20 Years of the OLD POWER STATION and Conclusion of the 27th International Festival MLADI LEVI

22nd-31st August 2024

Twenty years ago, we anticipated the festival with a sense of euphoria – the Mladi Levi Festival 2004 began with the opening of the Old Power Station in Ljubljana. The community achieved part of its dream, realised part of its ambitions and fulfilled part of its long-standing aspirations; with the opening event we paid tribute to the artists of the so-called third generation and presented a modern production centre. We also announced the transformation of the festival into a seasonal international programme and the end of the Mladi Levi Festival in its festival form. The 2005 festival was scattered throughout the season, with the Old Power Station still finding its rhythm of functioning.

It was clear from the opening of the Old Power Station that despite the achievement the space would not be enough, that it was a step in the right direction, but that more was needed. Today, the spatial problem (as it was already called at the time) is still one of the most pressing issues in Ljubljana, in Slovenia, in the performing arts sector, in the arts… The Old Power Station, too, is guaranteed with every mandate, but then finds itself at the mercy of favourable winds or a possible termination. Space is not only a problem for the arts sector, housing has become an unaffordable commodity, and despite the many new venues and new buildings, “rooms of one’s own”, heated halls and square metres where one can live in comfort and without fear, remain accessible to only a few.

The transformation of the festival into a season-long event has been met with resistance, partly due to circumstances – for example, it is financially and promotion-wise more difficult to sustain an international season than a festival – but also due to resistance from the most important stakeholders – artists and audiences. So in 2006, to the delight of the team, the audience, the artists, the technical team and others, the Mladi Levi returned to the festival format; as Nevenka Koprivšek would say, we can change our minds, can’t we?

Yes, we can – sometimes a step backwards opens up a whole new path forward; instead of an international season, the Old Power Station opened its doors wide to festivals, production, post-production, education, and the Mladi Levi Festival returned in full festival glory. But above all, the evolution of the festival and the Old Power Station has brought a clearer and sharper awareness that victories are only temporary, that sometimes sustaining and maintaining something is as much of a challenge as starting it. The struggle to keep something going and thriving is also an eternal struggle for the working conditions that have already been won.

And we didn’t give up on trying something different – this year we’re trying something different again: the 27th Mladi Levi Festival will start in the forest, in Koseški boršt (Koseze forest), the site of the Shared Landscapes project, where seven performances will take place between the forest, meadows and fields during the first four days of the festival. Then we will return to Tabor and to our home base – the Old Power Station, where the festival will end. The last day of the festival will be dedicated to celebration, perhaps with less euphoria than the opening, but still with joy and love and above all with gratitude to all of you who have spent the past two decades creating the Old Power Station with us. We will present the awards, the performance Golden Times will offer a historical look into the past and the future, and we will close with a party in honour of the 20th anniversary of the Old Power Station. The festival will come to an end and… we will enter a new season, new perspectives, new battles.

Come and join us – between the forest and the city, between the meadows and the Old Power Station, between celebrating and giving thanks, and also looking to the future with the ambition to contribute to better times for all of us!

Mladi Levi festival team