The "DALJNOGLED" award is presented by the Designers Society of Slovenia to the best works by designers or design collectives under the age of 30 at the time of submission.

To promote emerging designers and support the launch of their careers in today’s demanding professional landscape, the Designers Society of Slovenia established the Daljnogled platform several years ago. The initiative is dedicated to fostering recognition and appreciation of the creative ideas of young talents. The name Daljnogled (“Binoculars”) symbolically reflects a forward-looking perspective.

The award-winning projects will be on public display in Cankarjev dom’s Foyer I.


This marks the second time a special ceremony is held in honour of the Daljnogled Awards. 
On 4 March 2026 at 18:00, the 2025 Daljnogled awards ceremony and pop-up exhibition will take place at Cankarjev dom. The jury, consisting of Jana Mršnik, Hana Tavčar, Jani Bavčer, Jurij Dobrila, and Peter Jamšek, presented the awards to the below-listed artists. 

In the coming months, visual presentations of the three award-winning projects will be on view in Cankarjev dom’s Foyer I in the following order: 

20 March – 2 July
Rebeka Pajek PREHAJALCI / The Inbetweens 

3 July – 28 September 2026
Katja Bradač PROSOJNE PONJAVE / Transparent Tarpaulins 

28 September – 23 November 2026
Gaja Zadravec NostalGIA

Female and male illustrators
Jure Brglez, Ema Kobal, Manca Kovačič, Klara Kracina, Matija Medved, Eva Mlinar, Sangara Perhaj, Tereza Prepadnik, Žiga Sever, Hana Stupica, Matej Stupica, Ana Lucija Šarić, Anže Šmalc

Traditionally, illustration has been closely linked to books. We commonly perceive it as an image that accompanies a text, explaining or visually interpreting it. Today, however, illustration has been transcending its role as an image in the service of text, establishing itself as an autonomous form of artistic expression. Illustrators no longer work solely in the book format, but place illustration in a variety of contexts – from galleries and public spaces to graphic design and the design of functional objects, digital media, as well as original and artistic projects. The boundaries between illustration, painting, design, conceptual art, and even sculpture are becoming ever more blurred.
The Illustration Beyond Books exhibition explores precisely this expanded field of illustration and its ability to adapt to different mediums, materials, and spaces. The works on display show illustration as a highly adaptable and open medium that can emerge in unexpected places and in 
When transferred onto objects and products, illustration enters the realm of everyday use. In the exhibition, this is represented by illustrated playing cards, clothing, and ceramics, where drawing establishes a connection with the utilitarian product, becoming part of its function. In this context, illustration is not merely a visual accompaniment, but actively co-creates the meaning and experience of the object. Such works blur the line between artwork and functional object, revealing illustration as a medium that interacts directly with the user, integrated into the everyday visual environment.
The exhibition also features theatre and music posters, an area where illustration has a long history of conveying powerful visual messages. Poster illustration fulfils its purpose in public spaces, addressing a wide audience and combining artistic expression with a communicative function. In this context, illustration meets graphic design, typography, and even the idiom of comic books.
In comic books, illustration develops a specific narrative style based on sequence, rhythm, and the relationship between the visible and the invisible. Meaning is not created solely in individual drawings, but in the relationship between images, in intervals and time-shifts. Combining visual expression, narration, and dramaturgy without necessarily depending on text, comic book drawing thus constitutes a most complex form of non-book illustration.
The exhibition expands further by integrating a spatial installation and examples of illustration as a three-dimensional object. Here, the drawing is liberated from the paper-sheet planarity, gaining in volume and physical presence. The viewer no longer observes the illustration only from a frontal view, but encounters it physically, through movement and space. The image becomes an experience that transcends the classical act of viewing.
Contemporary illustration is also gaining ground in the digital environment, as shown at the exhibition by the animated GIF drawings. A simple but highly expressive form of animation, it invests illustration with a temporal dimension, rhythm, and repetition. Motion opens up new possibilities for storytelling and experiencing images.
Alongside these broad manifestations, the exhibition also includes illustrations created within more autonomous illustration practices, regardless of the chosen medium or method. These are stand-alone artworks, independent of text or a narrative. These original projects employ illustration not to tell a story, but rather to depict a state, feeling, or mood.
An artist’s original style is developed through a subtle rhythm of lines, colour planes and visual accents that act as echoes or fragments – rather than narrating, they create an impression akin to a fleeting memory or perception. In some works, the illustration opens up a space for impression, with elements arranged non-hierarchically, but rather existing in a tension between appearance and disappearance. The silence of the image, the voids, and the unspoken create room for the viewer's own interpretation, while in other instances the image tends to emerge from an intimate, almost physical sensory experience, at the boundary between illustration and artistic gesture.
The Illustration Beyond Books exhibition raises questions about the contemporary understanding of illustration: what is defined as illustration today, its public presence and usage, and how it is experienced. Instead of offering a narrow definition, the exhibition provides an insight into illustration as a living, diverse, and ever-changing medium that confidently transcends the boundaries of classic disciplines and forges new paths of expression. Understanding illustration outside books also means reflecting on its status – non-book illustration is not merely an extension of established forms, but an independent field that requires its own theoretical perspective. In this context, illustration emerges as a platform for experimentation, visual exploration, and flexibly assembled images, materials, and meanings, not merely as an accompaniment to content, but as an equal and living component of contemporary visual culture.

