To the Fore 8: Slovenian female architects, builders and designers

We kindly invite you to the opening of the exhibition To the fore VIII: Slovenian female architects, builders and designers, which will be held on Monday, March 10, 2025, at 7 p.m., in the DESSA gallery. 

At the end of the exhibition, we invite you to a Conversation with the Exhibitors, which will be led by architect Ana Lovrec Medved on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at 5 p.m.

Architecture exhibition “To the Fore VIII: Slovenian Women Architects, Civil Engineers, and Designers”, prepared by the Centre of Architecture Slovenia and the France Stele Institute of Art History of the ZRC SAZU aims to shed light on a neglected part of Slovenian architectural production and provides an opportunity to highlight – from the rich architectural body of work of the 20th and 21st centuries – the works that are only rarely exhibited and showcased, but nonetheless important, high-quality, and multi-layered.

The exhibition continues the series that was realized in recent years as part of the European project MoMoWo (Modern Movement Women) and thematically fits into the research programme Art in Slovenia at a Cultural Crossroads (P6-0061). The programme is carried out by the France Stele Institute of Art History at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts and is co-financed from the state budget by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency with a view to present to the professional and general community an important part of the “anonymous” and withheld European cultural heritage of the 20th and 21st centuries, created by the women involved in architecture, civil engineering, interior and industrial design, landscape architecture, and urban design, i.e. the fields that are (supposed to be) the traditional domain of male professions.

The eight in this series of exhibitions is dedicated to the female pioneers, the first pre-war and post-war generations of female designers who played an active role in drafting, designing, and leaving a mark on the environment of their time. They were the silent companions, working in the shadow of professionally more acknowledged and better known professors, colleagues, fathers, and husbands, so that even nowadays it is difficult to determine their actual part in the design and implementation of many Slovenian architectural masterpieces. In addition to them, this year we are also presenting a slightly younger generation of female architects who, unlike their older colleagues, have managed to break through the glass ceiling and successfully establish themselves in their profession.

The selected works are thus important project creations of several generations of Slovenian female designers which should be, considering the conditions and the role of women at the time, regarded and assessed using different criteria than otherwise. The exhibition has a multi-layered approach, with a focus on the quality of works and the complexity of the idea, revealing the creative power of the authors. It presents the works of ten female architects and designers, i.e. from the pre-war graduates to the post-war generations as well.

Jakobina (Jakica) Accetto, 1924–1998

Sonja Batista Trenz, 1918–1999

Majda Golob Mareš, 1949

Zlata Jeras Pohl, 1930

Katarina Pirkmajer Dešman, 1957

Katja Repič Vogelnik, 1941

Majda Rutar Prijon, 1935–2001

Nastja Sajovic, 1942

Jožica Strašek, 1914–2015

Marijana Vodopivec, 1944

Sonja Završnik Podlesek, 1937

The exhibition will be on display until 10 April 2025.

Exhibition concept: Barbara Viki Šubic, Polona Filipič, Špela Kuhar in Helena Seražin

Coordinators of this year's exhibition: Barbara Viki Šubic, Helena Seražin, Vesna Kamin Kajfež

Text editor: Helena Seražin

Text authors: Barbara Avbelj, Lara Boštjančič, Nives Čorak, Polona Filipič Gorenšek, Timotej Jevšenak, Katarina Pirkmajer Dešman, Cvetka Požar, Aleš Prijon, Jernej Prijon, Lara Prijon, Sabina Ravnikar, Metka Rutar Piber, Helena Seražin, Hana Videmšek, Barbara Viki Šubic, Barbara Vodopivec

Linguistic review: Alenka Klemenc in Mija Oter Gorenčič

Translation: Helena Seražin

Exhibition design: Barbara Avbelj in Hana Videmšek, CAS; Andrej Furlan, UIFS ZRC SAZU

Photographers: Igor B. de Graaf, Miran Kambič, Domen Pal, Helena Seražin

Sources of image material: Arhiv Univerze v Ljubljani; Arhiv Vrtca H. C. Andersena; Biro DANS arhitekti; Glasilo Ingrad, 38/7, 1989, str. 6; Glasilo Ingrad, 36/7–8, 1987, str. 4; Gradbeni vestnik, 35, 8–9, 1986; Muzej za arhitekturo in oblikovanje; Projekt d. d., Nova Gorica; Urbanistični inštitut RS; Zasebni arhiv družine Prijon; Zasebni arhiv družine Strašek; Zasebni arhiv Jane de Graaf – Trenz; Zasebni arhiv Majde Golob Mareš; Zasebni arhiv Nastje Sajovic; Zasebni arhiv Sonje Završnik Podlesek; Zasebni arhiv Zlate Jeras Pohl; Zbornik oddelka za arhitekturo na Univerzi v Ljubljani 1946–1947, Ljubljana 1948; Zgodovinski arhiv Celje; ZRC SAZU, UIFS; ZVKDS

Partners: Centre of Architecture Slovenia and the France Stele Institute of Art History of the ZRC SAZU

Research for the exhibition was carried out within the framework of the research program Art in Slovenia at the Crossroads of Cultures (P6-0061), co-financed by the Public Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation of the Republic of Slovenia. The exhibition is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.

In media

10. 03. 2025: MMC RTV SLO - Razstave: https://www.rtvslo.si/kultura/razstave/razstava-v-ospredje-viii-ali-spregledani-zenski-del-arhitekturnega-ustvarjanja-na-slovenskem/738951

10.03. 2025: Dnevnik: https://www.dnevnik.si/kultura/predstavitev-spregledanih-slovenskih-arhitektk-2721025/

10. 03. 2025: Mladina: https://www.mladina.si/239303/spregledane-slovenske-arhitektke/