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Novo Mesto Spring

The Novo mesto Spring is the name of a cultural and artistic event held in 1920 by young well-known Slovenian artists, the most famous of whom were the poets Anton Podbevšek and Miran Jarc and the painter Božidar Jakac, who also drew in younger artists – Ivan Čargo, Zdenko Skalicky and Marjan Mušič – to take part in artistic creation. Marjan Mušič, who later became an established architect, gave the fledgling artistic movement its name. The artists mentioned above, with the help of a few others, organized the 1st provincial art exhibition in Novo mesto, which took place in the Windischer Salon in Kandija, under the auspices of the already established painter Rihard Jakopič. The exhibition was launched on 26 September 1920, featuring paintings by Božidar Jakac, Marjan Mušič, France Zupan, Ivan Čargo, Jože Cvelbar, Zdenko Skalicky, Franjo Ančik, Boris Grad, Ferdo Avsec and Rihard Jakopič, who exhibited his painting Under the Window.

In addition to reviving Slovene art, the organizers wanted to bring art closer to the common people as well as emphasizing the Novo mesto art revival as a reflection of the contemporary upheaval in society. The opening of the exhibition was accompanied by a gala concert by Marij Kogoj and the lead singer of the Ljubljana Opera House, Zdenka Zikova, at Kamen Castle in Novo mesto, and a literary evening featuring Miran Jarc and Anton Podbevšek at the Narodni dom (National House).

The exhibition was followed by several other events and performances with artists from other parts of Slovenia participating as well. The Novo mesto Spring assumed the role of awakening national consciousness as well as having a strong influence on the work of Slovene artists in the 1920s, the most famous being Srečko Kosovel, who later contributed for the magazine Trije labodje (the Three Swans) which, as a result of the Novo mesto Spring movement, started being published in 1921 in Novo mesto.

Some of the main events were repeated in the capital city in November. The concert of Marij Kogoj on 6 November 1920 in the Union Hotel in Ljubljana, where he was accompanied by Zdenka Zikova, was a great success. This was followed by a painting exhibition in the Jakopič Pavilion, which, in addition to the Kralj brothers and Ivan Napotnik, featured three members of the Novo mesto Spring movement: Božidar Jakac, Marjan Mušič and Zdenko Skalicky. The Novo mesto Spring event in Ljubljana ended with an evening recital by Anton Podbevšek at the National Theatre. The cultural and artistic event that stirred up the Slovene cultural scene and laid the foundations of Slovene avant-garde art was dubbed "the Novo mesto Spring" by one of the most prominent members of the movement – the architect Marjan Mušič in his book published in 1974. The book, entitled Novomeška pomlad (the Novo mesto Spring), quotes the words of the exhibition's sponsor, Rihard Jakopič, taken from his letter to Anton Podbevšek: “For a long time now, something has been secretly stirring up in young hearts – a longing for life, for a revelation, for the word. It has been quietly getting ready while begging to be uncovered. Once it was fully matured, it erupted with a joyous cry and burst forth into the world.

On 26 September 1920, there was a big celebration in Novo mesto. Kindred spirits found one another and banded together. They were young artists: writers, painters, sculptors, musicians. They gathered to express their longing and to venture out into the public together for the first time. In a seemingly mistrustful manner, Ljubljana looked slightly askance at these goings-on. But we, who sympathize with everything that is alive, hurried there to rejoice with them." (Mušič, 1974, p. 94)

This cultural revival, the revolution of the spirit following the First World War, strongly and permanently marked Novo mesto as a town that had managed to transcend the boundaries of its provincialism and connect with the wider world.

The Novo mesto Spring movement also inspired a 1989 film entitled Veter v mreži (The Wind in the Net), which was directed by Filip Robar Dorin.

https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novome%C5%A1ka_pomlad

https://www.kamra.si/digitalne-zbirke/item/miran-jarc-in-novomeska-pomlad.html

https://novomesto.si/en/news/2020052607194012

https://slovenia.si/art-and-cultural-heritage/100-years-of-the-novo-mesto-spring/