‘Many Heads are Better than One’ from the City Museum of Ljubljana’s sculptural collection is this year’s major exhibition project at the City Museum of Ljubljana.

The exhibition – open until 31 December 2012 – affords a valuable insight into the history of Ljubljana and casts reflections on its present through the images of people that left their mark on the political, economic and cultural fields, whether they lived in the city or only visited it, leaving a greater or lesser impact on its development and repute. Some of the sculptures are on public display for the first time, while others have been long left in store, and thus this exhibition is a unique opportunity to take a look at the sculptural, political and artistic past of Ljubljana and Slovenia. The sculptures include quality works by renowned Slovene, Italian, Viennese and unknown sculptors.

The exhibition is the work of Ana Pokrajac Iskra, curator of the history of art. The exhibition design was the work of the City Museum of Ljubljana in partnership with colleagues from the New Collectivism of Miran Mohar, Darko Pokorn and Roman Uranjek.

Statue preparation was an important part of exhibition preparation. Ljubljana City Museum and Galleries’ ŠČIT Conservation Centre restorers spent almost two years conserving and restoring statues from the collection. The sculptures on show are made of differing materials and therefore their conservation was equally varied. For each statue, the most effective conservation-restoration solution was found to present the statue in the best light, while respecting the conservation code of ethics which takes into account the reversibility of the materials used in restoration and minimalisation of interference with the original.

An interesting visitor experience

Care was taken when setting out the ‘Many Heads are Better than One’ exhibition for a more authentic visitor experience. Therefore, visitors can touch a copy of a statue, feel the materials used by sculptors to create works of art and see the techniques and phases in the creation of statues. Some visitors were also invited to take part prior to the exhibition opening. They shared with us their impressions of the sculptures exhibited, and we have included some of their thoughts in the presentation of the exhibition.

Accompanying programme

There is a varied accompanying programme that includes regular Sunday guided tours of the exhibition. Thursdays are set to be especially interesting, as guided tours are being prepared with exhibition author Ana Pokrajac Iskra and other curators of art history and Spirits of the Past themed tours, in which we will take a tour through the exhibition with the spirits of those VIPs displayed in the exhibition and demonstrate sculptural techniques with academic sculptor Jiři Bezlaj.

A round table is to take place at 7pm on Thursday 1 March at which experts will discuss the importance of the City Museum of Ljubljana’s sculptural collection and its place in Slovenian art heritage, while there is also a chance to attend a lecture on sculpture as a genre of art (5 April at 7pm) and photographic challenges in documenting sculptural heritage (4 October at 7pm).

We are also looking after children and families, who are invited to join us at two social events with Ljubo the Jumping Frog and creative workshops for younger people.

Free entry to the exhibition

Don’t miss the promotional open-door days, when it will be possible to visit the exhibition free. These are 18 May, 16 June and 3 December 2012.

There will also be free visits during the European Cultural Heritage Days in the last week of September. Families will be able to visit the exhibition free during the ‘Games to Heritage’ campaign that runs in the first week in October.

Museum opening times: Tuesday–Sunday: 10am – 6pm. Every Thursday open to 9pm.