Curators: Maša P. Žmitek, Maruša Uhan
Producer: Maruša Uhan
Text by: Eva Mlinar
Design: Ajda Fortuna
Exhibition layout: Sara&Sara
Production: Center ilustracije / Center of Illustration
Co-production: Cankarjev dom

CD Exhibitions Programme Director: Katarina Hergouth
CD Exhibitions Project Manager: Katja Ogrin
CD Exhibitions Programme Organizer: Damjan Gorenjc
CD Public Relations: Zvezdana Lazar Bursać
Proofreading. Sonja Košmrlj, MA
Translated by: Anina Oblak, MA
Technical support: Cankarjev dom

On 8 November 2016, Donald Trump – to some, surprisingly – was elected President of the United States. For example, Newsweek had already printed a special issue announcing to the public and to history that the United States had elected its first female president, Hillary Clinton.

Trump’s first presidential term was highly unusual. In 2020, he lost the election but stirred resistance against the transfer of power. During his term, he faced impeachment and criminal conviction. He did not start any major wars, yet he insisted that he would return and make America great again. During the 2024 election campaign, he survived an assassination attempt, and in November he successfully won re-election.

Donald Trump is a textbook example of a populist, yet he departs from standard definitions because he is unpredictable. He evokes countless associations, but over decades it will become clear that during his rule he became a measure of political phenomena that are unfinished, ongoing, or yet to come. He is a unit of measurement for the future.

The Museum of Press holds dozens of newspaper issues that document Trump’s rise, falls, criminal proceedings, assassination attempt, political comeback, and the revolution he ignited. These include Slovenian, American, and other newspapers — the first rough drafts of history.

The exhibition will be accompanied by talks illuminating Trump’s persona, the era of populism, and an entirely new, unsettling geopolitical constellation.
 

Opening: 27 May, at 18.00, Foyer I

Visceral architecture is always also a reflection of the human inner self, our existential outlook, our nature. However, the relationship between humans and architecture is reciprocal and invariably also works the other way around, so that architectural reality influences humans and their nature in one way or another and, as an embodied thought, becomes a conduit for evoking meanings and emotions in us.

The central thread running through the working and thinking process at the Atmosphere as a Thing of Architecture workshops was to look at architecture from the perspective of a deeper, sensorial experience. Such an experience stems from the fact that architecture communicates and arouses in us different perceptions and feelings that go beyond mere sensory perception. For example, the touch and smell of untreated wood connect us to an event that happened to us in a forest; dark and shady rooms can evoke tranquillity or fear; the intoxicating scent of flowers makes us relive the atmosphere of our grandmother's garden or childhood memories, and so on. 

