Ljubljana Biennale Unveils 36th Edition: The Oracle: On Fantasy and Freedom

Design: Grupa Ee

The 36th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts
June 6 – October 12, 2025
The Oracle: On Fantasy and Freedom
Artistic Director: Chus Martínez
Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts

The International Centre of Graphic Arts (MGLC) has announced the full curatorial concept and venues for the upcoming 36th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts, titled The Oracle: On Fantasy and Freedom, curated by Chus Martínez. Set to take place from June 6 to October 12, 2025, this edition marks the 70th anniversary of the Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts – one of the longest-running biennials worldwide and certainly the most influential art event in the region.

Founded in 1955, the biennale has presented the work of over 9,000 artists from 122 countries playing a vital role in creating a space for artistic dialogue between the east and west block. Since transitioning in 2001 from national representations to a curated format, it has commissioned 245 new works and collaborated with over 30 curators inhabiting 53 venues across the city, highlighting its continuing evolution as a site of experimentation, critical reflection, and institutional collaboration.

Artistic Director Chus Martínez, a curator, researcher, and Head of the Art Institute at FHNW Academy of Art and Design in Basel, introduces the Biennale as a space of sibylline reflection—one that prioritizes imagination, autonomy, and the desire for peaceful coexistence. As Martínez states:

“The Oracle names and honours the symbolic place where all beings wonder about the course of life. Because we care about tomorrow, we should assume we care about staying alive, about a world in peaceful coexistence. Art—all arts—assumes the existence of a tiny but meaningful spot from where to be free and dream and demand freedom and peace. This exhibition is about this tiny spot.”

The Oracle, as envisioned by Martínez, becomes a site for speculation and shared values. The exhibition situates itself as an interpretative space, a contemporary oracle where artistic gestures and cultural manifestations allow us to imagine futures grounded in empathy, care, and collectivity.

At the center of this imaginative framework stands Žogica Marogica (Speckles the Ball), an iconic Slovenian puppet created by artist Ajša Pengov for a 1951 play by Jan Malík. The puppet, with its characteristics instantly recognizable to generations of Slovenians, serves as both a historical anchor and speculative figure for the biennale.

“Žogica—a puppet born out of the concern about who controls whom—connects the old dream of autonomy with the new nightmares around technology,” writes Martínez. “Ajša Pengov formulated this question in the following terms: Should puppets be operated by hands or strings? Should they be an extension of our human body or become independent?”

These inquiries into autonomy, control, and artificial intelligence resonate today, as puppetry traditions intersect with questions about the role of gaming, disembodied intelligences, and new folkloric forms. Žogica’s famously long strings were an intentional attempt to birth a new being: the indigenous puppet, a symbol of independence from both realism and institutional control.

“Peace is only possible if we love the world we live in, which is a very difficult task today. This exhibition is about learning to do so,” concludes Martínez.

The 36th Ljubljana Biennale will unfold across several significant locations in the city:

• MGLC – International Centre of Graphic Arts, located in two historic buildings in Ljubljana’s Tivoli Park: Tivoli Mansion and Švicarija

• Outdoor venues within Tivoli Park, hosting two site-specific projects

• The Museum of Modern Art (Moderna galerija), situated at the south end of the park

• The City Art Gallery Ljubljana (Mestna galerija Ljubljana) in the city center

Almost all works presented in this edition have been newly commissioned specifically for the Biennale.

As part of the curatorial process, Chus Martínez is producing a weekly column for Mousse magazine, reflecting on the development of the Biennale. A dedicated publication, to be published by Sternberg Press, will accompany the exhibition, including new texts by:

• Manca G. Renko (historian)

• Sadie Plant (philosopher)

• Renata Salecl (philosopher and sociologist)

• Svetlana Slapšak (anthropologist, classical philologist, writer, historian)

• Maja Petrović-Šteger (social anthropologist)

The exhibition’s graphic identity is developed by Grupa Ee, known for their experimental and conceptually driven design practice.

Framing the biennial as an “environmental practice,” the 36th edition asks how revisiting a specific place—its histories, narratives, and cultural materials—can create the conditions for imagination and transformation. By bringing together puppetry, philosophy, and contemporary art, The Oracle: On Fantasy and Freedom reclaims fantasy not as escapism, but as a radical means of reflection and resistance.

For more information and updates: 36.bienale.si