gallery7069.com\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n