Such sensitive perception requires a certain amount of inner curiosity and readiness, a mindful approach to life. Mindful architecture is thus an ongoing, ever-recurring process of conscious awareness of space and human experience in it. It allows us to gain insight into architecture from other, more abstract perspectives.
The exhibition includes sketches, conceptual drawings, photographs, texts, and graphic prints in which workshop participants show their perception of architectural spaces.

Visceral architecture is always also a reflection of the human inner self, our existential outlook, our nature. However, the relationship between humans and architecture is reciprocal and invariably also works the other way around, so that architectural reality influences humans and their nature in one way or another and, as an embodied thought, becomes a conduit for evoking meanings and emotions in us.

The central thread running through the working and thinking process at the Atmosphere as a Thing of Architecture workshops was to look at architecture from the perspective of a deeper, sensorial experience. Such an experience stems from the fact that architecture communicates and arouses in us different perceptions and feelings that go beyond mere sensory perception. For example, the touch and smell of untreated wood connect us to an event that happened to us in a forest; dark and shady rooms can evoke tranquillity or fear; the intoxicating scent of flowers makes us relive the atmosphere of our grandmother's garden or childhood memories, and so on. 

Such sensitive perception requires a certain amount of inner curiosity and readiness, a mindful approach to life. Mindful architecture is thus an ongoing, ever-recurring process of conscious awareness of space and human experience in it. It allows us to gain insight into architecture from other, more abstract perspectives.
The exhibition includes sketches, conceptual drawings, photographs, texts, and graphic prints in which workshop participants show their perception of architectural spaces.
 

Mentors:
Assoc. Prof. Leon Belušič, FA; Miha Benčina, FA; Sara Bogicevic, FA


Visiting mentors:
Prof. Maruša Zorec, FA; Assoc. Prof. Zora Stančič, MA, ALUO 
 
Students 2024:
Luka Arsič, Tinkara Bizjan, Anton Jakob Bonča, Val Brudar, Nikolina Dukarić, Larisa Lara Govekar, Tilen Kos, Pavlina Košir, Nika Kupćić, Pegi Pika Lešnik, Daša Letnar, Tinkara Ličen, Erazem Likar, Jana Lovka, Tomaž Ogrič, Julija Petrovčič, Nadej Rešek, Olga Ushakova

Students 2025:
Kim Anžel Lara, Ariel čuk, Larisa Lara Govekar, Tina Krebelj, Manca Mencej, Aleš Miljuš, Nina Nadj, Tomaž Ogrič, Barbara Pori, Val Požar, Alja Pušič, Lenart Pustovrh, Žiga Režek, Mark Tomšič Tekavčič, Nejc Vrbovšek

9 May marks 80 years since the end of the Second World War in Slovenia. Just three months later, the bloodiest military conflict in human history came to an end in Asia. The rise, violence and collapse of Nazism and fascism received real-time newspaper coverage. The printed media, which documented the gradual approach of war, its eruption, its rampage and its end, is one of the material relics of that time. This upcoming round anniversary is the last of its kind celebrated by the resistance fighters. The youngest will soon be a hundred years old. In ten years' time, their testimonies will be gone. 

The Museum of Press has been collecting old copies of newspapers reporting on World War II at flea markets, attics, basements, garage sales, antique shops and auctions. The collection has been more than two decades in the making. Some of the newspapers were published underground, distributed by couriers. Some were published in large print runs in parts of the world untouched by the war. The content of the newspapers is by no means homogeneous. Some newspapers glorified Hitler, some Stalin. At the same time, details printed more than 80 years ago are an ominous echo of modern times. Readers will be hard pressed not to notice parallels between Hitler's claims relating to Czechoslovakia or Poland and those of the present-day rulers. 
 

This year marks an important anniversary for Slovenian design. In 1984, the establishment of the Department of Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana represented the beginning of design education.
That is why the Designers Society of Slovenia decided to award prizes – to the Academy of Fine Arts and to Marjan Žitnik, a first-generation student and graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts. 
The Designers Society of Slovenia is awarding an honorary membership to the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana, and a lifetime achievement award to Marjan Žitnik, in recognition of four decades of continuous work in the field of industrial design. 
 

