The programs of raum AU are a way to understand our approach and even if we base our engagement on fine arts, a visitor to our side may wonder about what he can find documented. The programs we named here are in reality the “red lines” we follow, as we would probably lose our path, if we would not do so.

This bigger picture since the beginning of raum AU is to revive Slovenj Gradec as the city of culture it has been in the 1960s until the 1990s (in fact until the proclaiming of the Republic of Slovenia in 1992) with visions beyond their own borders, with ambitions reaching out to the entire world. Look at what Prof. Karel Pecko had to say in this context, or listen to the President of the Republic of Slovenia Dr. Danilo Türk or Prof. Bogomir Kovač we hosted in 2012 (in Slovenian language).

Our four main fields are therefore “contemporary arts“, understood in an Arte Utile way, then “being creative“, which refers to any imaginable creativity, amateur or professional. The third program-red-line being the stimulation and nurturing of a “culture of information” and last but not least, all the “non-formal learning” projects, we constantly offer on any occasion.

It is our very strong conviction, that Slovenj Gradec, as any other place on earth, cannot become a place of culture, if there is no appreciation and curiosity within the population. Visionaries alone, as important they are, will not change a thing, they are good to produce an ephemeral spectacle, but what comes afterwards, on the long run?

A stimulated, demanding, critical and curious population on the other hand can make a sustainable difference and it is therefore we work very consciously on interesting, stimulating and demanding cultural programs of any imaginable kind, next to offering support, mentoring as well as consulting artists, associations, politicians, public administrations as well as political parties.