The opening of the exhibition of XXVII. International Arts Colony will be on Friday, 12 July, at 12.00 pm.

Participants:
Sofie Švejdová, Czech Republic
Zhao Peizhi, China
Zlatko Krstevski, North Macedonia
Ahmet Ozel, Turkey
Marko Tušek, Slovenia
Luka Širok, Slovenia
Andreja Srna, Slovenia
Simon Mlakar, Slovenia

As I reflect on the upcoming XXVII. International Arts Colony, my thoughts turn to the path we have travelled that has led us to this point; in other words, to the unique annual experiences with participating artists and the creative interweaving of the fine arts with the other artistic genres offered by the Ljubljana Festival during the period in which the fine arts colony takes place. Time really does fly. While the essential concept of the fine arts colony has remained practically the same as it was at the beginning, its interesting contents have, of course, changed it year after year, supplementing and enhancing it to the point that it has become an event of prestigious importance, particularly in artistic circles and among connoisseurs: both for the invited artists and for loyal followers of events on the international cultural scene in Ljubljana.
We are also justifiably proud of the fact that the fine arts colony has taken place every year without interruption – even during the Covid pandemic, when movement and gatherings were severely restricted. It is also true that tragic events around the world, in particular in Europe, make it more difficult for us to simply relax and enjoy the musical and other performances that the Ljubljana Festival offers. The war in Ukraine has placed a heavy mental burden on all of us, while events in the Middle East have changed many people’s conception and perception of humanity in the world of today’s human civilisation. Many questions have been asked and many doubts have been raised. These events have consequences for every one of us – and all the more so for creative artists, where their impact is also reflected in the results of their creative endeavours. Visual artists are, of course, no exception.
Yet the world of the visual arts is currently facing a momentous change, of a kind that humanity has never faced before. Does artificial intelligence mean the end of artistic creativity, at least as we know it today, or will AI simply be an additional tool or a complement to that which already exists? In the field of artistic creativity, modern computer algorithms are already capable of creating visually complex and highly convincing works. The question, however, is whether we should consider these works authentic artistic creations, or merely the product of a machine that is capable of emulating existing artistic styles. To date, almost all “artistic” works generated by artificial intelligence are the result of programming by human beings. Enormous databases of information on existing artistic creations serve as a basis, which new algorithms are capable of analysing. Then, using new mathematical models, they generate works that imitate the style, composition and content of the works contained in the database. This form of artificial intelligence actually only imitates what artists have already created in the past. The key problem, then, is the question of the autonomy of creativity. On the one hand it is claimed that artificial intelligence is essentially incapable of true, genuine creativity, since it lacks profound empathy, love, emotion, intuition, understanding, compassion – all the characteristics that guide the human artist when creating a work of art. On the other, there is the theory that even inputting and selecting data is artistic and therefore creative work. This raises the question of the origin and essence of this kind of art. Is the artist/programmer the author and creator of such an algorithm, or did the algorithm create itself? Is it the artist who selects the data that is to be input, or is it artificial intelligence that guides this process?
This question will, of course, continue to be discussed by experts, although, as always, capital will
have the last word. If there is a financial interest in proclaiming a computer-generated creation to be a masterpiece, millions of people will admire it and sigh as they look at it. I am afraid that we visual artists will be the least important elements of such processes. Meanwhile, we have our own world, which is infinitely genuine, and I hope it remains that way.
The artists who believe this and who live and work in this spirit include the eight artists invited this year to participate in the traditional International Arts Colony, which the Ljubljana Festival is holding at Križanke for the twenty-seventh time. The colony offers artists the opportunity to create in truly ideal conditions. Like every year, the participants will consist of four academy-trained painters from abroad and four from Slovenia. This year’s international participants are: ZHAO PEIZHI (China), a member of the China National Academy of Painting; SOFIE ŠVEJDOVÁ (Czech Republic); AHMET ÖZEL (Turkey); and ZLATKO KRSTEVSKI (North Macedonia). This year’s participants from Slovenia are: MARKO TUŠEK, LUKA ŠIROK, ANDREJA SRNA and
SIMON MLAKAR.
Once again this year, we will be joined by the wellknown multimedia artist LADO JAKŠA, who will be with us for the entire week. At the opening of the exhibition that concludes the fine arts colony, he will offer a musical and visual presentation of his own vision of the artists’ work and creative process. I hope that this year’s participants will enjoy being in Ljubljana as much as all previous participants, of whom there have already been nearly 230. May Ljubljana, the atrium of the Križanke complex with its wonderful Pergola, and all the concerts that make up the Ljubljana Festival serve as an encouragement and inspiration for their creative endeavours.

Tomo Vran
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