DOS Lifetime Achievement Award 
Marjan Žitnik 

Marjan Žitnik occupies a unique place in Slovenian design history of the last decades. He may even be the only industrial designer noted for his unwavering commitment to a relatively narrow field of design activity. Despite the fact that Slovenian industry in general has been constantly diminishing, he has succeeded in finding partners and clients with a proper understanding of what the role of the designer involves. In many cases, Marjan Žitnik's role as a designer seems to be less or barely visible, but this is precisely where his contribution is virtually invaluable and merits wider professional recognition. 

A closer look at his output shows an understanding of industrial processes, including the work of the maintenance and repair technicians, many of whom are undoubtedly grateful to him, even though the devices he designed do not bear his signature. 
As a student of the first generation of Slovenian industrial designers, Žitnik is definitely an exception. Although the industry in Slovenia has been diminishing for more than three decades, Žitnik’s output – presented in his monograph – stands out as an exceptionally prodigious and versatile legacy. 
 

DOS – Outstanding Achievement in Design 2024
Oloop Collective for the exhibition and research project PRODUCT AS CHANGE
On view at the DLUL Gallery between 5–14 January 2025

The Designers Society of Slovenia judging panel recognised the social role of the project Product as Change by the Oloop group as an outstanding achievement in space (the exhibition) and time. In life, change is the only constant. Over the last decade, the field of design has proven the validity of this fact. 
Meeting individual needs through various products, which designers have contributed to (and continue to contribute to), and which by definition are supposed to make work and life physically easier for every individual on a daily basis, extends to meeting the deeper inner mental and emotional needs of the individual. The role of design is therefore changing. This trend – i.e. change and social need – has been recognised by Oloop, a collective known for projects that employ inclusive, collaborative and co-creative approaches and processes.
 

DOS Design Achievement Award
Alja Herlah
Dotless type

Dotless type is a digital platform that primarily provides support to young typographic designers, offering opportunities for presentations – type releases – and seeking to motivate them to complete their projects. Many beginners have accomplished no small feats through their research, but unfortunately most of them are relegated to little more than a footnote and barely on the radar of the professional community and the wider public.
 

DOS Design Achievement Award
Jasna Šafar
Florian

In attempting to domesticate the fire extinguisher and adapting it to any environment and space, Florian is an interesting product. We do not see Florian as a definitive solution to an ideal camouflage, but rather as a broader challenge to the design profession, which over the years has paid scant attention to fire safety devices and the like.
 

Exhibition opening: 22 January at 18.00, Cankarjev dom's Foyer I
 

Breaking news unable to break the wall of conscience, an exhibition launching the commemorative programme dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, provides a shocking insight into the press coverage of one of the greatest human tragedies since World War II, the Srebrenica genocide. Through a selection of newspaper headlines and clippings from the Slovenian, Bosnian and world press, selected by Ali Žerdin, the exhibition shows how news of these events seeped out to the public – and how the world remained powerless in the face of the impending catastrophe.

Each exhibited cover is doubly significant: as a historical record and as a reminder that our indifference allows for unchecked repetition of such tragedies. The message of the exhibition is clear. We knew. But we did not act decisively (enough). Not only giving insight into past events, the exhibition also raises questions about the role of the media, the authorities and each individual in confronting injustice and preventing genocide. 

Reminding us that we were aware of these events but failed to prevent them, Breaking news unable to break the wall of conscience invites us to reflect deeply on inaction and collective responsibility.


The exhibition forms part of the commemorative programme "8372 Living Memories" marking the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. The programme is implemented by the MKC Cultural and Educational Institute in cooperation with and through the support of partners. The semi-annual commemoration includes various activities aimed at preserving the memory of the victims and raising public awareness. For more information on the programme activities and the Srebrenica genocide please visit www.srebrenica.si.

The memorial events 8372 Living Memories marking the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide is held under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Slovenia Dr. Nataša Pirc Musar.

