The Slovenian Theatre Institute conducts the project Accessibility of the Cultural Heritage of the Performing Arts as a beneficiary within the Call of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia for submission of applications for the project task PN3 eScenske within the framework of the project "Establishment, launch and optimization of the unified information platform e-Kultura". The project runs from July 28, 2025 to June 30, 2026.
Cultural heritage is one of the fundamental values of every society, as it preserves historical memory, stimulates creativity, and strengthens collective identity. Among the various forms of cultural heritage, the performing arts are of particular importance due to their transience, direct contact with the audience, and ability to reflect social change. Although the performing arts live in the moment, their records, documentation, visual and written sources enable their long-term preservation and subsequent research. In this context, one of the central Slovenian institutions in this field is the Slovenian Theatre Institute, which is the only national institution that preserves, studies, interprets, presents and promotes the cultural heritage of Slovenian performing arts.
The Accessibility of Cultural Heritage of the Performing Arts project focuses on increasing the accessibility of two collections of the Slovenian Theatre Institute: the collection of theatre photographs (part of the Iconotheque collection) and the collection of newspaper articles (Hemerotheque). The photographs present a visual archive of theatre productions, capturing unique moments on stage, the visual image of performances, and the creative practices of directors, actors, set designers, and other theatre professionals. The collection of newspaper articles is a valuable source for studying theatre receptions, critical responses, changes in aesthetic criteria, and media discourse on the performing arts through time. Both collections are extremely important for understanding not only the artistic but also the social and political role of theatre in Slovenia.
The project is designed to be multidisciplinary and includes the development of an online database and user interface that will enable intuitive searching, browsing, and use of content. The online database will play an important role in establishing synergies with the national e-Kultura portal, which is being developed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.
Project objectives:
- to expand the Repertoar portal with a database of photographs and a database of newspaper articles,
- omogočiti trajnostno digitalno okolje in večjo dostopnost, avtomatiziran, nadzorovani dostop do avtorsko zavarovanih gradiv ter širši spekter uporabnikov gradiv kulturne dediščine uprizoritvenih umetnosti za nekomercialno, raziskovalno ali izobraževalno uporabo in s tem okrepiti raziskovalni in kulturni potencial slovenskega gledališča,
- connectivity with existing and emerging information systems in the field of culture,
- to explore the possibilities and implementation of modern artificial intelligence tools in the use and analysis of materials.
Project milestones:
- establishment of a test web environment with a basic search engine (March 2026)
- establishment of a basic dynamic e-service for obtaining temporary access to the database (March 2026)
- entry of most digitized materials into the online database (April 2026),
- completion of user experience testing and AI function testing (May 2026),
- opening of the online database (June 2026).
The project is financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union – NextGenerationEU from the Recovery and Resilience Plan. The total value of the project is 370.616 EUR.
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Naslovna fotografija: Prizor iz prve ljubljanske uprizoritve Cankarjevih Servants, režiser Osip Šest, Kraljevsko slovensko gledališče Ljubljana, premiera 11. decembra 1919. Vir: Ikonoteka SLOGI – Gledališki muzej.
