08/06/2023
Dr. Mojca Stubelj Ars, Head of Xcenter, associate of GO! 2025, PhD in Environmental Science, expert in sustainable tourism, experiential pedagogy and early language learning. Within GO! 2025, she manages Xcenter, a centre for creative practices in the centre of Nova Gorica, which acts as a hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, art, education and research. The centre promotes innovation in the cultural and creative industries, experimental research through advanced workshops, development projects and productive socialising. Xcenter is one of the main projects of the European Capital of Culture GO! 2025. In May, Mojca attended the international conference "How borderless is culture?" on mobility organised by Tartu 2024, the Estonian European Capital of Culture. She brought back valuable experiences and connections with cultural centres and organisations that she will use in her future work at Xcenter and GO! 2025. The themes that Mojca addresses together with the project promoters touch upon science, technology and art, as well as pedagogy. As Xcenter manager, Mojca coordinates the gallery, the workshop, numerous lectures, roundtables and conferences. You will often see groups of young people working together in the Xcenter's many innovative workshops, as the facility provides a space for young people to socialise and encourages them to create. Recently, for example, students from the School Center Nova Gorica, under the guidance of mentors from Instrumentation Technologies, digitised a table football table. Xcenter was created, among other things, with the support of the konS ≡ Platform for Contemporary Art Research network, which works systematically across Slovenia to improve the conditions for artistic production at the intersection of art, science, technology and society, to educate young people and creators in the field of contemporary artistic practices, and to encourage the involvement of innovative artistic thinking in the creation of social and product innovations. Not long ago, Mojca informed us that the first measurements of the environmental parameters for the design and realisation of the first green roof in the city have started on the roof of the Xcenter. One of the most interesting ones is certainly the intermedia gallery, which brings a new perspective on contemporary art to the city. It is currently hosting a textile art biennial, featuring products by students of the School of Arts of the University of Nova Gorica, created by integrating electronic components into fabrics and other objects that, when touched or stimulated, create a visual or sound projection. "Together with the project promoters from the bid book, Goriška-based artists and cross-border partners, we will implement cultural and educational programmes relevant to the local community and European trends in contemporary art and sustainable development over the next two years. Xcenter's aim is to keep the doors open and provide opportunities for all creative individuals, young people and other interested parties, and to take part of the legacy of the ECOC into the future of our conurbation."