Production: Slovenski gledališki inštitut (Slovenian Theatre Institute) and Cankarjev dom
Exhibition authors: Dr Matic Kocijančič, Dr Gašper Troha and Primož Jesenko, MA
Exhibition co-authors: Tea Rogelj, MA, Ana Perne, Katarina Kocijančič, Sandra Jenko, MA
Design: Sanja Jurca Avci, Tomaž Budkovič, Dolores Gerbec


The playwright and director Dušan Jovanović occupies a prominent place in the history of the late 20th-century Slovenian and Yugoslav theatre. He was born in 1939, just before World War II, into a family with Greek, German, Croatian as well as Serbian ethnic origins. He spent his early childhood in Skopje and Belgrade and later moved to Slovenia with his father. He was an incomer, a foreigner who grew to become a theatre reformer and a daring playwright. His unending search for new ways of theatrical staging and intellectual provocations left a permanent imprint on the world of theatre. First with the Študentsko aktualno gledališče (Student Relevant Theatre), and later the Eksperimentalno gledališče Glej (Experimental Theatre Glej) and Gledališče Pupilije Ferkeverk (Pupilija Ferkeverk Theatre). His influence was most felt at the Mladinsko Theatre, where he served as Artistic Director from 1978 to 1985. Dušan Jovanović gained international renown, making his mark both in Slovenia and throughout the former Yugoslavia, as a theatre director in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and abroad.

As well as directing for the theatre, Jovanović made a name for himself as a prolific playwright. Oder 57, one of the first experimental theatres in post-war Slovenia, included Norci (The Madmen) in its repertoire but had been closed down before the play was staged. However, Jovanović did not admit defeat. The play was premiered seven years later at SLG Celje. He blazed new trails in avant-garde drama, for example with Znamke, nakar še Emilija (Stamps, and then Emilija), and broke with experimental theatre in Igrajte tumor v glavi in onesnaženje zraka (Play a Tumour in the Head and Air Pollution). In the late 1970s, his Osvoboditev Skopja (The Liberation of Skopje) and Karamazovi (The Karamazovs) laid the foundations for political drama, a savagely personal piece of theatre. His explorations of taboo subjects drew large crowds to theatre houses from Australia to the United States.

He is credited with reforming the Yugoslav theatre, thus earning notoriety as a cultural terrorist: the critic Josip Vidmar, who rejected these newly introduced phenomena, coined this term for a specific group of theatre practitioners (Dušan Jovanović, Ljubiša Ristić, Janez Pipan, Slobodan Šnajder, Rudi Šeligo...). As an all-round intellectual, in addition to engaging in theatre, Jovanović wrote essays on social reality, and later also poems and prose. He inspired the next generation of theatre artists as a professor at the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television – AGRFT, University of Ljubljana. Although his ambition to stage a production at Ljubljana’s Plečnik Stadium was thwarted, it testifies to his belief in the importance of striving for the impossible.

The Dušan Jovanović – Cultural Terrorist exhibition, to take place in Cankarjev dom’s Foyer I between 14 January – 7 March, addresses various aspects of Dušan Jovanović's work. It focuses on his directorial oeuvre, highlighting the phenomenon of The Liberation of Skopje, takes viewers back to the 1980s and the rise of the Mladinsko Theatre, presents Jovanović's plays and other publications, and shows – through the testimonies of his students – his influence on the younger generations. The exhibition seeks to capture Jovanović's spirit, infused with innovation, provocation and passion. 

The exhibition is accompanied by the first comprehensive monograph on Dušan Jovanović, to be published by the Slovenian Theatre Institute, as well as the following side events:

29 January 2025 – Scientific symposium marking the publication of the monograph on Dušan Jovanović, with the participation of the authors of various chapters – Darja Dominkuš, Sebastijan Horvat, Hrvoje Ivanković, Aleksandra Jovičević, Milan Mađarev, Aldo Milohnić, Saša Pavček, Janez Pipan, Draga Potočnjak, Alja Predan, Tomaž Toporišič, Gašper Troha and Dragan Živadinov

8–10 February Screenings of three films dealing with Jovanović’s productions or screen adaptations of Jovanović’s plays – Vsaka dobra zgodba je ljubezenska zgodba about the 1993 staging of Boris, Milena, Radko (dir. Rajko Grlić, Matjaž Ivanišin, 2017); Delanje Leara about the 1993 production of King Lear (dir. Damjan Kozole, 1993); and Osvoboditev Skopja (dir. Danilo Šerbedžija and Rade Šerbedžija, 2016).

