Slavica Zrakič is leaving, but the symbiosis of economics and art she built remains
In 1990, at the School of Economics and Business in Ljubljana, economics and art began to intertwine, when the first gallery exhibition was created. At first glance, the two are seemingly alienated and completely opposite fields, yet both have a profound impact on human existence.
“Although the ugly is briefly the opposite of the beautiful, their relationship can change. What was once ugly may now be beautiful and the vice versa, so the histories of the ugly and the beautiful are at least compatible, if not entirely interchangeable. Something similar applies to the relationship between economics and art, which was intended to be highlighted in this rough introductory discussion. If we cannot unite art and economics, let us at least let them coexist,” wrote Prof. Dr Bogomir Kovač in the compendium Economic Horizons of Visual Images; 30 Years of the SEB LU Art Activities, which was published on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the birth of the SEB LU Gallery.
“Economics and art, two different concepts that somehow don’t go together… Wrong, they go together very well! At least that’s my opinion”, said art historian Slavica Zrakič, exhibition coordinator at the SEB LU, in a pleasant chat about the creation of the compendium and the end of her career at the SEB LU. “What artists don’t have, economists do: for economists, art gives breadth, for artists, economics gives insight into real life. That is why the idea of the Summer School of Cultural Management was born at the SEB LU.”
The Summer School of Cultural Management, another project developed under the auspices of the UL Arts Council and the SEB LU, was first mooted during a presentation of art academies to other UL members in 2015 at a round table at the SEB LU on the topic “Economics, Art”. At the opening, the art academies presented themselves with an art exhibition of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design (ALUO) , the organisation of a mini cinema where award-winning 20-minute films from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (AGRFT) were screened, and a dance and music performance in collaboration with the AGRFT and the Academy of Music. The format of the event was transferred to other faculties, but due to lack of student interest, it was discontinued after only a few performances. But without this event, there would be no Summer School of Cultural Management, which will be held for the ninth time this year.
Two years after the publication of the compendium and thirty long years since the creation of the gallery, and with nine Summer Schools of Cultural Management and many other projects that have left a strong mark on the SEB LU to her credit, Zrakič is leaving the SEB LU with her retirement. It will certainly not be easy for her successors, as she has set the bar high, but she encourages them to follow their own paths. “I am delighted to have two successors who will continue something that has been built over thirty years. I hope that they will find their own path that will give the SEB LU a new impetus in the field of art. I know it won’t be easy for them at first, but every beginning has its challenges, so I have secured exhibitions for them until the end of 2024. By then they will have found their feet, I have no doubt about that.”
To the question that actually started and ended our conversation – what are her feelings about finishing her work at the SEB LU, she answered briefly and with a smile: “Mixed”.
Danica Tajčman, EFnews
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