EMPACT project: Opening of the exhibition ‘Eyes in the Stone” in Maribor

The Maribor Art Gallery, a partner in the EMPACT project together with NATFIZ, opened on May 17th, 2024 an innovative exhibition “Eyes in the Stone” within the framework of the 9^th Triennial of Art and Environment “EKO 9”. NATFIZ was represented by Prof. Lidia Varbanova and Prof. Velimir Velev who attended the exhibition’s inauguration and held meetings with other members of the EMPACT consortium from Italy, Spain and Slovenia. The opening evening attracted over 400 people and was widely featured in the local and national media in Slovenia. Dr Asta Vrečko, the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and Saša Arsenovič, the Mayor of Maribor addressed the audience.

The exhibition is on show until 28 July 2024 in a non-conventional space – the Old Sanatorium, a modernist villa that used to house the first private hospital in Maribor. It features 36 artists from the region, mostly Slovenia, Austria and Hungary, whose works respond to the menacing atmosphere in nature and society. The idea is that this exhibition gives power to the primary emotion of fear to jolt us from our numbness to the seemingly failing warnings of science The artists in the exhibition respond with vision, form and narrative to the threatening processes of destruction of nature. The works are impressive and impactful – evoking a sense of fear and anxiety about ecological collapse and the challenges facing our planet, and all of us.

Congratulations to the team of Maribor Art Gallery for the wonderful work! Read more about the exhibition concept here: https://ugm.si/en/exhibitions/eko-9-triennial-of-art-and-environment-eyes-in-the-stone-5352/

Under the slogan “The Art of Thinking Like a Mountain” EMPACT addresses themes of creative sustainability, empathy for nature and empathic and resilient artists. EMPACT connects seven European partners: Cyprus University of Technology (Cyprus), Fondazione Lamberto Puggelli (Italy), Espacio Rojo (Spain), National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (Bulgaria), Nature, Art & Habitat (Italy), Vorres Museum (Greece) and UGM | Maribor Art Gallery (Slovenia).