A selection of book illustrations

Ana Maraž’s selection for this year’s Illustrators Exhibition in Bologna, a main showcase for the latest trends in illustration for children and young adults, her given her work a new lease of life. At first glance, a minimalist approach and a flat style enhanced by the illustrator's primary, abstracted interpretation feature prominently in her work. Through the use of different approaches, this is beautifully represented by her illustrations for the four selected books. The anthology of fairy tales by Mate Dolenc, Kako dolg je čas (Beletrina, 2019), seems a perfect match for the symbolism of the illustrator Ana Maraž, and the black and white colour palette was a logical choice. The most prominent double-spread illustration shows a hippopotamus in a lake outside a spa, a tropical salad and a spa pavilion – depicted in an extremely symbolic way (pen and wash drawings, lines done in Indian ink, collage), and a perfectly balanced layout of the spread. Another, extremely challenging commission was illustrating Miroslav Košuta's poems in his book Božaj veter – Pesmi za mlade (Mladinska knjiga, Sončnica, 2021). The colour range is deliberately sparse, with only shades of blue and green added to the red. Using a unique artistic approach, this time significantly different, Maraž has succeeded in capturing expectations, nimbleness, tenderness, the gloominess of the forest, a garland of dried flowers and wind in hair. Her innovative and unconventional artistic language gained international visibility immediately after the publication of the picture book Protideževna juha by the writer Majda Koren (KUD Sodobnost International, 2023). The illustrations were selected for the main showcase of the Bologna International Children's Book Fair, and went on to tour Japan, Korea and China. The sensual illustrations in mixed media, accompanying Kaja Teržan's poems in the tiny, brightly coloured picture book Narisati ptico (Mladinska knjiga, Knjižnica Čebelica 480, 2024) for the youngest readers, are masterfully done. The continuous thread that runs through Ana Maraž’s body of work is symbolism, the artist’s vehicle for opening windows onto new worlds to the viewers. 

Ana Maraž (1985, Šempeter pri Gorici). Graduated in Art Pedagogy from the Faculty of Education, the University of Ljubljana, in 2011. Since 2017, she has been working in the field of illustration as a self-employed professional in culture. Her illustrations have been published in magazines and books for children and young readers. She has held several solo and group exhibitions in Slovenia and internationally. Maraž is the recipient of several important national and international awards. She is a member of the Illustrators' Section of the Slovenian Association of Fine Arts Societies. She lives and works in Vipava.

Tatjana Pregl Kobe (1946, Maribor) Holds a BA in Art History, and works as an art critic, writer and essayist. Her most notable professional achievement are regular contributions to scholarly journals dedicated to this genre, the book Slovenska knjižna ilustracija (1979/80), a publication charting the development of illustration throughout the world Upodobljene besede (1998), publications in books Likovne impresije I–III (2000–2007) and the book Slovenska knjižna ilustracija 1 (2023). She is on the editorial board of the Otrok in knjiga journal and frequently serves on the jury of various Slovenian and international biennials of illustration. She lives in Ljubljana.
 

Young artist Hana Tavčar's textile art project, Dirty Business, is a witty and innovative narrative about everyday household utensils and work that human society considers inferior. 

Brooms, rags, brushes, sinks, dustpans, dustbins are hidden behind cupboards in our day-to-day living spaces, in pantries, under counters, behind doors. By adding various textile elements, the artist places them in a different context, where they come to life taking on a new role; they become inviting, proud, aesthetic and valuable co-creators of a living space, cleansed of prejudice and stigma and elevated to the status of desirable pieces of family heirloom. The project is a highly felicitous fusion of tradition and contemporaneity, which, in addition to social issues, also addresses the field of sustainability and insightfully penetrates the complex psychology of modern man.

Mentors: Prof. Marija Jenko, Assist. Prof. Katja Burger Kovič, MSc
Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, Department of Textiles, Graphic Arts and Design, University of Ljubljana