From squat to a legal venue

Nataša Serec

The relation between Metelkova and the city is quite stabilised at the moment. We have agreed that we are going into the process of legalisation of the spaces. This means that soon we are going to probably sign the contract that we are the official managers of Metelkova. Together with the city we would like to renovate the spaces, we would like the city to invest some money into the spaces. Actually, we are not exactly rushing to be legal, we like being the way we are, but we can`t stay like this forever. It`s quite a miracle anyway that for 17 years we have not really been bothered by the state services, like inspectors checking whether we sell alcohol without a licence etc, or similar. But this will not last forever, of course. We already agreed to work with the government inspectors and police, soon we are going to be legal. 

Most of the artists and associations who are active here in Metelkova are supported by different funds - from international funds, Ministry of Culture, the municipality‘s Department of Culture, the Department of Youth, and so on. The level of financial support is quite good, but the greatest problem is that there is no general money for the upkeep of the spaces, e.g. cleaning, security etc. This is something we are going to negotiate with the city about in the future.  

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Nataša Serec

Nataša Serec

President of the Association KUD Mreža in Ljubljana, Slovenia

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